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

Featured in At the Movies: Dune/Starman/Mass Appeal/Runaway (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Rock-A-Billy"
Performed by Bellamy Brothers
Courtesy of MCA Recordings, Inc.

User Reviews

still a relevant if not hard to watch film in these downtrodden times.

Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek, are a young Farming family who battles not just the river of the title but also other matters such as the bank threatening to repossess their farm, and Scott Glenn plays a scrupulous land developer who plans to buy the farm to make way for a dam. together the family battles through the hard times in a desperate battle to hold on to their farm. Directed by Mark Rydell who directed such other fine American films 'The Reivers' 'The Rose' 'Harry & Walter go to New York' 'On Golden Pond' 'The River' is still a relevant if not hard to watch film in these downtrodden times. It also represents Mel Gibson at a time he was making quality fare. As usual Vilmos Zsigmond contributes terrific photography.