The Great Santini (1979)
Genre: Drama
Duration: 115 minuten
Alternative titles: The Gift of Fury / The Ace
Country:
United States
Directed by: Lewis John Carlino
Starst: Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner and Michael O'Keefe
IMDb score:
7,2 (7.961)
Releasedate: 26 October 1979
The Great Santini plot
"The bravest thing he would ever do was let his family love him."
The Meechum children and their mother travel from naval post to naval post, following their father, a pilot, through the quiet years before the Vietnam War. When one of the kids makes friends with a black boy, all hell breaks loose in the family. The son must now find a way to reassure his father.
Actors and actresses
Bull Meechum
Lillian Meechum
Ben Meechum
Mary Anne Meechum
Karen Meechum
Matthew Meechum
Toomer Smalls
Arrabella Smalls
Red Petus
Col. Virgil Hedgepath
Reviews & comments
BBarbie
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- 12893 messages
- 7675 votes
Intense family drama about a fighter pilot who terrorizes his wife and children with military discipline. His macho behavior often causes emotions to run high.
Less shocking than I seemed to remember from my first viewing, say forty years ago. Probably because I now knew more or less what to expect. Still a biting film with first-class acting across the board. Perhaps Robert Duvall's best role ever.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
-
- 10202 messages
- 4773 votes
Robert Duvall 3/4.
This is the third film starring Duvall that I am watching following his passing, and it is also one I had never seen before. And yet another family drama, a genre in which he often appeared. This is a strong role for him, and partly autobiographical, based on writer Pat Conroy's own childhood memories and upbringing. Duvall plays a somewhat deranged soldier who brings his Spartan discipline home. His behavior is often on the verge of abuse, but the man also imparts values and, despite everything, is accepted by his wife and children for who he is, although it remained a difficult exercise because, due to his long service in a harsh environment, the man is unable to express his feelings.
The Great Santini does a lot right: the father is not portrayed as a bully or a villain, but as a man who genuinely wants to be an example in his own way. The rest of the cast, and particularly the other children, do not remain anonymous in the background either; the strained bond between the eldest son and Bull Meechum is central, of course, but Persky as the daughter Mary Ann, who tries to elicit some feelings of affection from her father, also adds a touch of freshness. And so, I found this to be a decent film that strikes the right tone in depicting a somewhat unconventional yet close-knit family.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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