The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1991)

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1991) (DVD) (*)

~~$20.99~~ $14.97

Screened, competed or awarded at:
Berlin International Film Festival

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Spain ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
100 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Commentary
Filmographies
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1991 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Simon Callow

Written By:
Edward Albee
Michael Hirst

Actors:
Vanessa Redgrave ..... Miss Amelia
Keith Carradine ..... Marvin Macy
Cork Hubbert ..... Cousin Lymon
Rod Steiger ..... Rev. Willin
Austin Pendleton ..... Lawyer Taylor
Beth Dixon ..... Mary Hale
Lanny Flaherty ..... Merlie Ryan
Mert Hatfield ..... Stumpy McPhail
Earl Hindman ..... Henry Macy
Anne Pitoniak ..... Mrs. McPhail
Frederick Johnson ..... Jeff
Lauri Raymond ..... Sadie Ricketts
Joe Stevens ..... Henry Ford Cri
Keith Wommack ..... Tom Rainey
Kevin Wommack ..... George Rainey

Synopsis:

Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine and Rod Steiger are stars of Merchant Ivory Productions' extraordinary 1991 film, directed by British actor Simon Callow. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, based on the Carson McCullers novella and the Edward Albee play, is both a grotesque black comedy and a prime slice of Southern Gothic set in a poverty-stricken rural community dominated by the curious, androgynous character of Miss Amelia. A forceful personality with a mysterious past, she runs the town's only cafe and controls the locals through the careful distribution of her own secretly brewed 'hooch,' but Miss Amelia's eccentric existence is threatened with the arrival of a hunchbacked dwarf who claims kinship with her and by the reappearance of the husband she rejected on their wedding night.

A tangled triangle. In the rural South of the early 20th century, Miss Amelia is the town eccentric, selling corn liquor and dispensing medicine. She takes in her half-sister's son, a diminutive crook-back named Lymon. He suggests they open a café in the downstairs of her large house. Marvin Macy gets out of prison and returns to town; turns out he was married to Amelia but it wasn't consummated. He pleaded, then got angry. Is he back for revenge? Eventually, Amelia and Marvin stage a no-holds-barred fight in the café. Lymon's complicated response to Marvin and to Cousin Amelia figures in the resolution.

Marvin Macy doesn't return from prison to marry Amelia, he married Amelia before he went to prison, was rejected by her on their wedding night and was permanently relegated to sleep in a shed. She ruthlessly drives him away. Marvin returns after being released from prison to spoil the brief period of happiness Amelia has enjoyed with her newfound relation, which leads to the bare-knuckle fight.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 19 December, 2019.