A sobering mid-life crisis fuels dissatisfaction in Philip Dimitrius, to the extent where the successful architect trades his marriage and career in for a spiritual exile on a remote Greek island where he hopes to conjure meaning into his life - trying the patience of his new girlfriend and angst-ridden teenage daughter.Written by
David Parker
In 1954, John Cassavetes went into the health food restaurant that Paul Mazursky was working in at the time, and told him that they were looking for juvenile delinquent types for the feature film Blackboard Jungle (1955) and Mazursky got cast as Emmanuel Stoker, his second as an actor in a cinema movie. Twenty-seven years later, Mazursky returned the favor and cast Cassavetes in the lead role in this movie. See more »
Goofs
When a helicopter lands in Manhattan, in the last scene of the film, Philip steps out with a haircut in continuity with the early part of the story, set "18 months ago". Since the time on the island takes place 18 months later, over a 24 hour cycle, his hair should be short and gray when he lands, instead of longer and darker. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Phillip Dimitrius:
Son-of-a-bitch! What I wouldn't give for a different nightmare.
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I can't say what knowing the source for this movie adds, but this is one of my favorite films from Paul Mazursky (director and co-author). This is a retake on the Shakespeare "comedy", but utterly removed from the stage. Without much text, Mazursky and star Cassavettes make visual a mid-life crisis of passion and purpose. Desperate to re-center himself, Cassavettes retreats to a remote Greek island--where the locals and the island itself weave a little magic. With Raul Julia especially, Susan Sarandon and Molly Ringwald, this is an adult fantasy that is emotionally satisfying and visually gorgeous. And funny. It wasn't a big box office hit, but whenever it does come to DVD, it will sell.
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I can't say what knowing the source for this movie adds, but this is one of my favorite films from Paul Mazursky (director and co-author). This is a retake on the Shakespeare "comedy", but utterly removed from the stage. Without much text, Mazursky and star Cassavettes make visual a mid-life crisis of passion and purpose. Desperate to re-center himself, Cassavettes retreats to a remote Greek island--where the locals and the island itself weave a little magic. With Raul Julia especially, Susan Sarandon and Molly Ringwald, this is an adult fantasy that is emotionally satisfying and visually gorgeous. And funny. It wasn't a big box office hit, but whenever it does come to DVD, it will sell.