Tender Mercies (1983)
September 13, 2024 2:47 PM - Subscribe
A broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.
A quiet, contemplative film that was a passion project for Robert Duvall. Winner of two Academy Awards for Best Actor (Robert Duvall) and Best Original Screenplay (Horton Foote).
A quiet, contemplative film that was a passion project for Robert Duvall. Winner of two Academy Awards for Best Actor (Robert Duvall) and Best Original Screenplay (Horton Foote).
Thanks, I need to watch this again; I remember liking it a lot years ago. The "Music" section of the film's Wikipedia page is worth a read:
Tender Mercies includes no original film score, and the musical soundtrack is limited to the performances of country songs and the domestic guitar playing that occur as part of the story. A score was composed for the movie, but Beresford had it removed because he felt it was "too sweet" and sounded phony in the context of the film, although he acknowledged it as "very skillful".
Duvall sang his own songs, a right he insisted be part of his contract. He commented, "What's the point if you're not going to do your own [singing]? They're just going to dub somebody else? I mean, there's no point to that." The film's financial backers were initially concerned about whether he could sing well enough for the role. Those concerns were allayed after Duvall produced a tape of himself singing a cappella "On the Wings of a Dove", a Bob Ferguson country song featured in the film...
Duvall wrote two of Mac's other songs, "Fool's Waltz" and "I've Decided to Leave Here Forever". Several leading country singers, including Willie Nelson, George Jones and Merle Haggard, were believed to have inspired Mac and Duvall's portrayal of him, but Duvall insisted the character was not based on anyone in particular. Another country star, Waylon Jennings, complimented his performance, saying he had "done the impossible."
Justwatch says its free on Tubi et al.
posted by mediareport at 7:04 AM on September 15
Tender Mercies includes no original film score, and the musical soundtrack is limited to the performances of country songs and the domestic guitar playing that occur as part of the story. A score was composed for the movie, but Beresford had it removed because he felt it was "too sweet" and sounded phony in the context of the film, although he acknowledged it as "very skillful".
Duvall sang his own songs, a right he insisted be part of his contract. He commented, "What's the point if you're not going to do your own [singing]? They're just going to dub somebody else? I mean, there's no point to that." The film's financial backers were initially concerned about whether he could sing well enough for the role. Those concerns were allayed after Duvall produced a tape of himself singing a cappella "On the Wings of a Dove", a Bob Ferguson country song featured in the film...
Duvall wrote two of Mac's other songs, "Fool's Waltz" and "I've Decided to Leave Here Forever". Several leading country singers, including Willie Nelson, George Jones and Merle Haggard, were believed to have inspired Mac and Duvall's portrayal of him, but Duvall insisted the character was not based on anyone in particular. Another country star, Waylon Jennings, complimented his performance, saying he had "done the impossible."
Justwatch says its free on Tubi et al.
posted by mediareport at 7:04 AM on September 15
A fine fine film and well worth your time.
posted by conscious matter at 5:21 PM on September 24
posted by conscious matter at 5:21 PM on September 24
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posted by kingless at 4:39 PM on September 13 [4 favorites]