Misunderstood (1984 film)

Last updated
Misunderstood
Misunderstood poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jerry Schatzberg
Written by Barra Grant
Based onMisunderstood
by Florence Montgomery
Produced byTarak Ben Amar
Starring
Cinematography Pasqualino De Santis
Edited byMarc Laub
Music by Michael Hoppé
Production
company
Distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
Release date
  • March 30, 1984 (1984-03-30)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million
Box office$1,525,532

Misunderstood is a 1984 American drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg, based on the 1869 novel Misunderstood by Florence Montgomery. [1] This film stars Henry Thomas as a young boy who struggles with family, friends, and relationships after his mother's death.

Contents

The novel Misunderstood had previously been adapted as the 1966 Italian film Incompreso , which starred Anthony Quayle. [2]

Plot

Ned Rawley is an American shipowner established in Tunisia where his business thrives and monopolizes him. He lives in a beautiful villa with his two sons, Miles and Andrew, who are cared for by a newly arrived housekeeper because their mother has just died in a hospital abroad. The father decides to hide this tragedy from the youngest, inventing an extended trip for his mother.

For the older one, he continues to treat him as a "man", revealing to him the disappearance of his mother but remaining cold with him, being afraid to express his feelings. He does not realize that his son lacks affection and suffers from the absences and the harshness of education imposed on him by his father who transfers all his attentions to the youngest.

Finally, it is only during an accident caused by Andrew that the father and son will get closer.

Cast

Reception

Box office

Made on a budget of $10 million, the movie was also relying on A-List success of Gene Hackman and Henry Thomas, the latter of which was a successful child star who appeared in several blockbusters during that era. But the film flopped at the box office, opening at #11 with $916,967 in 741 screens, and went on to gross just $1,525,532 in its entire domestic run.

Production

Prior to the casting of Gene Hackman, director Jerry Schatzberg had considered Michael Caine for the role of Ned Rawley. [3] Initially intended to be shot in New Zealand, Tarak Ben Amar convinced Schatzberg to instead film in his home country of Tunisia. [3] Due to creative differences two endings with Schatzberg preferring a tragic conclusion, while Ben Ammar presided over a more “upbeat” version during editing and inserted flashbacks into Schatzberg’s cut. [3] This resulted in Susan Anspach's performance as Lilly Rawley being substantially reduced and only appearing in flashbacks despite being envisioned as a more prominent character. [3] Further revisions to the film were made by MGM/UA without the involvement of Schatzberg or Ben Ammar. [4] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Hackman</span> American actor (born 1930)

Eugene Allen Hackman is an American retired actor. In a career that spanned more than six decades, he received two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and the Silver Bear. Hackman's two Academy Award wins included one for Best Actor for his role as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in William Friedkin's acclaimed thriller The French Connection (1971) and the other for Best Supporting Actor for his role as "Little" Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood's Western film Unforgiven (1992). His other Oscar-nominated roles were in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and Mississippi Burning (1988).

<i>Unforgiven</i> 1992 film by Clint Eastwood

Unforgiven is a 1992 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Eastwood himself, as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, years after he had turned to farming. The film co-stars Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris and was written by David Webb Peoples.

<i>The Royal Tenenbaums</i> 2001 film by Wes Anderson

The Royal Tenenbaums is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. It stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson. Ostensibly based on a nonexistent novel, and told with a narrative influenced by the writing of J. D. Salinger, it follows the lives of three gifted siblings who experience great success in youth, and even greater disappointment and failure in adulthood. The children's eccentric father, Royal Tenenbaum (Hackman), leaves them in their adolescent years and returns to them after they have grown, falsely claiming he has a terminal illness. He works on reconciling with his children and ex-wife (Huston).

<i>Enemy of the State</i> (film) 1998 American action thriller film by Tony Scott

Enemy of the State is a 1998 American political action thriller film directed by Tony Scott, written by David Marconi, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman with an ensemble supporting cast consisting of Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet, Gabriel Byrne, Dan Butler, Loren Dean, Jack Black, Jake Busey, Barry Pepper, Scott Caan, Jason Lee, Tom Sizemore, Seth Green, and Regina King. The film tells the story of a group of corrupt National Security Agency (NSA) agents conspiring to kill a congressman and the cover-up that ensues after a tape of the murder ends up in the possession of an unsuspecting lawyer.

<i>Scarecrow</i> (1973 film) 1973 film

Scarecrow is a 1973 American road drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Gene Hackman and Al Pacino. The story involves the relationship between two men who travel from California seeking to start a business in Pittsburgh.

<i>Ben</i> (film) 1972 film by Phil Karlson

Ben is a 1972 American horror film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Lee Montgomery, Joseph Campanella, and Arthur O'Connell. It is a sequel to the film Willard (1971). The film follows a lonely boy named Danny Garrison who befriends Willard's former pet rat named Ben. Ben becomes the boy's best friend, protecting him from bullying and keeping his spirits up in the face of a heart condition. However, Ben forms an army of deadly rodents while the police attempt to control it.

<i>Play It Again, Sam</i> (film) 1972 film by Herbert Ross

Play It Again, Sam is a 1972 American comedy film written by and starring Woody Allen, based on his 1969 Broadway play of the same title. The film was directed by Herbert Ross, instead of Allen, who usually directs his own written work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Anspach</span> American actress (1942-2018)

Susan Florence Anspach was an American stage, film and television actress who had roles in films during the 1970s and 1980s such as Five Easy Pieces (1970), Play It Again, Sam (1972), Blume in Love (1973), Montenegro (1981), Blue Monkey (1987), and Blood Red (1989).

<i>The Panic in Needle Park</i> 1971 film

The Panic in Needle Park is a 1971 American drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Al Pacino and Kitty Winn. The screenplay was written by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, adapted from the 1966 novel by James Mills.

<i>Pirates</i> (1986 film) 1986 film by Roman Polanski

Pirates is a 1986 adventure comedy film written by Gérard Brach, John Brownjohn, and Roman Polanski and directed by Polanski. It was inspired by Polanski's love of classic pirate films, as well as Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Polanski began planning the film in 1976 as a follow-up to the iconic Chinatown, but production was delayed several times due to lack of funding and Polanski's fleeing the United States to avoid sentencing for his confessed rape of a minor.

Florence Montgomery (1843–1923) was an English novelist and children's writer. Her 1869 novel Misunderstood was enjoyed by Lewis Carroll and George du Maurier, and by Vladimir Nabokov as a child. Her writings are pious in tone and set in fashionable society.

<i>No Small Affair</i> 1984 film by Jerry Schatzberg

No Small Affair is a 1984 American comedy-drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Jon Cryer and Demi Moore. Cryer, Jennifer Tilly, Tim Robbins and Tate Donovan make their film debuts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Schatzberg</span> American photographer and film director (born 1927)

Jerry Schatzberg is an American photographer and film director.

<i>Silver Wings</i> (film) 1922 film

Silver Wings is a 1922 American drama film directed by Edwin Carewe and John Ford. Ford directed only the prologue of the film.

<i>The Romance of Rosy Ridge</i> 1947 film by Roy Rowland

The Romance of Rosy Ridge is a 1947 American Western film directed by Roy Rowland, about a rural community bitterly divided during the aftermath of the American Civil War. It stars Van Johnson, Thomas Mitchell, and Janet Leigh in her film debut. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by MacKinlay Kantor.

<i>Reunion</i> (1989 film) 1989 British film

Reunion is a 1989 British dramatic film based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Fred Uhlman, directed by Jerry Schatzberg from a screenplay by Harold Pinter. It stars Jason Robards. The film was released in France under the title L' Ami Retrouvé and in Germany as Der wiedergefundene Freund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Tunisia</span> Filmmaking in Tunisia

The cinema of Tunisia began in 1896, when the Lumière brothers began showing animated films in the streets of Tunis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wassila Bourguiba</span> Wife of Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba

Wassila Ben Ammar Bourguiba was the second wife of the former Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba and the First Lady of Tunisia from 1962 until 1986. She was called Majda (venerable).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadia El Fani</span> French-Tunisian film director (born 1960)

Nadia El Fani, is a French-Tunisian film director, screenwriter and producer. She has primarily directed documentary films about human rights, women's rights, secularism, and criticism of religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lex Luthor (1978 film series character)</span> Villain in the film Superman (1978)

Lex Luthor is a supervillain portrayed by American-actor Gene Hackman in the Warner Bros. Superman film series produced by Ilya and Alexander Salkind, and is an adaption of the original DC Comics character, Lex Luthor. Luthor's girlfriend, film-original character Eve Teschmacher, was later adapted to comic books and other media.

References

Citations

  1. Montgomery, Florence (1869). Misunderstood. New York City: Anson D. F. Randolph & Company. ASIN   QBAAAAQAAJ.
  2. Zambenedetti 2014, p. 52.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Making the Grade (1984)". AFI . Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  4. Maslin, Janet (Mar 23, 1984). "At the Movies". New York Times. p. C6.

Sources