Wise Blood
1979, PG, 108 min. Directed by John Huston. Starring Brad Dourif, Daniel Shor, Amy Wright, Harry Dean Stanton, Ned Beatty, Mary Nell Santacroce, William Hickey.
REVIEWED By Marjorie Baumgarten, Wed., Aug. 9, 2000
One of the last films in John Huston’s long career (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle, Moby Dick, Fat City, Prizzi’s Honor) is this exceptional interpretation of Flannery O’Connor’s eccentric Southern tale of fringe fanatics. The film is a haunting meld of O’Connor’s Gothic approach to human relationships and Huston’s pessimistic view of human endeavors. Brad Dourif plays a WWII vet who returns home and becomes a preacher in his self-styled Church Without Christ. Into his life comes a blind preacher (Stanton) and his childlike daughter (Wright), as well as a peculiar landlady (Santacroce). Huston (billed as Jhon Huston) plays Dourif’s preacher grandfather, who appears in flashbacks. Disturbing and grim in its portraits, Wise Blood is nevertheless marvelous storytelling and its performances are virtually divine.
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
Marc Savlov, June 28, 2009
Marjorie Baumgarten, May 23, 2001
Marjorie Baumgarten, May 18, 2000
Wise Blood, John Huston, Brad Dourif, Daniel Shor, Amy Wright, Harry Dean Stanton, Ned Beatty, Mary Nell Santacroce, William Hickey
