The Saint of Fort Washington (1993)

A homeless schizophrenic seeks the help of a streetwise combat veteran as they attempt to overcome cruel life on the streets.

Director:

Tim Hunter

Writer:

Lyle Kessler

Stars:

Danny Glover, Matt Dillon, Rick Aviles

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny Glover	...	Jerry
Matt Dillon	...	Matthew
Rick Aviles	...	Rosario
Nina Siemaszko	...	Tamsen
Ving Rhames	...	Little Leroy
Joe Seneca	...	Spits
Harry Ellington	...	Arthur
Ralph Hughes	...	Jason
Bahni Turpin	...	Gloria
Robert Beatty	...	Ex-Pharmacist (as Robert Beatty Jr.)
Reuben Schafer	...	Greek Man (as Reuben Schaefer)
Louis Williams	...	Ennis
Adam Trese	...	John
Kevin Corrigan	...	Peter
Brian Tarantina	...	Fred

Storyline

Matthew, a young schizophrenic, finds himself out on the street when a slumlord tears down his apartment building. Soon, he finds himself in even more dire straits, when he is threatened by Little Leroy, a thug who is one of the tough denizens of the Fort Washington Shelter for Men. He reaches out to Jerry, a streetwise combat veteran, who takes Matthew under his wing as a son. The relationship between these two men grows as they attempt to conquer the numbing isolation of homelessness.

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Plot Keywords:

homelessness | photograph | camera | loss of friend | death | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Matt Dillon studied schizophrenia for two months to get into character.

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Goofs

Two different people said that Fort Washington Armory was in two different parts of the city. The guard at the family shelter told Matthew, "You're in the wrong place. You got to go downtown to Fort Washington." Later in the movie, at Fort Washington, Little Leroy said to Matthew, "We here at Washington Heights (where Ft. Wash. Armory is located). That's in the northern tip of the island of Manhattan, ..." Downtown is southern Manhattan.

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Quotes

Jerry: Thank you kindly.

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Connections

Referenced in Jersey Girl (2004)

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Soundtracks

METAL DISTRACTION #35
Composed by Larry Seymour
Courtesy of C'mo Music (ASCAP)

User Reviews

So realistic it's scary!

As a former NYPD officer I can tell you this film is so realistic it's scary. the terrifying homeless shelters of NY are one step above Dante's Inferno. Potters field on Hart's island is also portrayed exactly as it is.

This Matt Dillon is some kind of actor. How do actors like this get passed over while morons like Sandler and Stiller are so highly praised? This world is just a little upside down. I have a feeling we wont be seeing many more movies like the saint of fort washington now that shrek 2 has busted all previous box office records. Like I said this world is just a little upside down! Danny Glover is also great in his role. So sad that we can spend 200 billion in Iraq and not provide proper facilities for our own mentally disturbed people.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

A hajléktalanok szentje

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,409, 21 November 1993

Gross USA:

$134,454

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$134,454

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carrie Productions Inc., David V. Picker Productions, Nessa Hyams

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1