Nice write-up on "Fox" and Farnsworth both. This was one of my favorite films of all time, not just in the western mode. I have ranked it all the way up at #3 in this poll.
There simply were no weaknesses in this picture: writing, directing, actors, story, cinematography, settings, and especially its phenomenal music-- mostly by The Chieftans, the Irish traditional music group. If one can't get excited by that music, then excitement is probably not possible for that individual.
When I saw this movie in the theater I felt its allure in a deep and ancestral way. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and was profoundly impressed at its conclusion. It was the role of a lifetime for Richard Farnsworth, and no one could have played it anywhere close to his depth. Such class, style, finesse, and nuance!
I'd heard that it won the Oscar for best foreign film that year, but they didn't have that category then. It did win multiple awards internationally.
There simply were no weaknesses in this picture: writing, directing, actors, story, cinematography, settings, and especially its phenomenal music-- mostly by The Chieftans, the Irish traditional music group. If one can't get excited by that music, then excitement is probably not possible for that individual.
When I saw this movie in the theater I felt its allure in a deep and ancestral way. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and was profoundly impressed at its conclusion. It was the role of a lifetime for Richard Farnsworth, and no one could have played it anywhere close to his depth. Such class, style, finesse, and nuance!
I'd heard that it won the Oscar for best foreign film that year, but they didn't have that category then. It did win multiple awards internationally.
As for Oscars, the Best Foreign Language Film has been a competitive Academy Award since 1956 (changed to Best International Feature Film this year). Seeing that The Grey Fox is in English it wasn't eligible. Denys Arcand's three features The Decline of the Western Empire (1986), Jesus of Montreal (1989), and The Barbarian Invasions (2003) were the first Canadian nominees for that Oscar and to date Barbarian Invasions is the only Canuck flick to win. Four others have been nominated since, including Denis Villeneuve's Incendies.
The Grey Fox was nominated for two Golden Globes: Best Actor Drama for Farnsworth (Robert Duvall won for Tender Mercies as he would win the Oscar, too) and Best Foreign Film. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association added the language component in 1987. Bergman's Fanny & Alexander won the Globe and the Oscar.
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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra