Still of the Night | |
---|---|
Directed by | Robert Benton |
Written by | Robert Benton David Newman (story) |
Produced by | Arlene Donovan |
Starring | Roy Scheider Meryl Streep Jessica Tandy Josef Sommer |
Cinematography | Néstor Almendros |
Edited by | Gerald B. Greenberg Bill Pankow |
Music by | John Kander |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $10 million |
Box office | $5,979,947 (Domestic) |
Still of the Night is a 1982 American neo-noir [1] psychological thriller film directed by Robert Benton and starring Roy Scheider, Meryl Streep, Joe Grifasi, and Jessica Tandy. It was written by Benton and David Newman. Scheider plays a psychiatrist who falls in love with a woman (Streep) who may be the psychopathic killer of one of his patients.
The film is considered as an overt homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, emulating scenes from many of his movies: a bird attacks one character (as in The Birds ), a scene takes place in an auction (as in North by Northwest ), someone falls from a height (as in Vertigo and a number of other films), stuffed birds occupy a room (as in Psycho ), and an important plot point is the interpretation of a dream (as in Spellbound ). [2] Meryl Streep's hair is styled much like Eva Marie Saint's was in North by Northwest, and the city of Glen Cove, New York is featured in both films. Jessica Tandy also is featured in this film, as she was in The Birds (1963), as the mother of the protagonist.
Manhattan psychiatrist Dr. Sam Rice is visited by glamorous, enigmatic Brooke Reynolds, who works at Crispin's (a fictitious New York auction house modeled after Christie's). Brooke was having an affair with one of Rice's patients, George Bynum, who has just been murdered. Brooke asks the doctor to return a watch to Bynum's wife and not reveal the affair.
Sam is visited by NYPD Detective Joseph Vitucci but refuses to give any information on Bynum, a patient for two years. After the police warn him that he could become a target because the killer may believe he knows something, Sam reviews the case files detailing Bynum's affairs with various women at Crispin's, including Brooke. Bynum had also expressed concern, claiming a wealthy friend had once killed someone, and Bynum was the only person who knew about this. He wondered if this friend might kill again.
The police believe Bynum's killer is a woman. Sam gradually falls for Brooke but believes he is being followed. He is mugged by someone who takes his coat, whereupon the mugger is killed in the same manner as Bynum.
Sam tries to interpret clues from the case file with his psychiatrist mother, Grace. This includes a strange dream of Bynum's in which he finds a green box in a cabinet in a dark house, and sees a little girl with a bleeding teddy bear, who then follows him up a narrow staircase.
Brooke's behavior becomes increasingly suspicious. Sam tails her to a family estate on Long Island. She explains her guilt in the accidental death of her father, and claims Bynum threatened to reveal this secret if she broke off their affair.
Sam pieces together that Bynum's previous girlfriend was Gail Phillips, an assistant to Bynum at Crispin's. Gail blames Brooke for her breakup with Bynum. Gail, trying to frame Brooke, kills Det. Vitucci. Now she arrives at the estate to kill Brooke and Sam.
As they are about to leave, Brooke forgets her keys and goes back into the dark house, alone, to retrieve them, while Sam waits in his car. Gail appears in the back seat of the car and stabs Sam with a knife. Gail chases Brooke through the house, recapitulating Bynum's dream. As Gail is about to stab Brooke, the wounded Sam appears from the staircase. In the ensuing struggle, Gail falls to her death over a railing, reminiscent of Brooke's father's death. Sam and Brooke embrace in the final scene.
Still of the Night was filmed in and around New York City during March 1981. [3] Some scenes were shot at Columbia University, the Trefoil Arch and the Boathouse Cafe in Central Park, [3] and the Museum of the City of New York. [4]
Art dealer Arne Glimcher served as a consultant on the film and helped choreograph the auction scene (as well as playing a cameo role as an art dealer who is one of the bidders). [5] Thomas E. Norton, who had been a long-time executive at Sotheby's, served as a consultant for the film. (He also played the auctioneer taking bids during the Crispin's auction scene.) The auction scene was filmed in the auditorium of the International House of New York. [4]
The film had a platform release on five screens and grossed $548,255 before going wide on 502 screens on December 17, 1982, but it disappointed with only $633,273 for the weekend. [6] Altogether, the film made $5,979,947 domestically, on a budget of $10 million.
Still of the Night holds an aggregate score of 67% fresh on the website Rotten Tomatoes from 9 reviews.
A review in Variety stated: "It comes as almost a shock to see a modern suspense picture that's as literate, well acted and beautifully made as Still of The Night. Despite its many virtues, however, Robert Benton's film [...] has its share of serious flaws, mainly in the area of plotting". [7]
In his review for The New York Times , Vincent Canby said that the screenplay "makes inescapable references to such Hitchcock classics as 'Vertigo,' 'Rear Window,' 'North by Northwest' and 'Spellbound,' among others." [2]
In 2013, Meryl Streep said it was one of the worst movies in which she had acted. [8]
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including a record 21 Academy Award nominations, winning three, and a record 34 Golden Globe Award nominations, winning eight.
The Deer Hunter is a 1978 American epic war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives are upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and John Savage, with John Cazale, Meryl Streep and George Dzundza in supporting roles. The story takes place in Clairton, Pennsylvania, a working-class town on the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, and in Vietnam.
Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American legal drama written and directed by Robert Benton, based on Avery Corman's 1977 novel. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Justin Henry and Jane Alexander. It tells the story of a couple's divorce, its impact on their young son, and the subsequent evolution of their relationship and views on parenting. Kramer vs. Kramer explores the psychology and fallout of divorce, and touches on prevailing or emerging social issues, such as gender roles, fathers' rights, work-life balance, and single parents.
Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he achieved fame with his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the 1970s through to the mid-1980s. He was nominated for two Academy Awards, one Golden Globe, and one BAFTA.
Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. was a Canadian-American actor and writer. He appeared in many stage productions, television and film roles throughout his career, and has garnered numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Award, as well as a nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 1986, he and his wife actress Jessica Tandy were presented with the Kennedy Center Honor.
John Holland Cazale was an American actor. He appeared in five films over seven years, each of which was nominated as Best Picture at their respective Academy Awards. Cazale started as a theater actor in New York City, ranging from regional, to off-Broadway, to Broadway acting alongside Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Sam Waterston. Cazale soon became one of Hollywood's premier character actors, starting with his role as the doomed, weak-minded Fredo Corleone opposite longtime friend Pacino in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). He acted in Coppola's The Conversation (1974) and Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon (1975). In 1977, Cazale was diagnosed with lung cancer, but he chose to complete his role in The Deer Hunter (1978). He died shortly after, in New York City on March 13, 1978.
The Manchurian Candidate is a 2004 American neo-noir psychological political thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme. The film, based on Richard Condon's 1959 novel of the same name and a reworking of the previous 1962 film, stars Denzel Washington as Bennett Marco, a tenacious, virtuous soldier; Liev Schreiber as Raymond Shaw, a U.S. Representative from New York, manipulated into becoming a vice-presidential candidate; Jon Voight as U.S. Senator Tom Jordan, a challenger for vice president; and Meryl Streep as Eleanor Prentiss Shaw, also a U.S. Senator and Raymond's manipulative ruthless mother.
Plenty is a 1985 American drama film directed by Fred Schepisi and starring Meryl Streep. It was adapted from David Hare's play of the same name.
Sophie's Choice is a 1982 psychological drama directed and written by Alan J. Pakula, adapted from William Styron's 1979 novel. The film stars Meryl Streep as Zofia "Sophie" Zawistowska, a Polish immigrant to America with a dark secret from her past who shares a boarding house in Brooklyn with her tempestuous lover Nathan, and young writer Stingo. It also features Rita Karin, Stephen D. Newman and Josh Mostel in supporting roles.
The River Wild is a 1994 American thriller film starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, and David Strathairn. It was directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Denis O'Neill. It follows a young family whose white-water rafting holiday is endangered when they are taken hostage by a pair of armed fugitives.
Joseph G. Grifasi is an American character actor of film, stage and television.
Chilly Scenes of Winter is a 1979 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Joan Micklin Silver, and starring John Heard, Mary Beth Hurt, Peter Riegert, Kenneth McMillan, and Gloria Grahame. Based on the 1976 novel by Ann Beattie, it follows a civil servant worker in Salt Lake City who falls in love with a recently-separated woman who works in his office building.
Ironweed is a 1987 American drama film directed by Héctor Babenco. Adapted to the screen by William Kennedy from his similarly named Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, Ironweed stars Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, with Carroll Baker, Michael O'Keefe, Diane Venora, Fred Gwynne, Nathan Lane, and Tom Waits in supporting roles. The story concerns the relationship of a homeless couple—Francis, an alcoholic, and Helen, a terminally ill woman—during the years following the Great Depression. Major portions of the film were shot on location in Albany, New York. The film received mixed reviews and was a box-office bomb, but Nicholson and Streep received Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, for their performances.
It's Complicated is a 2009 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Nancy Meyers. It stars Meryl Streep as a bakery owner and single mother of three who starts a secret affair with her ex-husband, played by Alec Baldwin, ten years after their divorce – only to find herself drawn to another man: her architect, Adam. The film also features supporting performances by Lake Bell, Hunter Parrish, Zoe Kazan, John Krasinski, Mary Kay Place, Robert Curtis Brown, and Rita Wilson, among others.
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) is a non-profit membership organization for women in film, television, and digital media. The organization is an educational forum for media professionals and a network for the exchange of information and resources.
Meryl Streep is an American actress who has had an extensive career in film, television, and stage. She made her stage debut in 1975 with The Public Theater production of Trelawny of the 'Wells'. She went on to perform several roles on stage in the 1970s, gaining a Tony Award nomination for her role in 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (1976). In 1977, Streep made her film debut with a brief role alongside Jane Fonda in Julia. A supporting role in the war drama The Deer Hunter (1978) proved to be a breakthrough for Streep; she received her first Academy Award nomination for it. She won the award the following year for playing a troubled wife in the top-grossing drama Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). In 1978, Streep played a German, "Aryan" woman married to a Jewish man in Nazi Germany in the television miniseries Holocaust, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award.
The 14th National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on January 3, 1980, honored the best filmmaking of 1979.
Hope Springs is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel, written by Vanessa Taylor, and starring Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, and Steve Carell.
Louisa Jacobson Gummer is an American actress. The youngest child of actress Meryl Streep, she graduated from the Yale School of Drama with an MFA in acting. She is known for starring in the HBO period drama series The Gilded Age (2022–present).
Ricki and the Flash is a 2015 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Diablo Cody, about a woman who leaves her family to become a rock star and later gets a chance to make amends. The film stars Meryl Streep, Mamie Gummer, Kevin Kline, Sebastian Stan, Rick Springfield, and Audra McDonald. The film marks Streep and Kline's third collaboration after Sophie's Choice (1982) and A Prairie Home Companion (2006). It was Demme's final narrative film before his death in April 2017.