The Newton Boys (1998)

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers (WGA):

Claude Stanush (book)
Richard Linklater (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | History | Western

Tagline:

History is about to catch up with America's most successful bank robbers.

Plot:

Four Newton brothers are a poor farmer family in the 1920s. The oldest of them, Willis, one day realizes...

Plot Keywords:

Train | 1920s | Bank Robber | Courtroom | Ragtime

Cast

Matthew McConaughey	...	Willis Newton
Skeet Ulrich	...	Joe Newton
Ethan Hawke	...	Jess Newton
Gail Cronauer	...	Ma Newton
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Dock Newton
Jena Karam	...	Orphan Singer
Julianna Margulies	...	Louise Brown
Casey McAuliffe	...	Orphan Singer
Dwight Yoakam	...	Brentwood Glasscock
Charles Gunning	...	Slim
Regina Mae Matthews	...	Orphan Fiddler
Becket Gremmels	...	Lewis
Lew Temple	...	Waiter
Glynn Williams	...	Farmer Williams
Charles 'Chip' Bray	...	Bank Teller

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence including bloody aftermath of a shooting, and for language.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 (video premiere) | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

While on location for this project, Dwight Yoakam wrote the songs he used for the album "The Long Way Home".

Goofs:

Factual errors: Brentwood and Joe watch Erich von Stroheim's Greed (1924), in Canada, during what appears to be summer. Greed was not released until December of that year, and didn't see any wide release until late January of 1925. It's also doubtful that it would have made it to Canada any time before then.

Quotes:

Jess Newton: This is a hell of a way to make a livin' ain't it?

Movie Connections:

Features "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962)

Soundtrack:

Barrelhouse Drag

A fine film, but not Linklater's best.

This is one of those movies that the first time I watched it, I was kinda like "ah, it's ok" but then improved drastically with a second viewing. (Dirty Dancing is another one I can think of) Linklater is quite possibly my favorite director, and "Before Sunrise" and "Dazed and Confused" are two of my favorite movies of all time. I really enjoyed this movie the 2nd time I watched it, but it still isn't in the realm of "Before" or "Dazed". The 4 male leads are charming, but I was most affected by Hawke (whose character should have had more screen time) and Ulrich (I was surprised how well he acted in this movie, and also how young he appeared). I liked McConaughey in this movie, but felt his character monopolized the movie, and the time should have been spent more equally among the brothers. The movie is good if you like the 4 male leads, and the best part of the movie to me was the credits, which had clips of interviews of 2 of the real Newton Boys. :)