Rent Wise Blood (1979)
3.4 of 5 from 99 ratings
1h 41min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Legendary film director John Huston creates one of his most cerebral films that will stay with the viewer for a long time. Set in the American Deep South during the post-war era, 'Wise Blood' stars Brad Dourif as Hazel Motes, an unhinged and aimless war-veteran, who decides to become a Bible-thumping preacher for a quasi-religious cult called 'The Church Without Christ'. Linking up with a fraudulent hustler from hellfire-and-brimstone preaching circuit - who pretends to be blind for the assembled believers - Motes is put under pressure by the fraudster to blind himself for real so that he can truly 'see the light'. A dark satire on religious movements that, beautifully acted by Dourif, Huston and William Hickey. - Actors:
- Brad Dourif, John Huston, Dan Shor, Harry Dean Stanton, Amy Wright, Mary Nell Santacroce, Ned Beatty, William Hickey, J.L. Parker, Marvin Sapp, Richard Earle, Herb Kossover, Betty Lou Groover, John Tyndall, Gillaaron Houck, Philip Mixer, Sharon Johnson, Joe Dorsey, Stratton Leopold, Leonard Holmes
- Directors:
- John Huston
- Producers:
- Kathy Fitzgerald, Michael Fitzgerald
- Writers:
- Flannery O'Connor, Benedict Fitzgerald, Michael Fitzgerald
- Aka:
- John Huston's Wise Blood
- Studio:
- Second Sight Films Ltd.
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Drama
- Collections:
- Instant Expert's Guide to John Huston, The Instant Expert's Guide, Top 10 Films By Year, Top 10 Films of 1979
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- Unknown
- Run Time:
- 106 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- None
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.66:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- Trailers Included: 'Under the Volcano'; 'Dad Savage'; 'Black Orpheus'; 'The Romantic English Woman' and 'The Devil and Daniel Webster'
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Reviews (2) of Wise Blood
One of the best US films of a golden decade! - Wise Blood review by CP Customer
Watching this again after a long gap made me realise what a masterpiece it is.
The Southern Gothic tone, and the sheer weirdness of the central character's anti-religious religiosity, make for a fascinating presentation of Flannery O'Connor's cult fiction. Brad Dourif is one of the few actors who could have pulled off this level of intensity and manic strangeness. It's a shame that he has had so few lead roles in his career.
There is something very contemporary about the way in which the population of the town is drawn towards hucksters like the men played by Harry Dean Stanton and Ned Beatty (both brilliant). It's how Trump started and how he still proceeds.
Unfortunately for his physical and mental health, Hazel Moats is the real deal, not a huckster.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
A Mess With Real Personality - Wise Blood review by griggs
There's a nasty streak of humour running through John Huston's Wise Blood, and it catches you off guard almost immediately.
I spent the first half hour trying to work out what kind of film I was watching — satire, tragedy, or something closer to grotesque comedy. Huston never quite makes up his mind either. The tone lurches between the three without warning. It keeps you slightly off balance, in a good way. There's a bone-dry, faintly cruel comic streak running through it that wouldn't feel out of place in a Coen brothers film, with characters treated more like specimens than people, and Huston clearly enjoying every uncomfortable minute of it.
The trouble is the ending. Huston can't settle on where to land it. He points one way, then doubles back another, and the film never quite finds its note to finish on.
Strange, funny, a bit of a mess — but a mess with real personality.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.