Savannah (2013)

Drama about the friendship between an Oxford-educated Southerner and a former black slave in turn-of-the-century Savannah.

Director:

Annette Haywood-Carter

Writers:

Ken Carter, Annette Haywood-Carter

Stars:

Jim Caviezel, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jaimie Alexander

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Caviezel	...	Ward Allen
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Christmas Moultrie
Jaimie Alexander	...	Lucy Stubbs
Bradley Whitford	...	Jack Cay
Sam Shepard	...	Mr. Stubbs
Tracey Walter	...	Mathias
Jack McBrayer	...	Sir Graham
Hal Holbrook	...	Judge Harden
Simone Griffeth	...	Mrs. Stubbs
George Whitford	...	Little Jack Whitford
Doug Nemeth	...	Cowardly Policeman
Billy Hester	...	Roy McClain
Richard Seng	...	Homer Peeples
Solon Carter	...	Scared Paperboy
Daniel Jones	...	Savannah Sheriff

Storyline

SAVANNAH is the true story of Ward Allen, a romantic and bombastic character who rejects his plantation heritage for the freedom of life on a river. Ward navigates the change of early 20th century America on the wrong side of the law and society, his loyal friend, a freed slave named Christmas Moultrie, at his side. Master of Shakespeare, and the shotgun that provides Savannah's markets with fowl, Ward fights for his rights as a hunter. His charisma and eloquent rhetoric win the heart of a society woman who defies her father to marry him. An elderly Moultrie tells the story of life on the river with his friend to a little boy, who passes the legendary Ward Allen down to the next generation.

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Plot Keywords:

shooting lesson | barbershop | dead animal | animal death | hunt | 

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Taglines:

Based on a true story.

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Genres:

Drama | Family | History | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief sexuality.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Savannah River - Freiheit am Fluss

Filming Locations:

Savannah, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,901, 30 August 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$36,746, 22 September 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Unclaimed Freight Productions, Meddin Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Soundelux

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Desoto Hotel mentioned throughout the movie was a real-life, upscale hotel. The hotel was demolished in the 1960s for a new, high-rise Hilton branded hotel which still exists as the Hilton Savannah Desoto.

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Goofs

In the film, Ward Allen died in 1922. He was born in 1856, so he would have been 66 years old, but Jim Caviezel was 44 during filming. Ward Allen actually died in 1931 at the age of 75.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Christmas Moultrie: [hearing a distant gunshot] Boy, that one missed his muster.
Little Jack Whitford: Did he miss?
Christmas Moultrie: Oh, yes sir. Ward Allen, missed his muster.
Little Jack Whitford: Aw, come on, Christmas.
Christmas Moultrie: Uncle John told me the stories.
Little Jack Whitford: Tell me another story, Christmas. The one in the war, nearly killed that Russian.
Christmas Moultrie: Come on now, Jack, I told ya that story a hundred times.

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Soundtracks

Bring Me a Gator
Written by Kevin Rose
Performed by Beverly Aikens, Shayla Loudbolt, Gary Swindell Jr., Roger Moss and Audrey Bryant.
Arranged and Produced by Kevin F. Rose

User Reviews

This film may confuse Non-Southerners, but makes sense to me

The story of Ward Allen is not unknown to hunters. THe relationship he shared with freedman Christmas Moultrie seems to confound and confuse people like Roger Ebert. He cannot see how a White man "of the manor born" could befriend a Black man in those times, and therefore assumes that only Southerners would like this film.

This is my first review on IMDb. I want people to know that this film is far more than worth a watch. The complexities of a new world and a new way of life in post Civil War America, more specifically Savannah, are captured honestly here. THere is no scenery chewing, or unnecessary verbosity in the film. The marrow of the film is the story of friendship, family, loss, and inevitable change. THis film succeeds in making a complicated era of American history a simpler issue, one of laws, man, and the spirit of going against the standard of a mans time and station.

I am very happy that I was able to watch this, and I hope that it gets more respect from humble movie goers like myself who are willing to give it a fair shake, and ignore the Roger Ebert's of the world.