| Conrack | |
|---|---|
 1974 Promotional Poster forConrack | |
| Directed by | Martin Ritt |
| Screenplay by | Harriet Frank Jr. Irving Ravetch |
| Based on | The Water Is Wide byPat Conroy |
| Produced by | Martin Ritt Harriet Frank Jr. |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | John A. Alonzo |
| Edited by | Frank Bracht |
| Music by | John Williams |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.37 million[2] |
| Box office | $2 million(rentals)[3] |
Conrack is a 1974 American drama film based on the 1972 autobiographical bookThe Water Is Wide byPat Conroy, directed byMartin Ritt and starringJon Voight in the title role, alongsidePaul Winfield,Madge Sinclair,Hume Cronyn andAntonio Fargas. The film was released by20th Century Fox on March 15, 1974.
The novel was remade asThe Water Is Wide in 2006, aHallmark Hall of Fame TV movie starringJeff Hephner andAlfre Woodard.
The story follows a young teacher, Pat Conroy, in 1969 assigned to isolated Yamacraw Island (Daufuskie Island) off the coast of South Carolina and populated mostly by poor black families. He finds out that the children as well as the adults have been isolated from the rest of the world and speak a dialect calledGullah, with "Conrack" of the novel's title being the best they can do to pronounce his last name. The school has only two rooms for all grades combined, with the principal teaching grades one through four and Conroy teaching grades five through eight. Conroy discovers that the students aren't taught much and will have little hope of making a life in the larger world.
Conroy tries to teach them about the outside world but comes into conflict both with the principal and Mr. Skeffington, the superintendent. He teaches them how to brush their teeth, whoBabe Ruth is, and has the children listen to music, includingFlight of the Bumblebee andBeethoven's Fifth Symphony. He explains that when Beethoven wrote the Fifth Symphony, he was writing about "what death would sound like". He is astounded they've never even heard of Halloween, and he decides to take them toBeaufort on the mainland to gotrick-or-treating, which the superintendent has forbidden. He also must overcome parental fears of "the river." As a result, he's fired. As he leaves the island for the last time, the children come to see him leave, all of them lined up on a rickety bridge. As he is about to leave by boat, one of the students then begins playing a record, which is the beginning movement ofBeethoven's Fifth Symphony.
This film was shot mostly onSaint Simons Island, Georgia at what was then known as Taylor's Fish Camp and also in nearbyBrunswick, Georgia and used pupils from C.B. Greer Elementary school as the cast of students.[4]
Tommy Tedesco played guitar on the introduction theme.[citation needed]
On a budget of $2.37 million,Conrack grossed $2 million in the United States and Canada.
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 14 reviews, with an average score of 6.1/10.[5]
Nora Sayre ofThe New York Times wrote that "despite Mr. Voight's skill, the teacher's character never jells... Another weakness is the glaze of sentimentality that sugars much of the narrative."[6] The review inVariety stated, "Its computerized warmth may make 'Conrack' seem a bit self-congratulatory at times, but at least its creative participants deserve outsiders' congrats for translating hokum into potentially viable b.o. fodder."[7]Gene Siskel of theChicago Tribune gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and praised it as "an undeniably tender film full of affecting moments, genuine tension, and much good will. It's also one of those rare film commodities: a nice family picture."[8]Charles Champlin of theLos Angeles Times wrote, "Conrack has Voight's commanding characterization as its center, and those kids, and a strong visual sense throughout. And in its warm concern for human values, it is beyond question a welcome alternative to the hard-edge melodramas which have been conspicuous in recent times. The disappointment is that to achieve a sentimental optimism, it is felt necessary to create a world which, however real it looks and sounds, turns out to be make-believe at its center."[9] Gary Arnold ofThe Washington Post called it "an unusually decent and appealing adventure, a commercial entertainment that also reflects the best of human and social intentions. One trusts that it will be a popular film, and it deserves to be."[10] John Raisbeck ofThe Monthly Film Bulletin wrote "With its lingering long shots,Conrack is a constant visual delight; but for all its craftsman-like virtues, it seems a conscious turning aside from the complexities of modern cinema to the simpler alternatives of yesteryear. Indeed, with underprivileged white children instead of black andGreer Garson substituting for Jon Voight, the film might have been made all of thirty years ago."[11]
The film was released onVHS and DVD in 2001.[12][13]Twilight Time released a limited edition (3,000 copies) Blu-ray version of the film in 2014.[14]
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