Bobby Deerfield is a 1977 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Al Pacino and Marthe Keller. Based on Erich Maria Remarque's 1961 novel Heaven Has No Favorites, the film is about a famous American race car driver on the European circuit who falls in love with an enigmatic Swiss woman who is terminally ill.[2] Pacino was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.[3]
Premise[]
Formula One auto racer Bobby Deerfield is a calculating, control-obsessed loner who has become used to winning the checkered flag on the track. But after he witnesses a fiery crash that kills a teammate and seriously wounds a competitor, Deerfield becomes unsettled by the spectre of death.
During a visit to the survivor, Deerfield's world is further set askew when he meets Lillian Morelli (Marthe Keller), a quirky, impulsive woman racing against time.
Cast[]
- Al Pacino as Bobby Deerfield
- Marthe Keller as Lillian Morelli
- Anny Duperey as Lydia
- Walter McGinn as The Brother
- Romolo Valli as Uncle Luigi
- Stephan Meldegg as Karl Holtzmann
- Jaime Sánchez as Delvecchio
- Norm Nielsen as The Magician
- Mickey Knox as Tourist
- Dorothy James as Tourist
- Guido Alberti as Priest in the Garden
- Monique Lejeune as Catherine Modave
- Steve Gadler as Bertrand Modave
- Van Doude as The Flutist
- Aurora Maris as Woman in the Gas Station
- Gérard Hernandez as Carlos Del Montanaro
- Maurice Vallier as Priest
- Antonino Faa Di Bruno as Vincenzo
- André Valardy as Autograph Hound
- Féodor Atkine as Tommy (as Fédor Atkine)
- Patrick Floersheim as Mario
- Bernie Pollack as Head Mechanic
- Al Silvani as Mechanic
- Isabelle de Blonay as Nurse
- Franco Ressel as Man with Dog
- Dominique Briand as Reporter[4]
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Critics panned Bobby Deerfield as an over-the-top melodrama with a plodding story line; audiences reportedly laughed at scenes intended to be dramatic. Race-film fans, expecting another Grand Prix or Le Mans, were disappointed that the story did not play out on the race track; however, the action footage was filmed by racing cinematographers over the course of the 1976 Formula One season and features actual drivers, including Carlos Pace, Tom Pryce, James Hunt, Patrick Depailler and Mario Andretti. Vincent Canby of The New York Times said that it "may turn out to be the year's most cynical movie made by people who know better, including Sydney Pollack, the director, and Alvin Sargent, who wrote the screenplay."
Critics continue to give the film negative reviews and the film has a 31% on Rotten Tomatoes. Time Out stated that the film is a "classic example of a Hollywood director being struck down by a lethal 'art' attack as soon as he sets foot in Europe."
Bobby Deerfield was released on DVD for the first time on March 11, 2008. The soundtrack, recorded on the Casablanca Records label, has been unavailable for years.
Box office[]
Bobby Deerfield grossed $9,300,000 in the United States.[1]
Awards and nominations[]
- 1978 Golden Globe Award Nomination for Best Motion Picture Actor, Drama (Al Pacino)[3]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- It's the first film to be co-produced/distributed by Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures, the other being DC Comics' Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), Supergirl (1984) (with EMI in the United Kingdom) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) (with Cannon Group in the United Kingdom), Thirteen Ghosts (2001), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Gothika (2003), Something's Gotta Give (2003), Terminator Salvation and Marvel's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011) (distributed only in Australia, in Malaysia, in Singapore and in Thailand)
- Columbia Pictures retains the North American distribution rights to this film, while Warner Bros. handles the International rights.
Differences from the book[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bobby Deerfield". Retrieved on August 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Bobby Deerfield". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on January 23, 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Awards for Bobby Deerfield". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on January 23, 2012.
- ↑ "Full cast and crew of Bobby Deerfield". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on January 23, 2012.
External links[]
- Bobby Deerfield at the TCM Movie Database
- Bobby Deerfield at Rotten Tomatoes
- Bobby Deerfield at Wikipedia
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Bobby Deerfield. The revision history lists the authors. The text on Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki and Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). |
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