Miss Daisy and her chauffeur

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Movie
German title Miss Daisy and her chauffeur
Original title Driving Miss Daisy
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1989
length 99 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Bruce Beresford
script Alfred Uhry
production Lili Fini Zanuck
Richard D. Zanuck
music Hans Zimmer
camera Peter James
cut Mark Warner
occupation

Miss Daisy and her Chauffeur (Driving Miss Daisy) is a feature film by Australian director Bruce Beresford from 1989. The tragicomedy is based on the play of the same name by Alfred Uhry and was produced by the film studios Majestic Films International and The Zanuck Company. The film won in the Oscar -Verleihung in 1990 four Academy Awards, u. a. for the film of the year and the best female lead.

action

Atlanta , in 1948: When the eccentric Daisy Werthan, widow of a wealthy Jewish textile manufacturer, accidentally pulls her Chrysler into the front yard of her neighbors while pulling out a parking lot, the insurance company terminates her policy . Miss Daisy's son Boolie then hires a chauffeur against his mother's protest . The black Hoke, in his early sixties and also widowed, is now supposed to drive Miss Daisy to the synagogue , to the library and to her weekly mah- jongg games with three friends. First, the 72-year-old, who was extremely embarrassed by the accident, firmly defends herself against the paternalism of her son, who is the manager of a cotton spinning mill. She refuses to take a seat in the back seat of her car and ignores the chauffeur. After a few days, Hoke persistently succeeds in convincing Miss Daisy of his usefulness when she sets out on foot to the nearest grocery store and he follows her in the brand new automobile belonging to the Werthan family, an elegant vehicle from the Hudson brand , and finally the resolute lady can persuade them to get on board and accept his driving service. At first, the relationship between the quick-witted Miss Daisy and the calm and wise Hoke is very tense. Over time, the initial antipathy develops into a deep friendship based on tolerance and understanding. The former teacher teaches the illiterate Hoke to read while he gives her insight into the oppression of the black population. Both face segregation and anti-Semitism . Standing in a traffic jam on the rainy street, Hoke and Miss Daisy learned of the bombing of the Atlanta Synagogue on October 12, 1958 from the police . In his own way, Hoke explains to Miss Daisy, who sees herself as a liberal Jewish woman from the South , the connections that exist between the attacks on his employer's synagogue and the attacks by racist clan groups on churches visited by colored people. In addition, Miss Daisy later attends a lecture by the black Baptist pastor and civil rights activist Martin Luther King .

The film ends in 1973: Miss Daisy, meanwhile suffering from dementia , lives in a nursing home, her son Boolie deals with the sale of her now vacant house. It has been 25 years since Hoke and Miss Daisy first met. Meanwhile, Hoke, who is gradually losing his sight, is 85 years old and his former employer is 97 years old. Boolie invites Hoke to visit his mother's house on Thanksgiving, an American holiday . In fact, Miss Daisy recognizes her long-time companion, Hoke, who lovingly helps her eat a piece of cake in the last scene of the film.

History of origin

The film is based on the play Driving Miss Daisy by the American writer Alfred Uhry , which was first staged off-Broadway in 1987. Driving Miss Daisy is part of the Atlanta Trilogy , along with The Last Night of Ballyhoo (1996) and the Musical Parade (1998) , all of which are set in Atlanta , Georgia in the first half of the 20th century . Uhry was inspired by his own grandmother Lena Fox and her chauffeur Will Coleman in his drama. The work won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and was performed in the West End Theater in London that same year , with Wendy Hiller in the role of Miss Daisy . For the film version, which was made in 1989, Morgan Freeman , Jessica Tandy and Dan Aykroyd were engaged; Freeman had already played the role of Hoke in the off-Broadway production of Driving Miss Daisy and was awarded the US theater prize for the third time Obie has been awarded. Uhry wrote the part of the florine into the film script for the actress Patti LuPone . The Australian Bruce Beresford, who had already successfully staged stories from the southern United States with Comeback of Love (1983) and Criminal Hearts (1986), was brought in to direct .

Miss Daisy and Her Chauffeur was created in and around Atlanta, including filmed at Agnes Scott College (141 E. College Avenue, Decatur), Druid Hill, Griff and The Temple. Conventional 35mm film was used for filming . The German composer Hans Zimmer was responsible for the film music , who created the pieces of music completely with synthesizers without the aid of an orchestra.

reception

The tragic comedy celebrated its limited US theatrical release on December 13, 1989 in three cinemas and posted gross profits of $ 73,745 on the opening weekend. For film distribution in the US showed Warner Bros. responsible. Bruce Beresford's seventeenth directorial work became a great success with critics and audiences. Miss Daisy and her chauffeur grossed over $ 145 million worldwide at an estimated production cost of $ 7.5 million, with a gross profit of over $ 106 million in the US alone . Critics praised the director's touching staging as well as the performance of the acting ensemble and, in particular, of Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy. Tandy's 26th movie role as the wealthy Jewish matriarch Miss Daisy was named the best acting performance of her career, which she began in 1932 with a supporting role in Cecil Lewis ' The Indiscretions of Eve . Negative voices accused Bruce Beresford of a politically naïve production with few highlights, which was only supported by the excellent performance of the actors. In Germany, Miss Daisy and her chauffeur were able to build on their success in the USA. The film premiered at the Berlinale in February 1990 and was released in German cinemas just under a month later on March 15.

A profit of $ 50.5 million was also achieved from the video rental.

Reviews

  • "Yours (Tandys) is one of the most complete portraits of the stages of old age that I have ever seen in a film." (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)
  • "The excellently played story, which has been reduced to private dimensions, is very emotional and is more likely to create emotion and nostalgic feelings than to offer insight into social realities." (Lexicon of International Films)
  • "This is Tandy's finest two-hour screen presence in a film career that dates back to 1932." (Rolling Stone)
  • "... touching comedy by the Australian Bruce Beresford (' Nina's Alibi ', 'Criminal Hearts'), who portrays a friendship complicated by racial and religious conflicts with a cheerful note and a bit of comfort. Excellent actors like Jessica Tandy (' Cocoon ' ), Morgan Freeman (' The Steel Hard Principal ') and Dan Aykroyd (' Ghostbusters ') skilfully circumnavigate the cliffs of kitsch and sentimentality. Director Beresford once again proves his solid ability. " (VideoWeek)
  • "'Driving Miss Daisy' shows us that friendship is forged through small graces, a slice of pie, a shared laugh, a sigh of comfort." (Washington Post)

Trivia

  • Miss Daisy's home was on property at 822 Lullwater Road in Atlanta.
  • The three African American men who walk along a railroad track in the film are descendants of Will Coleman, on whom the character of Hoke is based.
  • The aria Miss Daisy listens to on the radio as the years go by is called Song to the Moon and comes from Antonín Dvořák's opera Rusalka .
  • Miss Daisy gives her chauffeur a book, stating that she has already taught Mayor Hartsfield from the same book. This is a tribute to William B. Hartsfield (1890–1971), who served as Atlanta mayor from 1931 to 1961.
  • At the end of the film, real estate company Harry Norman Realtors is hired to sell Miss Daisy's house. The company has actually existed since the 1930s.
  • Although the film also tells the story of Jewish characters, there is no actor of Jewish faith to be found among the main cast.
  • Director Peter Hyams' comedy Stay Tuned (1992) contains a short parody of Bruce Beresford's film, Driving Over Miss Daisy .

Awards

In 1990, Miss Daisy and Her Chauffeur was one of the big favorites at the Academy Awards with nine nominations. After Bruce Beresford's work previously two months with three Golden Globe Awards had been awarded in the category Comedy or Musical, the tragi-comedy set in the Oscar night on March 26, 1990, inter alia, against the drama Dead Poets Society of Peter Weir and Born on July 4th by Oliver Stone and received four Academy Awards. In addition to the categories of Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay, British actress Jessica Tandy wrote Oscar history with her victory as best actress. At 80 years and 293 days, she is still the oldest actress to receive a regular actor award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . With her victory she set the record for the American George Burns , who was honored as best supporting actor for The Sunny Boys in 1976 at the age of 80 years and 69 days . Tandy had previously bet $ 100 with her agent that she would not win the Oscar, later she told him that it was the best bet she had ever lost. A year later, the actress also received the British Academy Film Award . Nominated for the Oscar were main actor Morgan Freeman and supporting actor Dan Aykroyd, who had to admit defeat to Daniel Day-Lewis ( My Left Foot ) and Denzel Washington ( Glory ). Hans Zimmer's film music was nominated for a Grammy , among other things .

Oscar 1990

  • Best movie
  • Best Actress (Jessica Tandy)
  • Best adapted script
  • Best make-up

Nominated in the categories

  • Best Actor (Morgan Freeman)
  • Best Supporting Actor (Dan Aykroyd)
  • Best equipment
  • Best Costumes ( Elizabeth McBride )
  • Best cut

British Academy Film Awards 1991

  • Best Actress (Jessica Tandy)

Nominated in the categories

  • Best movie
  • Best director
  • Best adapted script

Golden Globe Awards 1990

  • Best Film - Comedy / Musical
  • Best Actor - Comedy / Musical (Morgan Freeman)
  • Best Actress - Comedy / Musical (Jessica Tandy)

Further

BMI Film & TV Awards 1990

  • Best film score

Berlinale 1990

  • Silver Bear for Best Acting Team (Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy)
  • nominated for the Golden Bear for best film

David di Donatello 1990

  • Best Foreign Actress (Jessica Tandy)

Grammy 1991

  • nominated in the category Best Instrumental Composition in a Film or Television - End Title

Image Awards 1992

  • Best Actor (Morgan Freeman)

Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards 1990

  • Best Actor (Morgan Freeman)
  • Best Actress (Jessica Tandy)

National Board of Review Awards 1989

  • Best film in English
  • Best Actor (Morgan Freeman)

PGA Golden Laurel Awards 1990

  • Film Producer of the Year (Richard D. Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck)

Writers Guild of America Award 1990

  • Best adapted script

literature

  • Alfred Uhry : Miss Daisy and her chauffeur (original title: Driving Miss Daisy ). German by Ursula Lyn . Gerhard Pegler Verlag for theater, television, radio and film, Munich undated [stage manuscript]
  • Alfred Uhry: Driving Miss Daisy . Cornelsen, Berlin 1998 ISBN 3-464-06325-9 (English edition)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of release for Miss Daisy and her chauffeur . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , June 2009 (PDF; test number: 63 641 V / DVD).