Household Saints | |
---|---|
Directed by | Nancy Savoca |
Written by | Nancy Savoca Richard Guay |
Based on | Household Saints by Francine Prose |
Produced by | Peter Newman Richard Guay |
Starring | Tracey Ullman Vincent D'Onofrio Lili Taylor Judith Malina |
Cinematography | Bobby Bukowski |
Edited by | Elizabeth Kling |
Music by | Stephen Endelman |
Production companies | Jones Entertainment Peter Newman Productions |
Distributed by | Fine Line Features |
Release date |
|
Running time | 124 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $712,418 [1] |
Household Saints is a 1993 film starring Tracey Ullman, Vincent D'Onofrio and Lili Taylor. It is based on the novel by Francine Prose and directed by Nancy Savoca. [2] The film explores the lives of three generations of Italian-American women over the course of the latter half of the 20th century. The film's executive producer is Jonathan Demme, a long-time friend of Savoca's, and her first real employer in the world of film. [3] In 2023, the film received a 4K restoration from Milestone Films, who later gave the film a theatrical release.
The film follows the courtship and marriage of Catherine Falconetti to local butcher Joseph Santangelo, as well as Catherine's relationship with her overbearing Old World mother-in-law, Carmela.
The film also focuses on Catherine and Joseph's daughter Teresa, a devout Catholic more similar to her superstitious grandmother than her modernized and secularized parents. As a child and young adult, Teresa puts herself through a series of trials so that she might one day be canonized as a saint. Teresa's teenage fantasy to become a nun is strained after starting a relationship with a marriage-minded young man.
The film explores both family dynamics over the course of time as well as, on a larger level, the relationship between religious faith in miracles and modernity.
Nancy Savoca cast many favorite New York City actors for the film which was shot in DeLaurentis/Carolco (now EUE Screen Gems) Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina. [4] The film reunited Lili Taylor with Savoca, with whom she'd previously worked on Dogfight, and Vincent D'Onofrio, with whom she'd appeared in 1988's Mystic Pizza.
Tracey Ullman and Vincent D'Onofrio, as Lili Taylor's screen parents, are only eight years older than she is.
Although the film was met with critical success on release, it has only been released on VHS and has yet to be released on DVD. [5]
In 2023, it was announced that Milestone Films had acquired distribution rights to the film, and that a new restoration would have its world premiere at that year's New York Film Festival, preceded by Savoca's 1982 student short Renata. [6] The 4K restoration began a limited theatrical run in January 2024. [7] [8] [9]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Household Saints has an approval rating of 68% based on 19 reviews. [10] Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and called it a "warm-hearted jewel of a movie" with many scenes that rang true to his Catholic upbringing. [11] He added Savoca "wants to show how, in only three generations, an Italian family that is comfortable with the mystical turns into an American family that is threatened by it. And she wants to explore the possibilities of sainthood in these secular days. That she sees great humor in her subject is perfect; it is always easier to find the truth through laughter." [11]
The film made The New York Times' Best Films of 1993 list. [12] It was nominated for a Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay by Nancy Savoca and Richard Guay. Lili Taylor won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female. [13]
Tracey Ullman is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows A Kick Up the Eighties and Three of a Kind. After a brief singing career, she appeared as Candice Valentine in Girls on Top with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.
Vincent Philip D'Onofrio is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
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Mystic Pizza is a 1988 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Donald Petrie in his feature directorial debut, and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts and Lili Taylor. It follows the coming-of-age of three young Portuguese-American friends who work at a pizza parlor in a seaside Connecticut town. The film received positive reviews, with Roger Ebert declaring at the time, "I have a feeling that Mystic Pizza may someday become known for the movie stars it showcased back before they became stars. All of the young actors in this movie have genuine gifts." It marked Matt Damon's film debut.
Lili Anne Taylor is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films Mystic Pizza (1988) and Say Anything... (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s independent cinema through starring roles in Bright Angel (1990), Dogfight (1991), Household Saints, Short Cuts, The Addiction (1995), I Shot Andy Warhol, Girls Town, Pecker (1998), and A Slipping-Down Life (1999). Taylor is the recipient of four Independent Spirit nominations, winning once in the category of Best Supporting Female. Her other accolades include one Golden Globe Award and nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards.
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Splitting Heirs is a 1993 British black comedy film directed by Robert Young and starring Eric Idle, Rick Moranis, Barbara Hershey, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cleese and Sadie Frost. It features music by Michael Kamen. It was entered in the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.
Happy Accidents is a 2000 American science fiction romantic comedy film starring Marisa Tomei and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film follows Ruby Weaver, a New York City woman with a string of failed relationships, and Sam Deed, a man who claims to be from the year 2470. The film was shot almost entirely in Brooklyn, New York.
Thumbsucker is a 2005 American independent comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Mills in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Lou Taylor Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kelli Garner, Benjamin Bratt, Vince Vaughn, and Keanu Reeves. The plot focuses on Justin Cobb, a teenager in suburban Oregon, as he copes with his thumb-sucking problem, romance, and his diagnosis with ADHD and subsequent experience using Ritalin. The screenplay was adapted from the 1999 Walter Kirn novel of the same name. Swinton also served as an executive producer.
True Love is a 1989 American comedy film directed by Nancy Savoca and starring Annabella Sciorra and Ron Eldard. An unflinching look at the realities of love and marriage which offers no "happily ever after" ending, it won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1989 Sundance Film Festival.
Nancy Laura Savoca is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter.
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The Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards—first presented in 1977 by the now–Los Angeles chapter of the Women in Film organization—were presented to honor women in communications and media. The awards include the Crystal Award, the Lucy Award, the Dorothy Arzner Directors Award, the MaxMara Face of the Future Award, and the Kodak Vision Award.
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Tracey Ullman is a British-American actress who has had an extensive career in television, film, and theatre. She has worked in both comedy and drama. Her sketch comedy television programmes have won her numerous awards in both the United States and the United Kingdom. She began her stage career in the mid-1970s starring in various West End musicals and dramas. Her first television appearance came in 1980 playing Lisa Mackenzie in the British drama series Mackenzie. In 1981, the BBC cast her in two ensemble comedy sketch shows; A Kick Up the Eighties, and Three of a Kind. In 1983, Ullman launched a brief but successful pop singing career, garnering several chart hits and making several appearances on Top of the Pops. In 1985, she was cast in the ITV sitcom Girls on Top alongside Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, and Ruby Wax.