The Southerner
by Jean Renoir
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Betty Field, Beulah Bondi, J. Carrol Naish, Percy Kilbride, Zachary ScottDirector: Jean Renoir
Writer: Jean Renoir
Producer: David L. Loew
Producer: Robert Hakim
Writer: George Sessions Perry
Writer: Hugo Butler
Writer: Nunnally Johnson
Writer: William Faulkner
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-01-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: VCI Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Southerner
Movie Review: A STORY OF AMERICA!
Summary: 5 Stars
Why would someone in 2008 watch a B & W film made in 1945 about a 1930's family who are dirt poor trying start their own farm? First, this is a Jean Renoir film and many think he is the best director ever, certainly in the top five. Second, this is a film most of us can identify with at some level. It's about wanting a piece of the American dream, about starting your own business (farm) and creating something based on your abilities and desires. It's about trying to beat the odds, the odds like nature, no money, opponents and limited resources to make it. It's about having faith in yourself and in a higher power that gives purpose and meaning to what you do. Is there justice in this world for those who work hard and live a moral and upright life? You may or may not think so after watching this film. It's another reminder of what makes this country so great are the opportunities that it gives; though not are all equal, they are there for those with the courage and perseverance to follow a dream. Though the film quality is a little poor and Beulah Bondi as Granny Tucker is a weak link in the movie, it is definitely worth watching this little slice of Americana. www.lusreviews.blogspot.com
Summary of The Southerner
Famed French director Jean Renoir came up with a true slice of Americana in this drama, in which he also helped to write the screenplay, which chronicles a year in the life of a tenant-farmer and his family. Zachary Scott abandoned his usual smooth characterizations to portray the beleaguered man of the land, coping with trying to survive against the problems of farming and a troublesome neighbor. Excellent photography and top performances by all involved make this a special film not to be missed by any classic film buff. Based on George Sessions Perry's novel, Hold Autumn in Your Hand, The Southerner was Renoir's favorite among his American films. The film, though not a huge boxoffice success for United Artists, garnered much critical acclaim and also won the Venice Film Festival's Best Picture Award. Bonus Features: Bonus Two-Reeler Comedy "Baby Daze" with Edgar Kennedy, Scene Selection. Actor Bios. Specs: DVD5; Dolby Digital Mono; 91 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1945.During World War II, Jean Renoir fled Nazi-occupied France for America and tried his hand at making Hollywood films. This period is generally (and unfairly) dismissed as fallow ground in Renoir's career, but even most of his critics agree that The Southerner is not just the best of his five American films, but a fine example of Renoir's humanistic vision. Transplanting the poetic realism of his French masterpieces of the 1930s to the rural American South, Renoir presents a year in the life of a family of migrant workers who decide to follow their dream of farming their own land. Hawk-eyed Zachary Scott gives the performance of his career as the easygoing but determined father who risks everything to give his family something to call their own, with J. Carroll Naish as his bitter, hostile neighbor. The seasonal structure and episodic nature of the film focuses on the hardships the family faces, finding the rhythm of life between setbacks and victories and the soul of his lovingly created characters through their bent but unbowed spirit. Renoir adapted George Perry Sessions's novel Hold Autumn in Your Hand with uncredited help from William Faulkner. This was Renoir's personal favorite of his American films and the only one to enjoy commercial success. --Sean Axmaker
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