August 15th: FAR AND AWAY (Ron Howard, 1992)
NOTE: This film will be projected in the high-definition Blu-ray format.
In the late 1800s, a pair of Irish immigrants attempt to reach Oklahoma in order to compete with other settlers for free land given away by the government.
Ron Howard got his start in Hollywood as a child actor, playing "Opie" on the long-running Andy Griffith Show, and continued his television success in his lead role on Happy Days. He branched out into feature film most notably in George Lucas's American Graffiti, and like many young directors or that era collaborated with producer Roger Corman, which led to his debut behind the camera on action-comedy Grand Theft Auto in 1977. Howard continued directing throughout the 80s, with big hits mixing comedy and fantasy in Splash and Cocoon, as well as straight comedy Parenthood and his epic reteaming with Lucas on the fantasy Willow.
As the 1990s began, Howard made a turn toward the dramatic with the firefighter story Backdraft, and then looked into his own family history for inspiration. Hearing stories about his Irish heritage and his great-grandparents' participation in the famous Oklahoma Land Rush of 1893, he decided to create a story leading up to this set piece. Drafting former television writer Bob Dolman to focus on research, the two worked on the script together.
Impressed with Australian actress Nicole Kidman's performance in the recent thriller Dead Calm, Howard approached her first with the script, and she in turn convinced her husband Tom Cruise (one of Hollywood's biggest stars by this point) to pursue the other lead role. Both visited Ireland for a period of time and spent months with different dialect coaches. Cruise also took horseback riding and boxing lessons. Also cast were Robert Prosky (Broadcast News, Mrs. Doubtfire), Thomas Gibson (TV's Criminal Minds), veteran Irish actor Cyril Cusack (My Left Foot, Harold and Maude, Hitchcock's Dial 'M' For Murder), and Irish actor Colm Meaney (TV's Star Trek: The Next Generation).
Shooting began on location in Billings, Montana (standing in for Oklahoma), and the Land Rush scene used over 800 riders and horses, many of them historical re-enactors. The production moved overseas to Dublin, where material set there was shot as well as scenes taking place in Boston. Filming also was done in Dingle, Ireland. Behind the camera was Mikael Salomon (James Cameron's The Abyss, Steven Spielberg's Always), using the Panavision Super 65mm format, which had been inactive for over 20 years.
The musical score was composed by John Williams, his only time working with Howard. Legendary Irish band The Chieftans performed on several of the cues. Irish singer Enya re-recorded one of the songs from her hit album Shepherd Moon with new English lyrics for the film.
Far and Away premiered in the summer of 1992 and was met with mixed reviews, many praising the technical achievements but taking issue with the story and/or the performances of the leads. It did fair business at the American box office, and made enough overseas to double its budget, but was viewed as a misstep for all involved.
Running time is 2 hours, 20 min.
In the late 1800s, a pair of Irish immigrants attempt to reach Oklahoma in order to compete with other settlers for free land given away by the government.
Ron Howard got his start in Hollywood as a child actor, playing "Opie" on the long-running Andy Griffith Show, and continued his television success in his lead role on Happy Days. He branched out into feature film most notably in George Lucas's American Graffiti, and like many young directors or that era collaborated with producer Roger Corman, which led to his debut behind the camera on action-comedy Grand Theft Auto in 1977. Howard continued directing throughout the 80s, with big hits mixing comedy and fantasy in Splash and Cocoon, as well as straight comedy Parenthood and his epic reteaming with Lucas on the fantasy Willow.
As the 1990s began, Howard made a turn toward the dramatic with the firefighter story Backdraft, and then looked into his own family history for inspiration. Hearing stories about his Irish heritage and his great-grandparents' participation in the famous Oklahoma Land Rush of 1893, he decided to create a story leading up to this set piece. Drafting former television writer Bob Dolman to focus on research, the two worked on the script together.
Impressed with Australian actress Nicole Kidman's performance in the recent thriller Dead Calm, Howard approached her first with the script, and she in turn convinced her husband Tom Cruise (one of Hollywood's biggest stars by this point) to pursue the other lead role. Both visited Ireland for a period of time and spent months with different dialect coaches. Cruise also took horseback riding and boxing lessons. Also cast were Robert Prosky (Broadcast News, Mrs. Doubtfire), Thomas Gibson (TV's Criminal Minds), veteran Irish actor Cyril Cusack (My Left Foot, Harold and Maude, Hitchcock's Dial 'M' For Murder), and Irish actor Colm Meaney (TV's Star Trek: The Next Generation).
Shooting began on location in Billings, Montana (standing in for Oklahoma), and the Land Rush scene used over 800 riders and horses, many of them historical re-enactors. The production moved overseas to Dublin, where material set there was shot as well as scenes taking place in Boston. Filming also was done in Dingle, Ireland. Behind the camera was Mikael Salomon (James Cameron's The Abyss, Steven Spielberg's Always), using the Panavision Super 65mm format, which had been inactive for over 20 years.
The musical score was composed by John Williams, his only time working with Howard. Legendary Irish band The Chieftans performed on several of the cues. Irish singer Enya re-recorded one of the songs from her hit album Shepherd Moon with new English lyrics for the film.
Far and Away premiered in the summer of 1992 and was met with mixed reviews, many praising the technical achievements but taking issue with the story and/or the performances of the leads. It did fair business at the American box office, and made enough overseas to double its budget, but was viewed as a misstep for all involved.
Running time is 2 hours, 20 min.
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