Continental Divide (1981)

Director:

Michael Apted

Writer:

Lawrence Kasdan (written by)

Release Date:

18 September 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

When they met they heard bells. And that was just round one.

Plot:

A hard-nosed Chicago journalist has an unlikely love affair with an eagle researcher.

Plot Keywords:

Eagle | Love | Reporter | Love Affair | Newspaper Columnist

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

John Belushi	...	Ernie Souchak
Blair Brown	...	Nell Porter
Allen Garfield	...	Howard McDermott (as Allen Goorwitz)
Carlin Glynn	...	Sylvia
Tony Ganios	...	Max Bernbaum
Val Avery	...	Yablonowitz
Liam Russell	...	Deke Lewis
Everett Smith	...	Fiddle
Bill Henderson	...	Train Conductor
Bruce Jarchow	...	Hellinger
Eddie Schwartz	...	Jimmy
Harold Holmes	...	Mr. Feeney
Elizabeth Young	...	Mrs. Feeney
Ron Dean	...	Plesko
Frankie Hill	...	Agatha

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:12 | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1986) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Cedar Falls, Washington, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

John Belushi's character "Ernie Souchak" is loosely based on popular, now deceased Chicago columnist Mike Royko, whose writings on political corruption in the Windy City, first for the Chicago Daily News, briefly for the Chicago Sun-Times and then to the end of his life for the Chicago Tribune, were legendary.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Souchak runs outside of the hotel to get a cab to Union Station, you can clearly see the lighting electrical cables running along the curb.

Quotes:

Ernie Souchak: But why ornithology?
Nell Porter: I like the uniform.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Theme from Continental Divide (Never Say Goodbye)

It ain't "Bluto", "Jake", or "SNL"!

Continental Divide is by far John Belushi's greatest performance. Most people are quick to disagree, usually for one reason, and that is because they didn't find it believable. His audience was so accustomed to his characters, 'Bluto' from Animal House and 'Jake' from The Blues Brothers on the big screen and his usually wild and loud skits on SNL that they couldn't accept him as playing the lead in a romantic comedy. They couldn't and wouldn't accept this new role for him. For Belushi, it was his chance to break out of his stereotype and tackle a role that he felt would prove that he was more than just a skit on SNL. In my opinion, he did just that. Although this is not one of the greatest movies ever made, it certainly isn't as bad as some have claimed it to be. There are some dull moments, but for the most part Belushi comes off as a very likable and convincible guy. Belushi fans waited impatiently for him to get off a good one-liner or to blow mashed potatoes all over the place, but when that never happens they write it off as a bad movie and an even worse performance by John. I like to point this out: Let's pretend that this is Belushi's first movie, forget Bluto, Jake Blues or any character he ever did on SNL. With all of that in mind, watch the movie. John will surprise you by how well he plays his character. If this was in fact, the first movie Belushi ever did, it would of gotten way better reviews and press, and would have been more accepted by his audience, since they wouldn't have been expecting him to pull a Bluto stunt or break out into somersaults a la Jake Blues. The only thing that disturbs me in this movie is that his character makes several remarks about dying very soon. In 1981, it probably wasn't even given a second thought, but, unfortunately as we all know now, Belushi died very soon after this movie was released. Had John not died so soon and so young I think he would still be making movies today, unlike so many of his other SNL co-stars who seemed to have faded away into the woodwork. To make a long story short… Forget about Bluto, Jake and SNL and just watch the movie, you should really enjoy it.