← Back to Reviews
in
Wise Blood (1979)
Director: John Huston
Writers: Benedict Fitzgerald (screenplay), Flannery O'Connor (novel)
Cast: Brad Dourif, John Huston, Dan Shor, Harry Dean Stanton, Amy Wright
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A young, poor man returns to his family farm in the south, only to discover the family is gone and the house is in ruins. Determined to make something of himself he heads to a nearby town and buys a new suit...which people mistake as a preachers suit. The young man is angry about religion as his father was a 'fire and brimstone' preacher. He tells everyone he's not a preacher, but ends up preaching his own strange brand of religion on the street corner. CR
Review: This is one helluva weird film! It's directed by John Houston and based on a novel by the satirical fiction writer Flannery O'Connor. Made on a shoe string budget. The film feels like it's set in the Depression era, and the characters act like that, only it's a contemporary setting.
Brad Dourif, Harry Dean Stanton as the blind preacher and Amy Wright as his wayward daughter.
Brad Dourif is the real draw here. After his break out role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest where he played a gentle natured mental patient, he went on to do many smaller supporting roles, but this is one of his few starring roles. And he commands the screen with his fiery presences and steely cold eyes.
The story is ecliptic, with a capital E. None of the characters are particular likable...but they are sure colorful! Wise Blood is a film that once seen is not soon forgotten.
Wise Blood (1979)
Director: John Huston
Writers: Benedict Fitzgerald (screenplay), Flannery O'Connor (novel)
Cast: Brad Dourif, John Huston, Dan Shor, Harry Dean Stanton, Amy Wright
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A young, poor man returns to his family farm in the south, only to discover the family is gone and the house is in ruins. Determined to make something of himself he heads to a nearby town and buys a new suit...which people mistake as a preachers suit. The young man is angry about religion as his father was a 'fire and brimstone' preacher. He tells everyone he's not a preacher, but ends up preaching his own strange brand of religion on the street corner. CR
Review: This is one helluva weird film! It's directed by John Houston and based on a novel by the satirical fiction writer Flannery O'Connor. Made on a shoe string budget. The film feels like it's set in the Depression era, and the characters act like that, only it's a contemporary setting.
Brad Dourif, Harry Dean Stanton as the blind preacher and Amy Wright as his wayward daughter.
Brad Dourif is the real draw here. After his break out role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest where he played a gentle natured mental patient, he went on to do many smaller supporting roles, but this is one of his few starring roles. And he commands the screen with his fiery presences and steely cold eyes.
The story is ecliptic, with a capital E. None of the characters are particular likable...but they are sure colorful! Wise Blood is a film that once seen is not soon forgotten.