X
- 1985
- PG-13
- Universal Pictures
- 2 h 4 m
- 1985
- PG-13
- Universal Pictures
- 2 h 4 m
Summary A farming family battles severe storms, a bank is threatening to repossess their farm, and there are other hard times in a battle to save and hold on to their farm.
Directed By: Mark Rydell
Written By: Robert Dillon, Julian Barry
- 1985
- PG-13
- Universal Pictures
- 2 h 4 m
- 1985
- PG-13
- Universal Pictures
- 2 h 4 m
The River
46
4.5
Where to Watch
Summary A farming family battles severe storms, a bank is threatening to repossess their farm, and there are other hard times in a battle to save and hold on to their farm.
Directed By: Mark Rydell
Written By: Robert Dillon, Julian Barry
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
46
9% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
91% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
46
9% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
91% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The River is nothing more than a conventional, albeit pretty, melodrama. [11 Jan 1985, p.4N]
Stripped down to the bare essentials few people actually ever come into contact with, pic remains a rather private ordeal observed from the outside looking in. There is a victory at the end, but not a sense of lasting triumph.
Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson suffer admirably as the farm couple, but their roles have no real dimension. [15 Jan 1985]
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.
You know a movie's got problems when you find yourself wishing the heroes would agree with the villain.
Gibson, the thinking man's Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Spacek, a rawboned Raggedy Ann, are nearly silent partners in this largely visual parable. Despite their good looks and best efforts, the film falters. [11 Jan 1985, p.19]
Rydell and his writers compose a kind of Farmers' Book of Job as they pile one misery after another on the Garveys. But all this suffering does not turn them into real people. They're those old Hollywood standbys, Mr. and Mrs. Indomitable Human Spirit. [31 Dec 1984, p.65]
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 4 User Ratings
4.5
25% Positive
1 Rating
1 Rating
50% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
25% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 4 User Ratings
4.5
25% Positive
1 Rating
1 Rating
50% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
25% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
Universal Pictures
Release Date Jan 11, 1985
Duration 2 h 4 m
Rating PG-13
Genres
Tagline He showed her his strength, his courage, his incredible will. She showed him her love. [Theatrical Australia]
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 2 Nominations
Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination