Wise Blood (1979)

A Southerner--young, poor, ambitious but uneducated--determines to become something in the world. He decides that the best way to do that is to become a preacher and start up his own church.

Director:

John Huston (as Jhon Huston)

Writers:

Flannery O'Connor (novel), Benedict Fitzgerald (screenplay)

Stars:

Brad Dourif, John Huston, Dan Shor

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Dourif	...	Hazel Motes
John Huston	...	Grandfather (as Jhon Huston)
Dan Shor	...	Enoch Emory
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Asa Hawks
Amy Wright	...	Sabbath Lily
Mary Nell Santacroce	...	Landlady
Ned Beatty	...	Hoover Shoates
William Hickey	...	Preacher
J.L. Parker	...	Karl
Marvin Sapp	...	Raymond
Richard Earle	...	Jakob Winslow
Herb Kossover	...	Jacob Wood
Betty Lou Groover	...	Leora Watts
John Tyndall	...	Loki Martinson
Gillaaron Houck	...	Stranger #1

Storyline

US Army war veteran Hazel Motes may not be a believing Christian, somehow observations like the state of a run-down country church, meeting the ridiculous frauds on the streets and memories inspire him to take up, after initially fierce refusal, the part of a traveling preacher when a cab driver insists he looks like one in his new hat. He starts his own new Church of Truth, without the crucified Jesus, his first disciple being an 18-year old simpleton with a 'prophetic gift'...

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Plot Keywords:

church | preacher | disciple | gorilla suit | southern literature | 

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Taglines:

An American Masterpiece!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Huston's Wise Blood

Filming Locations:

Confederate Monument, Cotton Ave and 2nd Street, Macon, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anthea Film,Ithaca

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Fitzgerald approached John Huston to find out if he was willing to direct an adaptation of Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood. Huston agreed if Fitzgerald could get the money together. He did, and they shot it quickly, using no big name stars on a minimal budget.

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Goofs

Sabbath's bra strap goes from down to up between shots.

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Quotes

Hazel: 'Twas like where you're from weren't never there. Where you're going doesn't matter. And where you are ain't no good unless you can get away from it!

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Crazy Credits

Director John Huston is credited in all the titles as "Jhon Huston". Producer Michael Fitzgerald later explained that, wanting to have a child-like look to the credits, they had an actual child write the names. The child misspelled Huston's first name, but they liked it and kept it, as a metaphor for the artificial, off-kilter tone of the story.

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Connections

Referenced in Notes from Under the Volcano (1984)

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Soundtracks

Simple Gifts
(uncredited)
Shaker hymn written & composed by Joseph Brackett

User Reviews

Soak up the atmosphere

A hefty percentage of the comments on "Wise Blood" dwell on its relationship to the novel from which it was drawn -- pro and con. Brilliant faithful adaptation says one moviegoer. Trashy sacrilege screams another. Those of us who haven't read the book are stuck with the movie which balances superb atmosphere with strange storytelling. Let's start on the plus side. John Huston and his crew have caught not only the look but the feel, almost the smell, of a midsize southern town in Summer. The weathered frame houses, the sagging streets, the one-screen cinema, the tired used car lot with its rusty Ford Fairlanes, they form a richly authentic backdrop for the action. That's where "Wise Blood" gets into trouble. Who is Hazel,played by Brad Dourif, what war did he emerge from, why does he want to be a preacher and most of all, why does he suffer psychotic temper tantrums? You'll have to figure that out for yourself -- along with why a would-be acolyte steals an embalmed monkey for him and why the nymphet daughter of a "blind" evangelist is smitten with him, down to her threadbare stockings. Sure, there are allegorical references galore throughout the film. The phoniness of Gonga, the gorilla (a bruiser in an ape suit) matched against the phoniness of street corner preachers. But in the end, maybe you'll say to yourself (but never breathe a word to more ephemeral friends)I just wish the darned thing made more sense.