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Ordinary People

United States

1980

124 Min
Color
1.85:1
English
  • Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
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DIR Robert Redford

PROD Ronald L. Schwary

SCR Judith Guest, Alvin Sargent, Nancy Dowd

DP John Bailey

CAST Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth McGovern, M. Emmet Walsh, Dinah Manoff

ED Jeff Kanew

MUSIC Marvin Hamlisch

Synopsis

Robert Redford’s directorial debut ended up the 1980 Oscar winner for Best Picture. It is a simple but painfully emotional story of the disintegration of a “perfect” family. Teenager Conrad (Timothy Hutton) lives under a cloud of guilt after his brother drowns after their boat capsizes in Lake Michigan. Despite intensive therapy sessions with his psychiatrist (Judd Hirsch), Conrad can’t shake the belief that he should have died instead of his brother; nor do his preoccupied parents (Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore) offer much in the way of solace. The boy is brought out of his doldrums through his romance with Jeannine (Elizabeth McGovern). A winner in every respect, Ordinary People (adapted from the novel by Judith Guest) scores highest in the scenes with Mary Tyler Moore, who superbly and perceptively portrays a blinkered, ever-smiling suburban wife and mother for whom outward appearance is all that matters. –MSN Movies

Director

Original

Robert Redford

Born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, to Charles Robert Redford, an accountant for Standard Oil, and Martha Hart. His mother died in 1955, the year after he graduated from high school. Charles Robert Redford Jr. was a scrappy kid who stole hubcaps in high school and lost his college baseball scholarship at the University of Colorado because of drunkenness. After studying at the Pratt Institute of Art and living the painter’s life in Europe, he studied acting in New York at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Lola Redford Van Wagenen (consumer activist), born in 1940, dropped out of college to marry Redford on September 12, 1958. They divorced in 1985 after having four children, one of whom died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Daughter Shauna Redford, born November 15, 1960, is a painter who married Eric Schlosser on October 5, 1985, in Provo, UT. Her first child, born in January 1991, made Redford a grandfather. Son James Redford AKA Jamie Redford, a screenwriter… read more

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Mark

17May12

In the film's final moments, watch closely as Mary Tyler Moore's Beth ascends the staircase after being told by husband Calvin (Sutherland) how he's not even sure if he loves her anymore. Raw, Powerful, Emotional and Solid. Director Robert Redford has fashioned a true classic.

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alyssa lane

5May12

This was an exceptional film. This IS cinema !

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Gylfi Reynisson

10Jan12

Most people agree that this should not have won the academy award in 1980 but who really takes those award shows seriously? The fact is that this is a very good movie and the cast, Sutherland in particular, are all great. Highly recommended.

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Llawrence

1Jan12

Sensitive film. It has many flaws not only technically. It's not a great movie but aged well. Timothy Hutton is a good actor but at the time of the filming he was unexperienced. Sutherland's acting is heartbreaking in some scenes. When the son wants to hug his mother and she doesn't want it, Redford's camera shows the father. Sad but memorable scene. I never really like Redford as an actor but he is a good director.

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ORDINARY PEOPLE

By Daniel A. DiCenso on September 4, 2011

Ordinary People is one of the most earnest, touching, and honest films about a family in crisis. Today people may enter it with the wrong perception. Many only think of it as the film that beat Raging…  read review

Redford Directs Empathetic Drama

By Byron Brubake​r on August 12, 2011

Wow, Sutherland, Moore, Hirsch, McGovern, and Hutton all gave such touching and in touch performances. A boy struggles with feelings of guilt, which a lot of people probably feel in one way or another…  read review

deeply character-centric

By Alexis on February 8, 2010

There were so many times that i wanted to sit down and watch Ordinary People, but I never had gotten around to it. It always seemed to be one of those movies that I think would fall short of its hype…  read review

Untitled

By Tony Paulett​o on November 12, 2009

A smart examination of a family’s deconstruction. Redford directs with, caution, quiet, and subtlety, successfully navigating away from melodrama. One of the most impressive elements to me, something…  read review

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