The Great Santini (1979)

Better Late Then Never

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

I think Ben & Toomer are still talking; Ben may have him to the hospital by the year 2020. The accents in every character are way off, I'm thinking Bob Duvall could've played Major Dad a bit better than Gerald McRaney. Lisa Jane Persky (Mary Anne) gives easily the best performance, albeit brief. If you are looking for the Great Santini, you won't find him. There's nothing really great or redeeming in this movie, just another misogynistic abusive racist asshole father without the ability to cope- terrorizing those who love him. The 1970/1980's propaganda machine ran a successful Bill W campaign, claiming all drinkers as alcoholics rather than focusing on building balanced coping mechanisms. They created treatment programs to force the opiate of the masses down the throat of every drinker. If you can't shame the person then guilt and if no guilt then accept, shun and label. Thus, the great Santini was born. Somehow Bull's drinking becomes a central issue where it wasn't needed, a few racist slurs later mixed into the Roy G Biv of abuse, you realize the salvation of the family only comes in his death. Somehow the best fighter pilot goes down for no reason and he's redeemed through death; the family is freed from the bondage of a Ignorant jar-head.I realize a lot of people love this movie but those are the same people who see genius in the movie Ordinary People. I know it won an Oscar, I'm still bored 35 years later. If the characters had any self awareness, they would've asked Major Dad one thing... When did your vanity surpass Unit, Corp, God, Country. Hope they got Kendrick because his southern accent was an abomination too.

This movie is not heavily reviewed on this site. Thought I would contribute one more in case some movie fans don't know this film is one of the top 20 films ever made. Not technically brilliant. There are all sorts of audio and sound looping mistakes. There is some deft camera work. During the big game, the camera dollies up and down the court for good capture of action. There are some long composed shots of the beauty of South Carolina. It is mostly medium shots and two shots of dialog. There are no long continuous shots, and it is quite choppy. Kinda like television. The dialog and the story are outstanding. Bull Meechum's speeches are pure military gold. " You are flying with Bull Meecham now. I s**t you not, gentlemen, this is the eye of the storm!" I try to work that into my own speeches to this day. Another one that gets me, when racist Red Petus is shouting at (black) Toomer's back, "Look at me!" It captures his frustration and self-loathing perfectly. The entire scene of Ben's mother explaining the behavior of his father, after the harrowing basketball game, in the dark bedroom is worth watching again and again. Speaking of which, the scene where Bull tortures his son by bouncing the ball off his head is legendary in sports fan's and coaching circles. "One, two, three... Cry!"Great writing makes a great movie- but the acting positively makes this a high point of cinema. In my opinion, Robert Duvall is just as good as Robert DeNiro. His career is littered with high points and classics, but this one is my favorite. Most reviewers here say the character is unsympathetic. Duvall shows much of his tenderness when he wakes up his son at 4AM to describe the day 18 years before when he was born. The entire first 20 minutes show his sense of humor and his playfulness. When I first saw this in 1980 I loved the guy from the get go- and then the abusive basketball game riveted me to my seat. Duvall (and the script) show all sides of The Great Santini- the gift of fury, the love, the pride, the lust, the frustration, the anger, the ignorance,... everything in a father's heart. Maybe it's just something women don't get.Micheal O'Keefe captures high school youth, too. He cries a few times, and it really wrenches your heart. This is Blythe Danner's greatest achievement. I really felt Lillian loved Bull Meechum, and there was a back story there. Of course, we don't get the back story, just like the kids don't. Her scenes with her son Ben had the subtle gritty ring of realism. She says a lot with her hands and her eyes. The rest of the supporting cast is excellent. There are many stories and events in this plot. I wish it could have been longer to explore the younger sister, Mary Jane, and maybe the children's experiences in school with their peers.In conclusion, I would like to say that people who review the film and don't like Bull Meechum tend to not like the movie. That is unfair.(if you watch Taxi Driver over and over you must come to the same conclusion: Travis Bickle is a scumbag, a loser, and a psychopath, but the acting and the movie are extraordinary, nonetheless) Also, I suppose that these people who react strongly never had a tough parent.I appreciated the rougher aspects of this character, and understood how he was missed by his family. His death is symbolic, because his son is now grown and is his own person within the story line. My own father was a tough, old, dinosaur. He didn't die when I was 18. But when I moved out and became a man, he turned into a hell of a guy. Kind, funny, patient... You could say that my 'old father' died. He just felt the best way to prepare your children for the world was through obedience, motivation, respect, and, yes, confrontation.

Imagine a man who considers winning to be absolutely everything. He is like the coach of a sports team, yet he encompasses a far greater reach of authority. And yet, he wants even more authority and always seems to be getting it, because of his natural air of authority and others' natural air of backing down in the fright of his presence. He is a coach, a military man, a patriot, abusive, and to make things even more shocking: a father who just doesn't really know how to be one except his own way. And you have a picture of the type of character that Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall plays in this film. He got another nomination for the Academy Award in this film, although he unfortunately did not win it."The Great Santini" is a dramatic film near to perfection and one of the finest great movies of the 70s. Majority of the screen time is devoted to the relationship between Robert Duvall and his screen son, portrayed by Michael O'Keefe, also in an Oscar-nominated performance. The whole point of this is that O'Keefe is the oldest out of four children who have spent their whole life being raised, bullied, and commanded by Duvall. He runs their lives like a boot camp. There is no mercy, no generosity, and all you get for a good job, is a slap on the back. Duvall is trying to raise them in the best way he knows. He wants them to succeed in life, but the only method he knows that is effective is to be rough. And O'Keefe's character has decided he's had enough of being treated like a soldier in war.Every aspect in "The Great Santini" is developed and executed perfectly to a magnificent entertaining level. The varsity basketball game depicted in the film is just like watching a real high school ball game. It's not full of tough, imaginative lines. Nothing remarkable happens during it, and yet it is a powerful sequence and highly entertaining, almost as if you were sitting with the cheering and jeering friends and family members of the characters. There are also powerful messages about racism and violence in the film, performed through a friendship between the characters portrayed by Michael O'Keefe, Stan Shaw, and David Keith. It is an excellent subplot that is the next-to-most-important aspect of the story and it involves pretty much all of the characters in some way, shape, or form. It's not just an in-the-background tragedy."The Great Santini" plays out as a magnificent story, mostly revolving around the character played by Robert Duvall. As we see him, he goes on an off with his temper and general-like behavior, and we come to like and dislike him over the course of the film, respecting him as if he were a real person before us. While he's really nothing more than a fictional character being portrayed by a magnificent and talented actor, he is in his own way, one of the greatest heroes of film history. And he just wants everybody to see things his way.Recommended.

Muddled adaptation of Pat Conroy's book(briefly retitled "The Ace" at one point)features Robert Duvall as strict Marine Bull Meechum, raising his kids with an iron fist in 1962. Duvall is well cast but one-note in the lead; didn't this guy have another side they could've explored? Was he only about outbursts and confrontation? The character is written as such a hot-headed buffoon that he elicits no sympathy. Film is fatally doomed by irrational racial sub-plot that gets shoehorned in, possibly to take us away from the father for a few minutes but, alas, not to a better place. Michael O'Keefe as the son has a nice, mellow way with an exchange, and it's always nice to see Blythe Danner's work--and yet, she's wasted as the mom. ** from ****