A Perfect World (1993)

Kidnapped boy Phillip Perry (T.J. Lowther) strikes up a friendship with his captor Butch Haynes (Kevin Costner): an escaped convict on the run from the law, while the search is headed up by honorable Texas Ranger "Red" Garrett (Clint Eastwood).

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writer:

John Lee Hancock

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Laura Dern

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Costner	...	Robert 'Butch' Haynes
Clint Eastwood	...	Chief Red Garnett
Laura Dern	...	Sally Gerber
T.J. Lowther	...	Phillip Perry
Keith Szarabajka	...	Terry James Pugh
Leo Burmester	...	Assistant Chief Tom Adler
Paul Hewitt	...	Dick Suttle
Bradley Whitford	...	Agent Bobby Lee
Ray McKinnon	...	Bradley
Jennifer Griffin	...	Gladys Perry
Leslie Flowers	...	Naomi Perry
Belinda Flowers	...	Ruth Perry
Darryl Cox	...	Mr. Hughes
Jay Whiteaker	...	Billy Grieve - Superman
Taylor Suzanna McBride	...	Tinkerbell

Storyline

After escaping from a Huntsville prison, convict Robert "Butch" Haynes (Kevin Costner) and his partner Terry Pugh (Keith Szarabajka) kidnap a young boy, Phillip Perry (T.J. Lowther), and flee across Texas. As they travel together, Butch and Phillip discover common bonds and suffer the abuses of the outside "Perfect World". In pursuit is Texas Ranger "Red" Garnett (Clint Eastwood) and Criminologist Sally Gerber (Laura Dern).

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Plot Keywords:

escaped convict | anti hero | police officer | criminal | police | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

All three of the leads have appeared in a film with Dennis Hopper. Clint Eastwood appeared with him in Hang 'em High, Kevin Costner in Waterworld, and Laura Dern in Blue Velvet. Hopper also played the main antagonist in the latter two films.

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Goofs

When Butch is fleeing the police after leaving the store and smashing the police cars, they chase his car into an alley behind some buildings. He cuts the wheel left and gets into a wild skid, and the hubcap can be seen flying off the passenger side front wheel and rolling away. But in the next scene, and the whole rest of the movie, the hubcap is back on the wheel.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Butch lies in a grassy meadow, next to a Casper the Friendly Ghost mask; he opens his eyes as money begins to flutter over him, and looks up at the overhead sun, which is then blocked out by a helicopter, and Butch closes his eyes again; CUT TO: an early Halloween evening as costumed children run about the street; inside the Perry home, the three children sit around the kitchen table]
Naomi Perry: If I was going, I'd go as a, um...
Ruth Perry: A princess!
Naomi Perry: A - yes! Judy Baumer's going as a twirler.
Ruth Perry: But she's ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: 3,000 Miles to Graceland/The Caveman's Valentine/Monkeybone/The Widow of Saint-Pierre (2001)

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Soundtracks

Please Help Me, I'm Falling (in Love with You)
Written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair
Performed by Hank Locklin
Courtesy of the RCA Records Label of BMG Music

User Reviews

ONE OF THE BEST IN 1993

And certainly one of the most underrated pictures on IMDB. Why? Beats me, since this is one of the best performances from Costner & Eastwood. Not to mention the others.

Maybe it's the movie a little bit slow at start, but soon we get too see a strong character development, what leads us to the grand finale, where we cheer for the outlaw and his little "partner" (also very good performance by T.J. Lowther). The ending is undoubtedly one of the most touching in the history of cinema.

All in all, Costner did great both as director and actor and he had a winning hand picking up co-actors and screen & music writers. Plus, he made this movie in the nineties era, one of the best, if not the best for Hollywood movies.

That's for it's just pure classic. Just like the Texas landscape where it was taken.

9 out of 10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Perfect World

Filming Locations:

Steiner Ranch - 896 Sayers Road, Bastrop, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,075,582, 28 November 1993

Gross USA:

$31,130,999

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$135,130,999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Malpaso Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min 125 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1