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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
John Gregory Dunne (novel)
John Gregory Dunne (screenplay) ...
more
Release Date:
2 October 1981 (Finland) more
Plot:
De Niro (a Catholic Priest) and Duvall (a Homicide Detective) play brothers drawn together after many years apart... more | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Interview: Joan Didion on "The Panic in Needle Park"
(From IFC. 28 January 2009, 7:20 AM, PST)
Ann Peacock to adapt Grisham novel “The Partner”
(From screeninglog. 30 September 2008, 4:41 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
superb more (42 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Robert De Niro | ... | Father Des Spellacy (as Robert DeNiro) | |
| Robert Duvall | ... | Det. Tom Spellacy | |
| Charles Durning | ... | Jack Amsterdam | |
| Kenneth McMillan | ... | Frank Crotty | |
| Ed Flanders | ... | Dan T. Campion | |
| Cyril Cusack | ... | Cardinal Danaher | |
| Burgess Meredith | ... | Msgr. Seamus Fargo | |
| Rose Gregorio | ... | Brenda Samuels | |
| Dan Hedaya | ... | Howard Terkel | |
| Gwen Van Dam | ... | Mrs. Fazenda | |
| Thomas Hill | ... | Mr. Fazenda (as Tom Hill) | |
| Jeanette Nolan | ... | Mrs. Spellacy | |
| Jorge Cervera Jr. | ... | Eduardo Duarte | |
| Susan Myers | ... | Bride | |
| Louisa Moritz | ... | Whore |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
108 min | Spain:110 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Singapore:M18 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
This was the first film that Robert De Niro did after Raging Bull (1980). He kept some of the weight that he gained for Raging Bull because he felt that it better fit the character. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: At the beginning, the deceased man lying in the bed can be seen in several shots breathing. more
Quotes:
Tom Spellacy:
I want you to get me a list of all people with the same M.O.
cop on the phone:
That's gonna take awhile, sergeant.
Tom Spellacy:
She was cut in two. Do you think it's an epidemic, like the flu?
more
Movie Connections:
Version of Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Memories of You more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (42 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for True Confessions (1981)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Uneven movie | hannahp1 |
| John Belushi | Alfriend |
| true confession a good movie? | kathy2 |
| What did he say? | muvphreek |
| Dates | terry-coleman |
| Song | mdownting |
Recommendations
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| Monsignor | Der Name der Rose | Breakfast on Pluto | Communion | Dead Again |
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Crime section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |

I had seen this excellent film when it was first released over 20 years ago. I had forgotten about it completely and came across it on the mystery channel recently. When it first came out I recall that no less a personage than William F. Buckley - not normally in the film reviewing business - raved about it.
Having just seen it again, I am astonished at what a superb film this is, and that I could have forgotten it. Consider the credits - Joan Didion as writer, and Robert Duvall, Robert deNiro, Charles Durning and and Burgess Meredith.
Those expecting simply a crime story will be disappointed, for the horrific murder that is the centerpiece of the movie is nothing more than, in Hitchcock's term, a 'McGuffin' on which to hang a richly human tale of corruption, guilt, brotherly conflict and devotion, and redemption. The portrayal of the necessary compromises that even good institutions - e.g. the church - must make to exist and operate in the world is as good a portrayal of the essential sinfulness of the human condition as any. In fact I feel that it is impossible for anyone without at least some semblance of religious sensibility to appreciate the true character of this movie.
The period setting and flavor is excellent and the production values are superb. Contrary to viewers who were bored I could not tear myself away from the screen.
This one is truly an overlooked and forgotten - dare I use an overworked term? - masterpiece.