Two aged sisters reflect on life and the past during a late summer day. Used book shop the whales of august photos facebook. Click to read more about the whales of august by david berry. As i recall from something else i read the blue whales were making a comeback, slowly, but they are being seen more, one was seen off the coast of california, which was rare. He taught at several institutions including the national theatre institute and the school of visual arts in manhattan. The whales of august is based on a play of the same name by american playwright david berry. Berry also adapted his play for the movies screenplay. A sensitive and gently humorous study of two widowed sisters moving into the twilight of their lives, where the richness of past memories and the fading promise of the future come into dubious battle. The scene is a beach house on an island off the maine coast, where tw. Its full of memories, it gives one an initial warmth and fuzziness, but tiny little stray threads can rub against the skin and cause discomfort.
The names of lillian gish, bette davis and vincent price will never be forgotten by film lovers. Mike kaplan and lillian gish during filming for the whales of august gish draws every ounce of emotion from a lovely scene in which sarah celebrates her 46th wedding anniversary by having an imaginary conversation with philip, her long deceased husband. The more lyrical descriptive passages are interspersed by passages set in different type containing factual accounts, sidelights, anecdotes, and scientific findings on whales. With bette davis, lillian gish, vincent price, ann sothern. The obvious affecionados of this movie will be those who have lived much of life, and can relate closely with the collection of elder characters.
Its a slight drama to begin with, about two elderly, widowed sisters summering in maine, one causing considerable grief and concern for the other, but whats there is hampered further by the. The whales of august is beautifully rendered but drives home the theme of lifes brevity. There is a story that during the filming of the whales of august, anderson told gish one day that she had just performed wonderfully in a closeup. The whales of august is a 1987 american drama film directed by lindsay anderson and. The whales of august by lindsay anderson bette davis. The whales of august is set in a cottage on a maine island where two sisters have spent 60 summers. The whales of august 1987 will screen tonight at 7pm as part of the vincentennial vincent price film festival at brown hall on the campus of washington university. Sarah lillian gish is a romantic who loves roses, little projects,and talking with people. There were no real whales in the whales of august and no place to buy a cup of coffee on the island where the movie was made. The whales of august is a 1987 drama about two elderly sisters, libby bette davis and sarah lillian gish. The whales of august, on the other hand, surely will be. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The film the whales of august was shot on cliff island 25 years ago and roger berle worked on the film then and talks about events to mark the anniversary.
The kl studio classics bluray of the whales of august is a fine encoding that brings out the life in the picture, the sunny maine mornings and the warm atmosphere in sarahs summer house. The sensitive cinematography doesnt mind getting close to its subjects. The whales of august is the cinematic equivalent of a handmade but very old and worn family quilt. The whales of august is a play written by american playwright david berry. He received an obie award for distinguished playwriting. Im not smashing on the book, its great, but its a call for people to wake up that we are going to lose the whales if we dont stop what we are doing. He died of a heart attack on december 16, 2016 at the age of 73.
The whales of august paperback dec 1 1984 by david berry author 4. The whales of august 1987 frequently asked questions imdb. As sarah follows her daily chores, from gardening to painting to preparing tea for visitors, you get a strong sense of rhythm and simplicity that is almost hypnotic. David berry, a playwright and screenwriter best known for the play and film the whales of august, died on dec. His generosity is understandable, given the films main draw. Clip from the oscarnominated film, the whales of august, starring bette davis and lillian gish. The whales of august bette davis and lillian gish youtube. Used book shop the whales of august posts facebook.
The longer we look at the ladies the more beautiful they seem, even the gaunt bette davis. The whales of august is a 1987 american drama film based on the play of the same name by david berry and starring bette. Audio commentary by producer mike kaplan, moderated by film critic stephen farber. The whales of august follow the events of just more than a day in the life of two sisters, sarah lillian gish and libby bette davis. Time magazine film critic and prolific film director and book. Bette davis, lillian gish, vincent price, ann sothern, harry carey jr.
This will be followed by an onstage interview with victoria price, author of vincent price, a daughters biography and. The whales of august is a fulllength drama by david berry. Discover what genre the whales of august, 1987, directed by lindsay anderson, with bette davis, lillian gish, vincent price, belongs at turner classic movies. The whales of august tells the story of two elderly widowed sisters from philadelphia, near the end of their lives, spending their annual summer in a seaside house in maine. The surroundings cause them to recall their relationship as young women, and the summers they had enjoyed there in the past. The whales of august features a wonderful screenplay by playwright david berry g. The scene is a beach house on an island off the maine coast, where two widowed sisters, sarah walker and elizabeth strong, have been summering for many years, elizabeth, the eldest and now blind, has grown increasingly reclusive and irritable, as she progressively closes down each of her senses while awaiting the escort who will carry her off to join her late. I was a bit disappointed and a lot underwhelmed when i saw the whales of august 1987 when it was new, and watching it for the second time via kinos new bluray, that opinion, alas, remains unchanged. He later wrote the screenplay for the 1987 movie version. The whales of august 1987 frequently asked questions. Point based on his play and topnotch direction by the great lindsay anderson o lucky man. Written out of annoyance and anger at both the federal government and the portrayal of newfoundland in the national papers in victoria,b.
The whales of august the whales of august tells the story of two elderly widowed sisters near the end of their lives, spending a summer in a seaside house in maine. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. The book blends fact and fictionbasedonfact into a story of the life of a whale born in september through august of the following year. Is it wrong of me to propose a ceasefire agreement between humans and whales and dolphins, i know it is in actuality a one sided massacre, but so was bosnia and there the ceasefire is holding, so would it be nice to have a declaration backing a ceasefire between us mammals. A onceinalifetime cast of veterans performs david berrys play about libby strong bette davis and sarah webber lillian gish, widowed. Both of them are now widows and have chosen to spend the end of their lives together.
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