The Mosquito Coast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The article is about the novel and film. For the Central American area see Mosquito Coast.
| The Mosquito Coast | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Peter Weir |
| Produced by | Jerome Hellman |
| Written by | Paul Theroux (novel) & Paul Schrader (screenplay) |
| Starring | Harrison Ford Helen Mirren Andre Gregory |
| Music by | Maurice Jarre |
| Cinematography | John Seale |
| Editing by | Thom Noble |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | November 26, 1986 |
| Running time | 117 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25,000,000 (estimated) |
| Gross revenue | $14,302,779 (USA) |
The Mosquito Coast (ISBN 0-14-006089-8) is a 1982 novel by Paul Theroux and a 1986 film based on the book. Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Andre Gregory, and River Phoenix star in the film directed by Peter Weir. It was shot in Georgia (Cartersville and Rome), Baltimore, and Belize.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The Mosquito Coast is an adventure story of a family that leaves the United States and tries to find a happier and simpler life in the jungles of Central America. The father, Allie Fox, is an individualist who is disgusted by modern American culture and wants to live a more "genuine" life. However, their jungle paradise quickly turns into a dystopia as their stubborn father's behavior becomes increasingly erratic and aggressive.
The story is told by his fourteen year old son Charlie, who observes his father with a mixture of love, horror, and astonishment. He describes the voyage, the trip into the interior, and his father’s invention of a giant ice-making machine (dubbed "Fat Boy").
[edit] Cast
- Harrison Ford - Allie Fox
- Helen Mirren - Mother Fox
- River Phoenix - Charlie Fox
- Conrad Roberts - Mr. Haddy
- Andre Gregory - Reverend Spellgood
- Martha Plimpton - Emily Spellgood
- Dick O'Neill - Mr. Polski
- Jadrien Steele - Jerry Fox
[edit] Production
Producer Jerome Hellman bought the rights to Theroux's novel as soon as it came out in 1983, and Weir committed to filming it. However, no studio would film it and production was delayed.[1] In the meantime, Weir's Witness proved he could be a commercially viable director, and, with financing from Saul Zaentz, Warner Brothers agreed to distribute it.[1]
Jack Nicholson was originally offered the lead role, but backed out partly because he could not watch the LA Lakers from Belize, where part of the film was being shot.[2] He instead went on to star in Terms of Endearment, a role Ford had also been offered. Weir told Ford about the film while shooting Witness and Ford was attracted to the character of Allie Fox, though his agent was not.[1]
Filming began the week of February 7, 1986 in Belize and finished there April 26 before moving to Georgia.[2] Some post-production editing was done in Australia.
[edit] Reception
The film met with critical and audience disappointment. Siskel & Ebert were split, with Siskel giving the film a "Thumbs Up" and Ebert giving it a "Thumbs Down",[3] with Ebert criticizing it as "boring."[4] Vincent Canby of the New York Times called it "utterly flat."[5] However the review aggregation website, Rotten Tomatoes, gives the film a score of 75%.[6]
Out of a budget of $25 million, the film made only a little over $14 million at the box office.[7]
Despite being one of his least successful films, Harrison Ford has defended it, saying in one interview:[8]
It's the only film I have done that hasn't made its money back. I'm still glad I did it. If there was a fault with the film, it was that it didn't fully enough embrace the language of the book (by Paul Theroux). It may have more properly been a literary rather than a cinematic exercise. But I think it's full of powerful emotions.
The Mosquito Coast contains the last feature film role of Butterfly McQueen, who had a prominent role in Gone With the Wind. She plays a lapsed churchgoer, and in real life was a vocal atheist.[9]
The film also features a brief appearance by Jason Alexander, who would go on to star as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Pfeiffer, Lee. The Films of Harrison Ford. Citadel Press, 2002.
- ^ a b Duke, Brad. Harrison Ford: the films. McFarland, 2005.
- ^ http://www.tv.com/siskel-and-ebert-at-the-movies/week-of-november-15-1986/episode/1128175/summary.html
- ^ The Mosquito Coast Review, by Roger Ebert
- ^ NYT Review
- ^ http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/mosquito_coast/
- ^ The Mosquito Coast - Box Office and Business
- ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,310753,00.html
- ^ Freedom From Religion Foundation
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||
