Theater or T.V.?
I recently saw this film and thought it felt like a T.V. movie. Does any one have any insight into this theory?
sharei just saw this again on PBS last night, after not seeing it for over 20 years on HBO. I think I know what you are talking about. It does have that feel, in some way, that it is a tv movie.
It was filmed in 1979. There were not extensive or elaborate sets. No dramatic shots on location. The soundtrack seemed generic (soundtrack reminded me of a TV western, really. The story, though I really appreciate the writing and the characters, CAN come across like a cross between the Waltons and ROOTS.
Movies look much different now.
Well, it doesn't have anything to do with being filmed in 1979. Theatrical movies from 1979 or older don't automatically look like TV movies. And some of the movie WAS filmed on location. Have you ever seen Rear Window, from 1954? That had the most elaborate, brillliantly executed set maybe any movie's ever had.
TGS was obviously an extremely low-budget movie (just consider the credits sequence, and the lame score that you mentioned). That's why it does look like a TV movie, which takes a good deal away from my own enjoyment of the whole affair.
"This is our hill, and these are our beans!" Lt. Frank Drebin
This movie was release in theatres with no support. Under the name "The Great Santini" with no advertising no one knew what it was about so it failed to find it's audience.
HBO was just getting started and bought this movie cheap. They even changed the name to "The Ace". It was an istant success. The movie was then released into theatres as "The Great Santini" with a better advertising budget.
It went on to gain 2 Academy Award nominations for Robert Duval (Best Actor) and Michael O'Keefe (Best Supporting Actor).
It was a theatrical feature, and it was one of the first films produced by Orion. Except for the "floor show" at the beginning, this film was shot on location, in and around Beaufort, SC in the fall of 1978. Then Orion tested it do death for two years before releasing it, which is why it ended up in Oscar competition with the likes of "Ordinary People" two years later.
The screenplay, which was adapted by director Lewis John Carlino from Pat Conroy's novel, should have been nominated as well.
Another early Orion film was "Heartbeat," about Jack Kerouac & Neal Cassady and which starred Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, and John Heard. It's release wasn't delayed quite as long, but it was just as under-promoted. Orion bought great scripts in the beginning, but then they dropped the ball in the marketing department.