At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)

Director:

Hector Babenco

Writers:

Hector Babenco (writer)
Jean-Claude Carrière (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

6 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

An adventure beyond the limits of civilization, faith and passion.

Plot:

Martin and Hazel Quarrier are small-town fundamentalist missionaries sent to the jungles of South America to convert the Indians...

Plot Keywords:

Missionary | Tribe | Civilization | Amazon | Husband Wife Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

Tom Berenger	...	Lewis Moon
John Lithgow	...	Leslie Huben
Daryl Hannah	...	Andy Huben
Aidan Quinn	...	Martin Quarrier
Tom Waits	...	Wolf
Kathy Bates	...	Hazel Quarrier
Stênio Garcia	...	Boronai
Nelson Xavier	...	Father Xantes
José Dumont	...	Commandante Guzman
Niilo Kivirinta	...	Billy Quarrier
S. Yriwana Karaja	...	Aeore
Jose Renato Lana	...	Uyuyu
Ruy Polanah	...	Kori
Carlos Xavante	...	Tukanu
Ione Machado	...	Pindi
Edwirges Ribeiro	...	Taweeda
Mutah Pataxo	...	Mutu
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shannon O'Hurley	...	Song Performer

Directed by
Hector Babenco

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Hector Babenco		writer
Jean-Claude Carrière		writer
Peter Matthiessen		novel

Produced by
David Nichols	....	executive producer
Paul Zaentz	....	associate producer
Saul Zaentz	....	producer

Original Music by
Zbigniew Preisner

Cinematography by
Lauro Escorel

Film Editing by
William M. Anderson
Armen Minasian

Production Design by
Clovis Bueno

Costume Design by
Aggie Guerard Rodgers
Rita Murtinho

Makeup Department
Anna Van Steen	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Andrez Castilho	....	assistant production manager
Flavio Chaves	....	unit production manager
Marcelo Torres	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vicente Amorim	....	first assistant director
Philip A. Patterson	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Felipe Tassara	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Mark Berger	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Todd Boekelheide	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ismael Cordeiro	....	sound assistant
Lee Cruikshank	....	machine room operator
Francesca Dodd	....	dialogue editor
Tommy Goodwin	....	adr mixer
Pat Jackson	....	sound effects editor
Ann Kroeber	....	sound editor
Mark Levinson	....	adr supervisor
Dennis Maitland II	....	boom operator
Barbara McBane	....	dialogue editor
Christopher Newman	....	production sound mixer
David Parker	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Richard Quinn	....	assistant adr editor
Philip Rogers	....	sound recordist
David Sutton	....	boom operator
Eric Thompson	....	foley mixer
Jerome R. Vitucci	....	boom operator

Camera and Electrical Department
Phil Bray	....	still photographer
Kate Dennis	....	clapper loader
Stan McClain	....	director of photography: aerial unit
Edgar Moura	....	director of photography: additional action unit
David Norris	....	camera technician: Wescam camera
Michael Slovis	....	gaffer: USA
Paulo Souza	....	gaffer

Editorial Department
Ruth Hasty	....	first assistant editor
Michael Kelly	....	post-production

Music Department
Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia w Katowicach	....	orchestra
Robert Randles	....	composer: additional music
Robert Randles	....	soundtrack album producer
Kevin Rose-Williams	....	assistant music editor
Ewa Sztompke	....	music editor
Antoni Wit	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Mónica Lima	....	transportation coordinator
Marcelo Torres	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Valeria Costa Amorim	....	coordinator
Judi Bunn	....	production coordinator
Alessandra Cavalcanti	....	stand-in: Daryl Hannah
Luis Claudio	....	stand-in: John Lithgow
Annette Haywood-Carter	....	script supervisor
Mónica Lima	....	production secretary
Juliet Mason	....	production accountant
Estanislau Picanco	....	stand-in: Aidan Quinn
Ary Pini	....	production assistant
Margaret Relkalefsky	....	stand-in: Kathy Bates
Burton Sharp	....	adr group coordinator
Ulysses Silva	....	stand-in: Tom Berenger
Barros Tavares	....	stand-in: Tom Waits
Joe Tysl	....	post-production engineering

Distributors

• United International Pictures (UIP) (1992) (France) (theatrical)
• Aquarius TV (2005) (Greece) (TV)
• Transmundo Films (Argentina)
• Transmundo Home Video (THV) (Argentina) (video)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (Spain)
• Universal Pictures

Other Companies

• Otto Nemenz International  camera equipment provided by
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound re-recording

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sensuality.

Runtime:

189 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:AL | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Belém, Pará, Brazil

Trivia:

Producer Saul Zaentz first tried to make this film in 1965, only to find that MGM owned the rights. He kept trying to buy them every time there was an administrative change at MGM up until 1989 when new studio heads Jay Kanter and Alan Ladd Jr decided that MGM would not be making the film. Zaentz still had to pay $1.4 million for the rights.

Quotes:

Leslie Huben: Moon, you're under the influence of a dangerous drug, we need to know where you are.
Lewis Moon: I'm at play... in the fields of the Lord. At play... in the fields... of the Lord...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 69th Annual Academy Awards (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Just an Echo in the Valley

Quality cast (and performance), convincing storytelling

I fell into this movie, broadcast by Belgian 2, in the scene where the evangelists travel up the river. The cast immediately caught the attention: what are all these actors, who usually don't play adventure type characters, doing in the Amazon?! Then Berenger is shown in a kind of nudity I thought US/Hollywood culture forbade. This absence of hypocrisy combined with quality actors made me sit straight. I had already missed a lot, but there was plenty of great and convincing story telling left. People struggle, try over and over to keep on going when things go wrong. Cultures try to interact but fail in different ways. Several of the main characters die of unexpected but reasonable events. And everything is so well set, framed and timed that it keeps watchable. The scene where Bates, dressed as a native exorcist, dances on her grief over a horrible loss was beautiful. There's MAYBE one scene just a bit artificial, where Hannah has pulled up a leg to hide some of her nudity for The Camera: it contrasts with her subsequent confrontation with Moon where she doesn't show any embarrassment.

The supporting acting by natives (mostly people who had only just adapted 'civilization' and who could still remember village life) is surprisingly good. The native language that was created sounds really well, not like any language I've ever heard, and it is spoken consistently as far as I can hear. The final shot is impressive, and the accompanying music sublimely subtle. I really must see the first 30 minutes some time!