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

Wade In The Watah
Written by Ian Green
Performed by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ian Green
featuring the Soultone Singers
Produced and arranged by Ian Green

User Reviews

Great scenery, fantastic camera work and a family friendly script!

Savannah does attempt to tell the story of the friendship of two men, one returning from overseas to choose a life close to nature and his friend from childhood a freed slave and how a changing climate, culture, and society can make certain types of people and professions obsolete through no fault of their own.

It has an impressive cast with Jim Caviezel as Ward Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Christmas Moultrie, together with Sam Shepard, Hal Holbrook and Jack McBrayer playing less important roles. In the center of all action is the duo of Ward Allen and Christmas Moultrie played by Jim Caviezel and Chiwetel Ejiofor. This important friendship should had have more room, more dialog. The relationship of Ward Allen with Lucy Stubbs played by Jaimie Alexander is more of a fictional drop-in and distracted from the rest of the storyline which could have disclosed more of Ward's intellectual background, the relationship with his father and his overseas upbringing.

Overall, great scenery, fantastic camera work and for those who know the book a very well written family friendly script in the European style of storytelling. Not Hollywood cinema, nothing flashy or fast paced. Enjoy the LowCountry landscape and a great sound track.