In Praise of Older Women (1978 film)
{{Short description|1978 film}}
{{Infobox film
| name = In Praise of Older Women
| image =File:In Praise of Older Women (1978 film).jpg
| director = George Kaczender
| producer = Robert Lantos
Claude Héroux
| writer = Paul Gottlieb
Barrie Wexler
| based_on = {{Based on|In Praise of Older Women|Stephen Vizinczey}}
| narrator = Henry Ramer
| starring = Tom Berenger
Karen Black
Susan Strasberg
Helen Shaver
Marilyn Lightstone
Alexandra Stewart
| music = Tibor Polgár
| studio = Astral Bellevue Pathé
RSL Films
| cinematography = Miklós Lente
| editing = George Kaczender
Peter Wintonick
| distributor = Astral Films
| released = {{Film date|1978|09|22}}
| runtime = 109 minutes
| country = Canada
| language = English
| budget = $1.5 million
}}
In Praise of Older Women is a Canadian film directed by George Kaczender. It is based on Stephen Vizinczey's book In Praise of Older Women.
Plot
András Vayda (Tom Berenger) grows up in a turbulent, war-torn Hungary, where he procures local girls for the occupying G.I.s during World War II. Disappointed by the girls his age, he meets Maya (Karen Black), a married woman in her 30s, who tutors him in love and romance. Maya is only the first of many mature women whom András will meet through his teenage and young adult life.
Cast
- Tom Berenger as András Vayda
- Karen Black as Maya
- Susan Strasberg as Bobbie
- Helen Shaver as Ann MacDonald
- Marilyn Lightstone as Klari
- Alexandra Stewart as Paula
- Marianne McIsaac as Julika
- Alberta Watson as Mitzi
- Ian Tracey as Andras Vajda Jr
- Monique Lepage as The Countess
- Louise Marleau as Woman in Elevator
- Henry Ramer, Narrator (voice)
Production
The film was shot from 12 September to 18 October 1977. The film was initially budgeted at $890,000, but cost $1.5 million, with $300,000 coming from the Canadian Film Development Corporation.{{sfn|Turner|1987|p=253-254}}
Release
The film was distributed by Astral Films in Canada and Embassy Pictures in the United States. It was shown at the 1978 Toronto International Film Festival on 14 September, and released in Montreal on 22 September. The French dub was released in Montreal on 14 March 1980.{{sfn|Turner|1987|p=253-254}} The film earned over $20 million.{{sfn|Knelman|1987|p=28}}
In Praise of Older Women was removed by Famous Players from a theatre, after having made $24,000 the previous week, in order to show The Boys from Brazil instead.{{sfn|Pendakur|1990|p=155}}
In 2023, Telefilm Canada announced that the film was one of 23 titles that will be digitally restored under its new Canadian Cinema Reignited program to preserve classic Canadian films.Pat Mullen, [https://povmagazine.com/oscar-winning-doc-leads-list-of-restored-canadian-classics/ "Oscar Winning Doc Leads List of Restored Canadian Classics"]. Point of View, May 9, 2023.
Reception
Before its release, the Ontario Film Review Board demanded the removal of a 35 second sex scene from the film. However, the original cut of the film was shown during the Toronto International Film Festival, and despite a subway strike and a rainstorm, hundreds of people waited outside the Elgin Theatre to see the film.{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/movies/tiff-an-oral-history |title=TIFF: An oral history |last=David Berry |date=September 3, 2015 |accessdate=September 4, 2015 |newspaper=National Post }} According to some sources, counterfeit tickets were distributed, and a riot almost formed as ticket holders were turned away.{{cite news |title=Fun facts about TIFF |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/fun-facts-about-tiff-1.962347 |work=CBC News |date=September 3, 2010 |accessdate=September 4, 2015 }} The film received mostly negative reviews.{{sfn|Knelman|1987|p=28}}
Accolades
| class="wikitable"
|+ List of awards and nominations ! Award !! Category !! Recipients and nominees !! Result |
| rowspan="4" | Canadian Film Awards, 1978{{cite web |title=Awards Database |url=http://www.academy.ca/About-the-Academy/Awards-Database?flow=titleYear&step=2&byty-award-v=0&byty-winners-v=False&byty-title-v=In+Praise+of+Older+Women&byty-year-v=0 |accessdate=September 4, 2015 |date=April 8, 2014 |publisher=Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114232716/http://www.academy.ca/About-the-Academy/Awards-Database?flow=titleYear&step=2&byty-award-v=0&byty-winners-v=False&byty-title-v=In+Praise+of+Older+Women&byty-year-v=0 |archive-date=November 14, 2016 |url-status=dead }}
| Art Direction (Feature) | {{won}} |
| Performance by a Lead Actress (Feature)
| {{won}} |
| Supporting Actress (Feature)
| {{won}} |
| Cinematography (Feature)
| {{won}} |
See also
- In Praise of Older Women (1997 adaption)
Works cited
- {{cite book|last=Pendakur |first=Manjunath |title=Canadian Dreams & American Control: The Political Economy of the Canadian Film Industry |publisher=Garamond Press |date=1990 |url=https://archive.org/details/canadiandreamsam0000pend |isbn=0920059937}}
References
{{reflist}}
Works cited
- {{cite book|editor-last=Turner |editor-first=D. John |title=Canadian Feature Film Index: 1913-1985 |publisher=Canadian Film Institute |date=1987 |url=https://archive.org/details/canadianfeaturef0000turn |isbn=0660533642}}
- {{cite book|last=Knelman |first=Martin |title=Home Movies: Tales from the Canadian Film World |publisher=Key Porter Books |date=1987 |url=https://archive.org/details/homemoviestalesf0000knel |isbn=1550130498}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0077728|title=In Praise of Older Women}}
- The New York Times review : http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/24525/In-Praise-of-Older-Women/overview
Category:1978 romantic drama films
Category:Canadian coming-of-age drama films
Category:English-language Canadian films
Category:Films directed by George Kaczender
Category:Films set in Budapest
Category:Films set in the 1950s
Category:Films shot in Montreal
Category:Canadian romantic drama films
Category:Films scored by Tibor Polgár
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