Bound for Glory (film)
| Bound for Glory | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster by Tom Jung | |
| Directed by | Hal Ashby |
| Produced by |
Robert F. Blumofe Harold Leventhal |
| Screenplay by | Robert Getchell |
| Based on |
Bound for Glory 1943 book by Woody Guthrie |
| Starring |
David Carradine Ronny Cox Melinda Dillon Gail Strickland |
| Music by |
Leonard Rosenman (conductor and music adaptor) George Brand Joan Biel Guthrie Thomas Ralph Ferraro |
| Cinematography | Haskell Wexler |
| Edited by |
Pembroke J. Herring Robert C. Jones |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 147 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million[1] |
Bound for Glory is a 1976 American film directed by Hal Ashby and loosely adapted by Robert Getchell from Woody Guthrie's 1943 autobiography Bound for Glory. The film stars David Carradine as folk singer Woody Guthrie and Ronny Cox, Melinda Dillon, Gail Strickland, John Lehne, Ji-Tu Cumbuka and Randy Quaid.[2]
Bound for Glory was the first motion picture in which inventor/operator Garrett Brown used his new Steadicam for filming moving scenes.[3] Director of Photography Haskell Wexler won an Oscar for Best Cinematography (1976).
All of the main events and characters, except for Guthrie and his first wife, Mary, are entirely fictional. The film ends with Guthrie singing his most famous song, "God Blessed America" (subsequently retitled "This Land Is Your Land"), on his way to New York, but, in fact, the song was composed in New York in 1940 and forgotten by him until five years later.
Plot
During the Great Depression in the 1930s, Midwesterner Guthrie (David Carradine) plays music locally but cannot make enough as a sign painter to support his wife (Melinda Dillon) and children. With only his paintbrushes, Woody joins the migration westward from the Dust Bowl to supposedly greener California pastures via boxcar and hitchhiking. Much of the film is based on Guthrie's attempt to humanize the desperate Okie Dust Bowl refugees in California during the Great Depression.[4]
Cast
- David Carradine as Woody Guthrie
- Ronny Cox as Ozark Bule
- Melinda Dillon as Mary / Memphis Sue
- Gail Strickland as Pauline
- John Lehne as Locke
- Ji-Tu Cumbuka as Slim Snedeger
- Randy Quaid as Luther Johnson
- Elizabeth Macey as Liz Johnson
- Susan Vaill as Gwen Guthrie
- Alexandra Mock as Sue Guthrie
- Kimberly Mock as Sue Guthrie
- Bernie Kopell as Woody's Agent
- Mary Kay Place as Sue Ann, Girl in Bar
- Guthrie Thomas as George Guthrie, Woody's Brother
Academy Awards
Wins
- 1976: Best Cinematography
- 1976: Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score
Nominated
- 1976: Best Picture
- 1976: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
- 1976: Best Costume Design
- 1976: Best Film Editing
Accolades
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
- "This Land Is Your Land" – Nominated[5]
References
- ↑ "The Films of Hal Ashby". Beach, Christopher (2009). Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, p. 176, ISBN 978-0-8143-3415-7.
- ↑ Bound for Glory at the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ "Steadicam 30th anniversary press release".
- ↑ Lucia Bozzola. "Bound for Glory (1976) – Hal Ashby – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related – AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ↑ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-07-30.
External links
- Bound for Glory at the Internet Movie Database
- Bound for Glory at the TCM Movie Database
- Bound for Glory at AllMovie
- Bound for Glory at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Hal Ashby article at Senses of Cinema
- Bound for Glory trailer on YouTube