Songwriter | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Alan Rudolph |
Written by | Bud Shrake |
Produced by | Sydney Pollack |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Matthew Leonetti |
Edited by | Stuart Pappé |
Music by | Larry Cansler Songs: Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson |
Distributed by | Tri-Star Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $8.6 million [1] |
Box office | $865,915 [2] |
Songwriter is a 1984 American film directed by Alan Rudolph. At the 57th Academy Awards, it received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score for Kris Kristofferson.
The film is a satirical comedy-drama about an artist seeking his freedom. The material is loosely based on Willie Nelson's own life and legend and finances. His song "Night Life", for example, which he sold in 1961 for $150, went on to be recorded by over 70 artists and sold more than 30 million copies. [3]
Doc Jenkins (Willie Nelson) is a country and western composer, who employs devious tricks to extricate himself from his legal entanglement with a Nashville gangster entrepreneur who takes all the profits from his songs.
Fed up with life touring and making no money from recordings of his music, Doc has turned to managing the career of his old singing partner Blackie Buck (Kris Kristofferson). Doc takes a further client - a woman singer, Gilda (Lesley Ann Warren). He wants to get back with his ex-wife Honey (Melinda Dillon), and to get solid ground beneath his feet again.
The film is reviewed, favorably, by the critic Pauline Kael in her collection of movie reviews, Hooked . "Playing a vain, laid-back sensualist, the silver bearded Kristofferson has a smiling glow; he has never been more at ease; Rip Torn is the picture's insurance against gentility. Everything he says sounds mean and dirty, and even when you can't understand his snarled out words he makes you laugh. Rhonda Dotson has something of Teri Garr's manic alertness and dippiness, too, but in a softer form. She's a romantic comedienne with awesome poise. Richard C. Sarafian has a whomping comic menace. Lesley Ann Warren's Gilda is spectacular. When we first see Gilda, she's a singer with no belief in herself and no class; she's an incredibly beautiful girl in a red dress [but] when Doc grooms her to go out as the opening act for Blackie, she begins to learn something about taste and musicianship, and her voice flowers. Besides being one of the great beauties of the screen, Warren can sing." [4] Roger Ebert gave the film 3+1⁄2 out of a possible 4 stars, and says ""Songwriter" is one of those movies that grows on you. It doesn't have a big point to prove, and it isn't all locked into the requirements of its plot. It's about spending some time with some country musicians who are not much crazier than most country musicians, and are probably nicer than some. It also has a lot of good music." [5]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 89% of 9 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10. [6]
Absence of Malice is a 1981 American drama neo noir thriller film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Paul Newman, Sally Field, Wilford Brimley, Melinda Dillon and Bob Balaban.
Kristoffer Kristofferson is an American retired country singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night", all of which were hits for other artists.
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is a 1974 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Robert Getchell. It stars Ellen Burstyn as a widow who travels with her preteen son across the Southwestern United States in search of a better life. Kris Kristofferson, Billy "Green" Bush, Diane Ladd, Valerie Curtin, Lelia Goldoni, Vic Tayback, Jodie Foster, Alfred Lutter, and Harvey Keitel appear in supporting roles.
Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions often ran contrary to those of her contemporaries.
"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posthumously released version by Janis Joplin topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971, making the song the second posthumously released No. 1 single in U.S. chart history after "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding. Gordon Lightfoot released a version that reached number 1 on the Canadian country charts in 1970. Jerry Lee Lewis released a version that was number 1 on the country charts in December 1971/January 1972 as the "B" side of "Would You Take Another Chance on Me". Billboard ranked Joplin's version as the No. 11 song for 1971.
Lesley Ann Warren is an American actress, singer and dancer.
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 American revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah, written by Rudy Wurlitzer, and starring James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Barry Sullivan, Jason Robards, Slim Pickens and Bob Dylan. The film is about an aging Pat Garrett (Coburn), hired as a lawman by a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid (Kristofferson).
Michael Siegfried Raphael is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973.
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Music from Songwriter is a soundtrack album by Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, released on Columbia Records in 1984. It is the soundtrack to Songwriter, a film starring the two performers. Two of the songs on the record are duets, five are sung by Nelson and four by Kristofferson. "How Do You Feel About Foolin' Around" was released as a single and reached the country charts, and the album itself was nominated for an Academy Award, losing to Purple Rain. The album has been released by Wounded Bird Records.
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Stagecoach is a 1986 American Western television film directed by Ted Post and written by James Lee Barrett. It is a remake of the 1939 film of the same name, itself based on a short story by Ernest Haycox. It is the second remake of the film, after the 1966 feature film. Kris Kristofferson stars as the Ringo Kid. Willie Nelson portrays famous gunslinger and dentist Doc Holliday, Johnny Cash portrays Marshal Curly Wilcox and Waylon Jennings plays the gambler Hatfield. All four stars were associated as members of the country music supergroup The Highwaymen. The supporting cast features Elizabeth Ashley, Anthony Newley, Tony Franciosa, Mary Crosby, June Carter Cash and Jessi Colter. The film aired on CBS on May 18, 1986.
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