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Bookmark this pageThe River (1984)
Director: Mark Rydell
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Another in a long line of films dealing with the hardships of smallholdings in the sort of rural America usually depicted as containing nothing but corn silos and bigotry. This time, Gibson and Spacek battle against odds much the same as far as nature goes (floods from the river, rather than the conventional tornado), but different on the human front. The villain here is less the Government than the local land baron, who has expansionist schemes, a ploy which vitiates the film's point since the villain is no more than the hero writ larger. Moreover, the message of continuous hardship is somewhat at odds with the same impulse towards idyllic lyricism that Rydell brought to On Golden Pond. Vilmos Zsigmond contributes his usual handsome photography, but this is one river that seems unlikely to run. CPea.Author: CPea
Cast & crew
Director: Mark Rydell
Producer: Edward Lewis, Robert Coates
Cast: Mel Gibson, Sissy Spacek, Shane Bailey, Becky Jo Lynch, Scott Glenn, Don Hood, Billy Green Bush, James Tolkan full cast
Duration: 124 mins
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