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Bound for Glory (1976 film)

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Bound for Glory
Theatrical release poster by Tom Jung
Directed byHal Ashby
Screenplay byRobert Getchell
Based onBound for Glory
1943 book
by Woody Guthrie
Produced byRobert F. Blumofe
Harold Leventhal
StarringDavid Carradine
Ronny Cox
Melinda Dillon
Gail Strickland
Randy Quaid
CinematographyHaskell Wexler
Edited byPembroke J. Herring
Robert C. Jones
Music byLeonard Rosenman (conductor and music adaptor)
George Brand
Joan Biel
Guthrie Thomas
Ralph Ferraro
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • December 5, 1976 (1976-12-05) (United States)
Running time
147 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[1] or $7 million[2]

Bound for Glory is a 1976 American biographical film directed by Hal Ashby and loosely adapted by Robert Getchell from Woody Guthrie's 1943 partly fictionalized autobiography Bound for Glory. The film stars David Carradine as folk singer Woody Guthrie, with Ronny Cox, Melinda Dillon, Gail Strickland, John Lehne, Ji-Tu Cumbuka and Randy Quaid.[3] Much of the film is based on Guthrie's attempt to humanize the desperate Okie Dust Bowl refugees in California during the Great Depression.

Bound for Glory was the first motion picture in which inventor/operator Garrett Brown used his new Steadicam for filming moving scenes.[4] Director of photography Haskell Wexler won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography at the 49th Academy Awards.

All of the main events and characters, except for Guthrie and his first wife, Mary, are entirely fictional. The film ends with Guthrie singing his most famous song, "God Blessed America for Me" (subsequently retitled "This Land Is Your Land"), on his way to New York, but, in fact, the song was composed in New York in 1940 and forgotten by him until five years later.

Plot

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In 1936, amid the Great Depression, Woody Guthrie performs guitar at a gas station. A customer offers $1 to anyone who can address his worries, and Guthrie succeeds by providing a satisfactory answer. Subsequently, Guthrie begins painting a sign but frustrates his wife, Mary, by abandoning the task—their only reliable source of income—to engage in music instead. At a local bar, Guthrie performs for a woman named Sue Ann and spends the night with her. On his porch, he encounters Heavy Chandler, a recently released mental patient, and encourages him to express his thoughts through painting. After performing at a square dance, a dust storm compels everyone indoors. Guthrie suggests to Mary that he should leave to seek work, and eventually, he departs, leaving her a note.

During his travels, Guthrie rides a train with Slim Snedeger and other hobos. When a fight breaks out, Guthrie and Slim jump to another train; however, railroad enforcers compel those without money to disembark. Slim is able to afford the fare, but Guthrie, being broke, continues on foot, and they part ways. Guthrie later offends a middle-class couple who provide him a ride, leading them to drop him off. In a bar, he earns a meal by playing the piano and spends the night with a waitress. He subsequently rides with a family bound for California, but at the state border, police demand $50 for entry. Guthrie leaves the family and joins a nearby hobo camp. In Los Angeles, he meets Luther and Liz Johnson, a migrant couple struggling to find employment. Upon discovering that jobs are both scarce and poorly compensated, Guthrie offers to paint a sign at a soup kitchen, but his only recompense is a serving of soup.

Later, union organizer Ozark Bule arrives at the camp, performing union songs. When company thugs disrupt the gathering, Guthrie escapes with Ozark, who assists him in obtaining a radio job where Guthrie's songs about the working class achieve popularity. However, station owner Mr. Locke insists that Guthrie refrain from singing about unions and instead focus on entertainment. Although Guthrie initially acquiesces, he eventually resumes performing protest songs, resulting in conflict with Locke. Ultimately refusing to compromise, Guthrie is dismissed from his position. He brings Mary and their children to Los Angeles, but he feels out of place amid the wealth surrounding him. Luther, bruised from a beating, informs Guthrie that his songs provide inspiration to the laborers. Frustrated, Guthrie tears up a list of "safe" songs, leaves the studio, and resumes traveling, performing protest songs at migrant camps and factories.

While performing at a fruit-packing plant, Guthrie is assaulted by company enforcers, who destroy his guitar. Undeterred, he continues to travel by train and perform his songs. Upon returning to Los Angeles, Locke extends one final opportunity to Guthrie, but he is terminated once again after dedicating a song to farm workers. As Guthrie departs, Ozark informs him that an agent has arranged a coast-to-coast radio show for him and secured an audition at the prestigious Ambassador Hotel. Guthrie purchases toys for his children, only to discover that Mary and the girls have already left. During the hotel audition, the owner offers him a position but insists on dressing him in overalls and presenting him as part of a hillbilly act. Refusing to cater to the wealthy, Guthrie walks out, returns to the railroad yard, hops on a train, and resumes singing protest songs from the top of a boxcar, remaining true to his roots.

Cast

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with appearances by

Production

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Arthur Krim of United Artists agreed to finance the film on the basis of Ashby's reputation, even before a star had signed on.[2]

Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson both turned down the role. Richard Dreyfuss was considered. Tim Buckley was going to be offered the part but died of a drug overdose. Ashby interviewed David Carradine but turned him down, in part because he felt Carradine was too tall. However over time he reconsidered. "He had the right rural look and the musicianship," said Ashby. "And he had a ‘to hell with you’ attitude."[2]

Ashby later said Carradine's "to hell with you" attitude did cause him some problems during filming. "Once, when we were doing a scene, some migrant workers marched by. David started marching with them. By the time we found him, he was two miles away; and he had held up shooting for three hours.”[2]

The railroad scenes were filmed on the Sierra Railroad. Ashby wanted a "big" freight train for the movie, as opposed to the shorter trains commonly used in filmmaking. The railroad assembled a train of 34 freight cars. Scenes taking place on the Texas panhandle that did not include views of a locomotive were filmed near Stockton, California, using diesel locomotives. Scenes showing locomotives utilized three steam locomotives owned by the Sierra Railroad, and were filmed in and around Oakdale, California, and the roundhouse scenes were filmed at what is now Railtown 1897 in Jamestown, California.[5]

Reception

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As of January 2024, Bound for Glory holds a rating of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 26 reviews. The consensus summarizes: "Bound for Glory brings the Dust Bowl era to authentic life thanks to Haskell Wexler's opulent cinematography and Woody Guthrie's resonant music, capturing the American mood at the time as much as it does the folk singer's life."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100 based on reviews from 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Film critic Roger Ebert praised the film, calling it "one of the best-looking films ever made." However, Ebert claimed the beauty of the film was often achieved at the cost of the tone.[7]

Accolades

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Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
Academy Awards Best Picture Robert F. Blumofe and Harold Leventhal Nominated [8]
Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium Robert Getchell Nominated
Best Cinematography Haskell Wexler Won
Best Costume Design William Ware Theiss Nominated
Best Film Editing Robert C. Jones and Pembroke J. Herring Nominated
Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score Leonard Rosenman Won
Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Hal Ashby Nominated [9]
Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture – Drama Nominated [10]
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama David Carradine Nominated
Best Director – Motion Picture Hal Ashby Nominated
New Star of the Year – Actress Melinda Dillon Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Cinematography Haskell Wexler Won [11]
National Board of Review Awards Best Actor David Carradine Won [12]
National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Cinematography Haskell Wexler Won [13]
New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actor David Carradine Runner-up [14]
Society of Camera Operators Awards Historical Shot Garrett Brown Won [15]
Writers Guild of America Awards Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium Robert Getchell Nominated [16]

American Film Institute

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Soundtrack

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The Academy Award-winning score was released internationally in 1976 by United Artists Records, in an album containing Leonard Rosenman's music and Woody Guthrie's songs with David Carradine in the vocals. In 2012, it was also released as a CD by Intrada Records, with some of the incidental cues remixed into four orchestral suites.[18]

Home media

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On February 29, 2000 "Bound for Glory" was released on DVD by MGM. It included dialog dubbed in French, and subtitles in French and Spanish, but no English subtitles. [19]

In January 2016, Bound for Glory was released in Blu-ray format, in a limited edition, by Twilight Time.[20] In April 2022, another Blu-ray was released by Sandpiper Pictures.[21] Both versions have English subtitles.

References

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  1. ^ "The Films of Hal Ashby". Beach, Christopher (2009). Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, p. 176, ISBN 978-0-8143-3415-7.
  2. ^ a b c d Harmetz, Aljean (5 December 1976). "Gambling on a Film About the Great Depression". New York Times.
  3. ^ Bound for Glory at IMDb
  4. ^ "Steadicam 30th anniversary press release". Archived from the original on 2014-04-30.
  5. ^ Jensen, Larry (2018). Hollywood's RailroadsE: Sierra Railroad. Vol. Two. Sequim, WashinSgton: Cochetopa Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9780692064726.
  6. ^ "Bound for Glory". Rotten Tomatoes.
  7. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Bound for Glory movie review & film summary (1977) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  8. ^ "The 49th Academy Awards (1977) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2015-01-11. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
  9. ^ "Official Selection 1977: All the Selection". festival-cannes.fr. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013.
  10. ^ "Bound for Glory – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  11. ^ "The 2nd Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  12. ^ "1976 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  13. ^ "Past Awards". National Society of Film Critics. 19 December 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  14. ^ "1976 New York Film Critics Circle Awards". New York Film Critics Circle. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  15. ^ "Past SOC Lifetime Achievement Awards". Society of Operating Cameramen. 6 December 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  16. ^ "Awards Winners". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  17. ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-07-30.
  18. ^ "Woody Guthrie, Leonard Rosenman, David Carradine – Bound For Glory - Original Motion Picture Score". Discogs (published 2022). 1976. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  19. ^ Amazon.com: Bound for Glory [DVD] : David Carradine, Ronny Cox, Melinda Dillon, Gail Strickland, John Lehne, Ji-Tu Cumbuka, Randy Quaid, Elizabeth Macey, Susan Vaill, Sarah Vaill, Alexandra Mock, Kimberly Mock, Hal Ashby, Robert Getchell, Woody Guthrie: Movies & TV. ISBN 0792843568.
  20. ^ "Bound for Glory Blu-ray Limited Edition to 3000". Blu-ray.com. January 19, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  21. ^ "Bound for Glory Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. April 19, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
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