Savages (1972 film)

Savages
DVD cover
Directed by	James Ivory
Produced by	Ismail Merchant Joseph J.M. Saleh (executive) Anthony Korner (associate)
Written by	George W. S. Trow Michael O'Donoghue (based upon an idea by James Ivory)
Starring	Lewis J. Stadlen Anne Francine Sam Waterston Susan Blakely Ultra Violet Salome Jens Kathleen Widdoes Thayer David Asha Puthli Martin Kove
Music by	Joe Raposo Bobby Short (theme song)
Cinematography	Walter Lassally
Edited by	Kent McKinney
Distributed by	Angelika Films
Release dates	June 27, 1972 (1972-06-27)
Running time	106 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Savages is a 1972 Merchant Ivory Film directed by James Ivory and screenplay by George W. S. Trow and Michael O'Donoghue, based on an idea by Ivory.

The film concept given to Trow and O'Donoghue was to tell a story that was the reverse of Luis Buñuel's 1962 film The Exterminating Angel, in which guests at an elegant dinner party become bestial. Writing began in late 1968 and continued through 1969. Its first showing came at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1972.

Synopsis

In contrast to Buñuel's story, Savages starts when a tribe of primitive "mudpeople" performing a sacrifice encounter a croquet ball, rolling through their forest. Following it, they find themselves on a vast, deserted Westchester estate in the 1930s.

Entering, they begin to become civilized and assume the stereotypical roles and dress of people at a weekend party. There follows an allegory of upper-class behavior. At last, they begin to devolve toward their original status, and after a battle at croquet, they disappear into the woods.

Susan Blakely, Kathleen Widdoes and Asha Puthli in James Ivory's Savages (1972).

Reception

The film received mixed to negative reviews by the critics. Matt Brunson noted that Savages is an "intriguing short-film idea stretched out to feature length, worth a glance primarily as an artifact of its time."^[1] Variety however, noted that "the playing has flair and grace."^[2]

Release

This film has been released on DVD in 2004 as part of the Merchant-Ivory Collection produced by Criterion.

Sources

Mr. Mike: The Life and Work of Michael O'Donoghue by Dennis Perrin, 1999. ISBN 0-380-72832-X.

References

↑ Brunson, Matt. "View from the Couch". Retrieved 23 June 2013.
↑ "Review: "Savages"". Variety. Retrieved 23 June 2013.

External links

Merchant Ivory Productions

Films

1960s	The Householder (1963) Shakespeare Wallah (1965) The Guru (1969) The Night of Counting the Years (1969)

1970s	Bombay Talkie (1970) Savages (1972) The Wild Party (1975) Autobiography of a Princess (1975) Roseland (1977) Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978) The Five Forty-Eight (1978) The Europeans (1979)

1980s	Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980) Quartet (1981) The Courtesans of Bombay (1983) Heat and Dust (1983) The Bostonians (1984) A Room with a View (1985) Maurice (1987) The Deceivers (1988) The Perfect Murder (1988) Slaves of New York (1989)

1990s	Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990) The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1991) Howards End (1992) The Remains of the Day (1993) In Custody (1994) Feast of July (1995) Jefferson in Paris (1995) The Proprietor (1996) Surviving Picasso (1996) Side Streets (1998) A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1999) Cotton Mary (1999)

2000s	The Golden Bowl (2001) The Mystic Masseur (2002) Le Divorce (2003) Heights (2004) The White Countess (2005) The City of Your Final Destination (2007) Before the Rains (2008)

Collaborators and artists

James Ivory Ismail Merchant Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Madhur Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey Shashi Kapoor Jennifer Kendal Aparna Sen Leela Naidu Tony Pierce-Roberts Richard Robbins Greta Scacchi Helena Bonham Carter Emma Thompson Rupert Graves Hugh Grant James Wilby Simon Callow Anthony Hopkins Glenn Close Uma Thurman Vanessa Redgrave Natasha Richardson Ralph Fiennes

Film portal

Films directed by James Ivory

The Householder (1963)
The Delhi Way (1964)
Shakespeare Wallah (1965)
The Guru (1969)
Bombay Talkie (1970)
Adventures of a Brown Man in Search of Civilization (1972)
Savages (1972)
Autobiography of a Princess (1975)
The Wild Party (1975)
Roseland (1977)
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978)
The Five Forty-Eight (1978)
The Europeans (1979)
Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
Quartet (1981)
Heat and Dust (1983)
The Bostonians (1984)
A Room with a View (1985)
Maurice (1987)
Slaves of New York (1989)
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)
Howards End (1992)
The Remains of the Day (1993)
Jefferson in Paris (1995)
Lumière and Company (1995)
Surviving Picasso (1996)
A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1999)
The Golden Bowl (2001)
Le Divorce (2003)
The White Countess (2005)
The City of Your Final Destination (2007)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, September 27, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.