Terroir | |
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Directed by | John Charles Jopson |
Screenplay by | John Charles Jopson |
Based on | "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | John Charles Jopson |
Edited by | Grit Meyer |
Music by | Christian Henson |
Production companies | |
Release dates |
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Running time | 103 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | English Italian |
Terroir is a 2014 American-British-Italian mystery film written and directed by John Charles Jopson. It is based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado". The film stars Keith Carradine, who also served as executive producer. The film premiered at the Wine Country Film Festival in 2014. [1]
Wealthy wine maker Jonathan Bragg (Keith Carradine) hires Tuscan wine detective Victor Borgo (Gaetano Guarino) to find the source of a mysterious bottle of wine, the "Oroboros". As Borgo follows the twisted, perilous trail, he descends deeper into an arcane Tuscan underworld, encountering an earth-worshiping wine cult and the dark side of human nature. [2]
Jopson's screenplay brings Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" into contemporary times and sets it the underworld of the Tuscan wine business. With references to Brunellopoli, the great Italian wine scandal of 2008 [3] and with cameo appearances from real-world winemakers such as Salvatore Ferragamo and Luca Sanjust, the film brings a level of authenticity when it comes to the wine business.
In a nod to Poe's short story, in addition to the wine theme, Terroir features Masonic references and symbols as well as a terrifying scene in a wine cellar. [4]
Terroir takes its name from the wine industry term terroir, which indicates that the natural environment in which a particular wine is produced affects the outcome, and thus the taste, including factors such as soil, topography, and climate. Together these elements determine the character of wine. [5]
Terroir had its world premiere on September 20, 2014 at the Wine Country Film Festival in Sonoma Valley, California. The film was presented "al fresco" at a specially built outdoor theater in the vineyards of Deerfield Ranch with a 33-foot Cinemascope screen and a Dolby 5.1 sound system. [6] The festivities included a tribute to Keith Carradine and a screening of his 1977 film The Duellists . As part of his personal appearance Carradine performed his Academy Award winning song "I'm Easy" from the movie Nashville . [7]
Terroir was released on Amazon.com in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan on August 16, 2017.
Poe scholar John Gruesser, in his review of Terroir wrote, "Stunningly beautiful in several places, with gorgeous shots of its Tuscan setting, Terroir evokes "The Cask of Amontillado" both explicitly and subtly, which should delight Poe fans. Speaking in voice-over at times, Bragg, the Montresor character (played by a terrific Keith Carradine), succeeds in leading Borgo, the Fortunato character, to his doom. He accomplishes this by exploiting his victim’s weak point (wine connoisseurship), even mentioning Luchesi at times to do so. Like Poe’s story, the film deftly uses masonic symbols, Latin phrases, a coat of arms, and a family motto." [8]
Stephen Ashton, in his review for the Wine Country Film Festival wrote, "Filmed in some of Tuscany’s most scenic wine estates Terroir features authentic wine-making traditions, sensual cinematography, and occult rituals derived from the secret rites of real-life erotic cults. The film is laced with authentic wine lore thanks to some of Tuscany’s finest winemakers including Salvatore Ferragamo who are in this luscious drama." [9]
On entertainment website Collider , Anja Djuricic authored an article entitled "The 10 Best Edgar Allan Poe Movies to Watch After 'The Pale Blue Eye'". She wrote, "Decades after Price and Corman dominated the horror genre with their adaptations, Keith Carradine starred in another unexpectedly well-made Poe adaptation called Terroir. This is an indie movie, but it was decently made and Carradine gives his best to bring the mysterious wine connoisseur to life - for lovers of this tale, this could be an interesting watch." [10]
"The Black Cat" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. In the story, an unnamed narrator has a strong affection for pets until he perversely turns to abusing them. His favorite, a pet black cat, bites him one night and the narrator punishes it by cutting its eye out and then hanging it from a tree. The home burns down but one remaining wall shows a burned outline of a cat hanging from a noose. He soon finds another black cat, similar to the first except for a white mark on its chest, but he develops a hatred for it as well. He attempts to kill the cat with an axe but his wife stops him; instead, the narrator murders his wife. He conceals the body behind a brick wall in his basement. The police soon come and, after the narrator's tapping on the wall is met with a shrieking sound, they find not only the wife's corpse but also the black cat that had been accidentally walled in with the body and alerted them with its cry.
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versions similar to white table wines, such as Manzanilla and fino, to darker and heavier versions that have been allowed to oxidise as they age in barrel, such as Amontillado and oloroso. Sweet dessert wines are also made from Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel grapes, and are sometimes blended with Palomino-based sherries.
"The Cask of Amontillado" is a short story by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book. The story, set in an unnamed Italian city at carnival time, is about a man taking fatal revenge on a friend who, he believes, has insulted him. Like several of Poe's stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative follows a person being buried alive – in this case, by immurement. As in "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-Tale Heart", Poe conveys the story from the murderer's perspective.
Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jupiter".
Keith Ian Carradine is an American actor. In film he is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's Nashville, E. J. Bellocq in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, and Mickey in Alan Rudolph's Choose Me. On television he is known for his roles as Wild Bill Hickok on the HBO series Deadwood, FBI agent Frank Lundy on the Showtime series Dexter, Lou Solverson in the first season of FX's Fargo, Penny's father Wyatt on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, and U.S. President Conrad Dalton on the CBS political drama Madam Secretary.
Terroir is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these contextual characteristics are said to have a character; terroir also refers to this character.
Brunello di Montalcino is a red DOCG Italian wine produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino, in the province of Siena, located about 80 km south of Florence, in the Tuscan wine region. Brunello, a diminutive of bruno, is the name that was given locally to what was believed to be an individual grape variety grown in Montalcino. In 1879 the province of Siena's Amphelographic Commission determined, after a few years of controlled experiments, that Sangiovese and Brunello were the same grape variety, and that the former should be its designated name. In Montalcino the name Brunello evolved into the designation of the wine produced with 100% Sangiovese.
An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe is a 1970 film which features Vincent Price reciting four of Edgar Allan Poe's stories, directed by Kenneth Johnson, with music by Les Baxter.
"The Premature Burial" is a horror short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1844 in The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. Its main character expresses concern about being buried alive. This fear was common in this period and Poe was taking advantage of the public interest. The story has been adapted to a film.
The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1991 American horror film directed by Stuart Gordon and based on the 1842 short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The film is an amalgamation of the aforementioned story with Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", and it also appropriates the anecdote of "The Sword of Damocles", reassigning it to the character of Torquemada.
The Fall of the House of Usher is an opera by Peter Hammill (music) and Chris Judge Smith (libretto). It is based on the 1839 short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.
John Charles Jopson is a film director and screenwriter best known for the 2014 feature film Terroir, the jazz film One Night with Blue Note and his music videos from the 1980s.
"Hop-Frog" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1849. The title character, a person with dwarfism taken from his homeland, becomes the jester of a king particularly fond of practical jokes. Taking revenge on the king and his cabinet for the king's striking of his friend and fellow dwarf Trippetta, he dresses the king and his cabinet as orangutans for a masquerade. In front of the king's guests, Hop-Frog murders them all by setting their costumes on fire before escaping with Trippetta.
American poet and short story writer Edgar Allan Poe has had significant influence in television and film. Many are adaptations of Poe's work, others merely reference it.
The Sealed Room is an eleven-minute film released in September 1909. Produced by the Biograph Company and directed by D. W. Griffith, the drama's cast includes Arthur V. Johnson, Marion Leonard, Henry B. Walthall, Mary Pickford, and Mack Sennett. It was distributed to theaters on a split-reel with another film, the three-minute comedy short The Little Darling.
Buried Alive is a 1990 horror film, directed by Gérard Kikoïne and based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe. It stars Robert Vaughn, Donald Pleasence and John Carradine. This film is one of Nia Long’s earliest roles. The script was based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. The film marks Carradine's final performance is dedicated to his memory.
Tales of Mystery & Imagination is a popular title for posthumous compilations of writings by American author, essayist and poet Edgar Allan Poe and was the first complete collection of his works specifically restricting itself to his suspenseful and related tales.
Capacities of wine casks were formerly measured and standardised according to a specific system of English units. The various units were historically defined in terms of the wine gallon so varied according to the definition of the gallon until the adoption of the Queen Anne wine gallon in 1707. In the United Kingdom and its colonies the units were redefined with the introduction of the imperial system whilst the Queen Anne wine gallon was adopted as the standard US liquid gallon.
The Raven is a 2012 American crime thriller film directed by James McTeigue, produced by Marc D. Evans, Trevor Macy and Aaron Ryder and written by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare. Set in 1849, it is a fictionalized account detailing the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life, in which the poet and author helps the police pursue a serial killer, whose murders mirror those in his stories. While the plot of the film is fictional, the writers based it on some accounts of real situations surrounding Edgar Allan Poe's mysterious death. Poe is said to have repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before his death, though it is unclear to whom he was referring. The film stars John Cusack, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson and Luke Evans. Its title derives from Poe's 1845 poem "The Raven", in a similar manner to the earlier unrelated 1935 and 1963 films.
Tales of Poe is a 2014 anthology film directed by independent filmmakers Bart Mastronardi and Alan Rowe Kelly. As of February 2019, the film has grossed over $5k from video sales.