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MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL (1997) |
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MORGAN'S RATING |
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| The most important party of the Savannah Christmas season is at that genteel town's most elegant home. Blacktie. Bluebloods. Then bang! Affable host Jim Williams shoots a man to death. The party is over, the mystery begins. And the back-slapping, glass-clinking scores of dearest friends who thronged Williams' home discover secrets that make them far less eager to help good ol' Jimbo's courtroom defense. Director Clint Eastwood weaves murder, mystery and voodoo into a sumptuous adaptation of the John Berendt bestseller based on true events. |
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| John Cusack (John Kelso), Kevin Spacey (James 'Jim' Williams), Jack Thompson (Sonny Seiler), Irma P. Hall (Minerva), Jude Law (Billy Carl Hanson), Alison Eastwood (Mandy Nichols), Paul Hipp (Joe Odom), Lady Chablis (Lady Chablis), Dorothy Loudon (Serena Dawes), Anne Haney (Margaret Williams), Kim Hunter (Betty Harty), Geoffrey Lewis (Luther Driggers), Richard Herd (Henry Skerridge), Leon Rippy (Detective Boone), Bob Gunton (Finley Largent), Michael O'Hagan (Geza Von Habsburg), Gary Anthony Williams (Bus Driver), Tim Black (Jeff Braswell), Muriel Moore (Mrs. Baxter), Sonny Seiler (Judge White), Terry Rhoads (Assistant D.A.), Victor Brandt (Bailiff), Patricia Herd, Nick Gillie (Jurors), Patrika Darbo (Sara Warren), J. Patrick McCormack (Doctor), Emma Kelly (Herself), Tyrone Lee Weaver (Ellis), Greg Soossen (Prison Cell Lunatic), Shannon Eubanks (Mrs. Hamilton), Virginia Duncan, Rhoda Griffis, Judith Robinson (Card Club Women), Ann Cusack (Delivery Woman). |
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PRODUCTION INFORMATION |
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DIRECTOR: Clint Eastwood (Bird)
WRITERS: John Lee Hancock, and based on the book by John Berendt.
PRODUCERS: Clint Eastwood and Arnold Stiefel.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Michael Maurer.
CO-PRODUCER: Tom Rooker.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Anita Zuckerman.
ORIGINAL MUSIC: Lennie Niehaus.
DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. |
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QUOTES |
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[At the cemetary for a funeral.]
John Kelso: Why don't you come in?
Minerva: I never enter the office on Sunday. Ba-a-d juju. |
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FACTS |
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RELEASE DATE: November 21st, 1997 (USA)
BOX OFFICE OPENING: $5.2 million (USA)
BOX OFFICE RESULT: $25.1 million (USA)
BUDGET: $30 million (USA)
SHOOTING DATES: May 1997 -- ???
- Lady Chablis, the transvestite from Savannah featured in John Berendt's book plays herself in the movie adaptation of the book.
- The judge is played by Sonny Seiler, the attorney for Jim Williams during the trials.
- The English bulldog Uga in the film is actually Uga 5 rather than Uga 4 (former mascot of the University of Georgia). Uga 4, who was the bulldog in the book, died shortly before filming, so his son, Uga 5, took his place.
- The Mercer House, the house Jim Williams lived in was originally built for Hugh Weedon Mercer. Mercer was the great-grandfather of Johnny Mercer, who co-wrote most of the songs included in the movie's soundtrack. |
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Kelso: Hey, Joe, what happened?
Joe Odom: Oh, that Jim Williams went and shot somebody. Canape? |
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Kelso: This place is fantastic; it's like "Gone With the Wind" on mescaline. They walk imaginary pets here, Garland -- on a fucking leash. And they're all heavily armed and drunk. New York is boring! |
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Jim Williams: I gave him what he needed, and he gave me what I needed. |
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The Lady Chablis: It's like my mother always said: "Two tears in a bucket, motherfuck it."
Kelso: Hmm. I'll have to remember that one. |
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Kelso: Hmm. Chablis, I'm...I'm straight.
The Lady Chablis: So am I. Straight back to my house. |
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Jim Williams: Sport, truth, like art, is in the eyes of the beholder. You believe what you choose and I'll believe what I know. |
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CRITICAL COMMENTS |
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Minerva: To understand the living, you got to commune with the dead. |
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| "A mystery laced with class and sass. Clint Eastwood's direction will make your day." -- Gene Shalit, "Today"/NBC-TV |
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Mandy Nichols: If you're thirsty, a drink will cure it, if you're not, a drink will prevent it. Prevention is better than a cure. |
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| "One of the best American films of the year." -- James Verniere, Boston Herald |
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Billy Carl Hanson: You don't give me warnings, I give them to you, remember, 'cause I can back mine up. |
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| "An oppressively long, cinematic oddball." -- Mike Clark, USA Today |
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Jim Williams: True story, and deliciously evil, don't you think? |
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