The River (1984)

Farming family battles severe storms, a bank threatening to reposses their farm, and other hard times in a battle to save and hold on to their farm.

Director:

Mark Rydell

Writers:

Robert Dillon (story), Robert Dillon (screenplay),

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Sissy Spacek, Shane Bailey

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Tom Garvey
Sissy Spacek	...	Mae Garvey
Shane Bailey	...	Lewis Garvey
Becky Jo Lynch	...	Beth Garvey
Scott Glenn	...	Joe Wade
Don Hood	...	Senator Neiswinder
Don Hood	...	Senator Neiswinder
Billy Green Bush	...	Harve Stanley
James Tolkan	...	Howard Simpson
Bob W. Douglas	...	Hal Richardson
Andy Stahl	...	Dave Birkin
Lisa Sloan	...	Judy Birkin
Larry D. Ferrell	...	Rod Tessley
Susie Toomey	...	Sally Tessley
Kelly Toomey	...	Lisa Tessley

Storyline

Farming family battles severe storms, a bank threatening to reposses their farm, and other hard times in a battle to save and hold on to their farm.

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Plot Keywords:

farm | melodrama | husband wife relationship | accident | auction | 

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Taglines:

An epic love story of today

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

A folyó

Filming Locations:

Alabama, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$8,800,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in Gate City, Virginia, and Hawkins County (Church Hill, Surgoinsville and Rogersville) in Northeast Tennessee. Much of the movie was filmed on 440 acres of the Hawkins County land purchased by Universal Studios by the Holston River in Tennessee. It was cleared and turned into working farms in four weeks. The production used a real river regulated for flood scenes with a dam that was slated for repair. The dam was fixed and altered with the help of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mae Garvey: Watch out, Tom! Beth, get in the truck! Tom! Are you hurt?

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Heartbreakers/The Hit/Alamo Bay/A Private Function (1985)

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Soundtracks

"A Little Heaven's Rubbing Off On Me"
Performed by George Strait
Courtesy of MCA Recordings, Inc.

User Reviews

Beautifully photographed, but miscast and poorly-directed...

Mel Gibson is wholly unconvincing as a Southern farmer and family man trying to hold onto his river-ravaged land; even when covered in soot and wearing overalls, everything about the young, wiry Gibson breathes prosperity. Corporate shady Scott Glenn (in a sleepwalking performance) wants Gibson and wife Sissy Spacek off their land in order to build a dam and flood the valley (it'll mean more jobs), but Gibson refuses to sell out. Sub-plot with Mel taking factory work (after crossing a picket line) is presumably meant to give us a more complete portrait of the man, but it just makes the character seem hard-headed. Upon opening with a lovely series of nature shots courtesy cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, director Mark Rydell immediately loses his footing with a sequence of contrived family action in a rainstorm (underlined by an awful John Williams score to heighten the drama, which has no pay-off). It's all downhill from there, with petulant, milky-skinned Gibson failing to match up with homespun Spacek, and two perky kids who keep playing to the camera. "The River" was released the same year as "Places in the Heart" and "Country", and was easily the weakest 'farm movie' in the lot. Glossy, superficial, and dull. *1/2 from ****