The heart is a lonely hunter (movie)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The heart is a lonely hunter |
| Original title | The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1968 |
| length | 123 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Ellis Miller |
| script | Thomas C. Ryan |
| production | Thomas C. Ryan Marc Merson |
| music | Dave Grusin |
| camera | James Wong Howe |
| cut | John F. Burnett |
| occupation | |
| |
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is an American film drama made in 1968 by Robert Ellis Miller after the 1940 published novel by Carson McCullers .
action
John Singer is deaf and works as an engraver in a small town in the southern United States. His only friend is Antonapoulos, a mute who is mentally retarded. When his friend is admitted to a home, John leaves the city and moves near the home to be close to Antonapoulos. He finds work and rents a room from the Kelly couple, who are suffering from financial problems because Mr. Kelly's hip is damaged.
Mick, the Kellys' 14 year old daughter, refuses to vacate her room for John. John carefully tries to build a friendship with the girl. At the same time he meets the alcoholic worker Blount and the bitter Dr. Know Copeland, a black man who advocates segregation and hides his deadly cancer. Copeland is very troubled that his educated daughter Portia works as a maid and is married to the field worker Willie Hamilton.
John becomes friends with Mick, whom he inspires for classical music. He visits Antonapoulos, who is sick with a kidney infection. John goes on a day trip with his friend, but when he gets home he feels much more lonely than before. He learns that Copeland's son-in-law Willie is in jail. He defended himself against a group of whites who attacked him. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, Willie's leg is amputated.
The relationship between Portia and her father is growing tense. Only when she learns of her father's illness does she return to him. Meanwhile, Mick has lost her virginity to Harry, the brother of a classmate. She learns of her father's invalidity. She realizes that after school she needs to find work to support the family. The distraught girl now turns completely away from John, who wants to visit his friend Antanopoulos again. But in the home he is told that his friend passed away a few weeks ago.
After John visits his friend's grave and says goodbye to him in sign language, he goes to his room and commits suicide. Several months later, Mick visits John's grave and meets Dr. Copeland. They talk. Mick says that John's straightforwardness gave her the courage to face her future without fear.
Reviews
“A film adaptation of the novel by Carson McCullers, sometimes sentimental and missing the psychological subtlety of the original. The agony of individual isolation in mass society is nevertheless intensely demonstrated, especially thanks to the remarkable leading actor. "
"Moving story with great actors."
“Bringing the delicate, if not flimsy, tragedy of Carson McCuller's first novel to screen was evidently no easy feat. And not a completely successful one either. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter develops into a fragmented, episodic melodrama with a bumpy, dramatic climax and a predetermined tempo. "
“Anyone who sees this psychogram of a small American town has to accept many clichés in addition to valuable suggestions. The only consolation: Daily life actually consists of clichés. Remarkable play of the main actors. "
Awards
- Profit
- 1968: NYFCC Award from the New York Film Critics Circle for Alan Arkin for Best Actor
- 1969: KCFCC Award from the Kansas City Film Critics Circle for Alan Arkin for Best Actor
- 1970: Golden Laurel for James Wong Howe
- nomination
- 1969 : Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Alan Arkin) and Best Supporting Actress (Sondra Locke)
- 1969: Nominations for the Golden Globe in the categories of Best Film (Drama) , Best Actor (Drama) , Best Supporting Actress and Best Young Actress (Sondra Locke)
- 1969: WGA Writers Guild of America Award (Thomas C. Ryan)
- 1970: 2nd place at the Laurel Awards for Alan Arkin ( Male Dramatic Performance ) and Sondra Locke (Female Supporting Performance) , 8th place for Sondra Locke (Female New Face)
background
The premiere took place on July 31, 1968. In Germany it first appeared in cinemas on November 15, 1968.
The budget for the film was around US $ 2 million and grossed around US $ 5.9 million in the United States.
The Warner Bros. production was shot in the small town of Selma in the US state of Alabama . Filming began three days after the death of the author Carson McCullers, who died of a stroke on September 29, 1967.
For Sondra Locke, Oscar and Golden Globe nominees, it was the screen debut. Robert Ellis Miller, previously working as a TV director, directed a movie for the first time.
Web links
- The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The heart is a lonely hunter in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed on November 24, 2011.
- ↑ Critique of Cinema , accessed on November 24, 2011.
- ^ "Translating to the screen the delicate if specious tragedy of Carson McCullers' first novel was clearly not an easy matter. Nor an entirely successful one, either. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter emerges as a fragmented episodic melodrama, with uneven dramatic impact and formula pacing .. “- Critique of Variety ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective . Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Evangelischer Presseverband München, Review No. 533/1968.
- ↑ Box office information at IMDb
