Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageIslands in the Stream (1976)
Director: Franklin J Schaffner
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
The strongest thing about this ponderous movie is the redoubtable George C Scott. Basing the character on Hemingway himself as much as upon the Hemingway hero of this late novel, Scott contrives mostly to play Scott; and what makes his performance so interesting is the tension between conscientious craftsmanship and an intelligence too keen to take seriously the whole charade of acting. Set in the Caribbean in 1940, this film about father and sons uncomfortably mixes reflection and action: ageing artist comes to terms with life (during sons' school holidays) and death (heroic self-sacrifice). Scott performs the Hemingway clichés with vigorous conviction, whether trying to catch the big fish, idealising the memory of his first wife, or displaying gruff affection for the obligatory rummy friend. Mostly it's heavy going, though, especially Schaffner's direction, which languishes in the tropical sun as it did with Papillon.Author: CPe
Cast & crew
Director: Franklin J Schaffner
Producer: Peter Bart, Max Palevsky
Cast: George C Scott, David Hemmings, Gilbert Roland, Susan Tyrrell, Richard Evans, Claire Bloom, Julius Harris, Hart Bochner full cast
Duration: 105 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'
Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now