Savages (1972 film)

1972 film by James Ivory

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Savages

DVD cover

Directed by| James Ivory
Screenplay by| George W. S. Trow
Michael O'Donoghue
Based on| An idea by
James Ivory
Produced by| Ismail Merchant
Starring| Lewis J. Stadlen
Anne Francine
Sam Waterston
Susan Blakely
Ultra Violet
Salome Jens
Kathleen Widdoes
Thayer David
Asha Puthli
Martin Kove
Cinematography| Walter Lassally
Edited by| Kent McKinney
Music by| Joe Raposo
Bobby Short (theme song)
Distributed by| Angelika Films

Release date

* June 27, 1972 (1972-06-27)

Running time

| 106 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $350,000

Savages is a 1972 Merchant Ivory Film directed by James Ivory and screenplay by George W. S. Trow and Michael O'Donoghue, based on an idea by Ivory.

The film concept given to Trow and O'Donoghue was to tell a story that was the reverse of Luis Buñuel's 1962 film The Exterminating Angel, in which guests at an elegant dinner party become bestial. Writing began in late 1968 and continued through 1969. Its first showing came at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1972.

## Synopsis

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In contrast to Buñuel's story, Savages starts when a tribe of primitive "mudpeople" performing a sacrifice encounter a croquet ball, rolling through their forest. Following it, they find themselves on a vast, deserted Westchester estate in the 1930s.

Entering, they begin to become civilized and assume the stereotypical roles and dress of people at a weekend party. There follows an allegory of upper-class behavior. At last, they begin to devolve toward their original status, and after a battle at croquet, they disappear into the woods.

Susan Blakely, Kathleen Widdoes and Asha Puthli in James Ivory's Savages (1972).

## Reception

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Matt Brunson noted that Savages is an "intriguing short-film idea stretched out to feature length, worth a glance primarily as an artifact of its time".[1] Variety noted that "the playing has flair and grace".[2]

## Release

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This film has been released on DVD in 2004 as part of the Merchant-Ivory Collection produced by Criterion.

## Sources

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* Mr. Mike: The Life and Work of Michael O'Donoghue by Dennis Perrin, 1999. ISBN 0-380-72832-X.

## See also

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* List of American films of 1972

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Brunson, Matt. "View from the Couch". Retrieved 23 June 2013.
2. ^ "Review: "Savages"". Variety. Retrieved 4 June 2020.

## External links

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* Merchant Ivory Productions
* Cannes Film Festival
* Savages at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Merchant Ivory Productions

* Ismail Merchant
* James Ivory

* The Householder (1963)
* Shakespeare Wallah (1965)
* The Guru (1969)
* The Night of Counting the Years (1969)
* Bombay Talkie (1970)
* Savages (1972)
* The Wild Party (1975)
* Autobiography of a Princess (1975)
* Roseland (1977)
* Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978)
* The Five Forty-Eight (1978)
* The Europeans (1979)
* Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
* Quartet (1981)
* The Courtesans of Bombay (1983)
* Heat and Dust (1983)
* The Bostonians (1984)
* A Room with a View (1985)
* Maurice (1987)
* The Deceivers (1988)
* The Perfect Murder (1988)
* Slaves of New York (1989)
* Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)
* The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1991)
* Howards End (1992)
* The Remains of the Day (1993)
* In Custody (1994)
* Feast of July (1995)
* Jefferson in Paris (1995)
* The Proprietor (1996)
* Surviving Picasso (1996)
* Side Streets (1998)
* A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
* Cotton Mary (1999)
* The Golden Bowl (2000)
* The Mystic Masseur (2001)
* Le Divorce (2003)
* Heights (2005)
* The White Countess (2005)
* Before the Rains (2008)
* The City of Your Final Destination (2009)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by James Ivory

* The Householder (1963)
* The Delhi Way (1964)
* Shakespeare Wallah (1965)
* The Guru (1969)
* Bombay Talkie (1970)
* Adventures of a Brown Man in Search of Civilization (1972)
* Savages (1972)
* Autobiography of a Princess (1975)
* The Wild Party (1975)
* Roseland (1977)
* Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978)
* The Five Forty-Eight (1978)
* The Europeans (1979)
* Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
* Quartet (1981)
* Heat and Dust (1983)
* The Bostonians (1984)
* A Room with a View (1985)
* Maurice (1987)
* Slaves of New York (1989)
* Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)
* Howards End (1992)
* The Remains of the Day (1993)
* Jefferson in Paris (1995)
* Lumière and Company (1995)
* Surviving Picasso (1996)
* A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
* The Golden Bowl (2000)
* Le Divorce (2003)
* The White Countess (2005)
* The City of Your Final Destination (2009)

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