| | | The true story of the woman who wrote The Yearling.
Features: DVD, Widescreen
In 1928, frustrated newspaper reporter Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen) leaves her husband and career and moves to an isolated orange grove in the Florida bayou to concentrate on writing fiction. But here in this strange and untamed land, Marjorie will find her life changed forever by a devoted servant (Alfre Woodard) who becomes her friend, a local businessman (Peter Coyote) who becomes her lover and the backwoods father (Rip Torn) and his young daughter (Dana Hill) who become her greatest inspiration. Cross Creek is based on the best-selling memoirs of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The Yearling. Directed by the legendary Martin Ritt (Sounder, Norma Rae), the film became the sensation of the 1983 Cannes Film Festival and remains one of the most powerful portraits ever of a writer's search for fulfillment as well as the remarkable story of one woman's bold struggle for independence.
"Unforgettable... Great cast and great acting!" The Austin Chronicle
"Inspirational." Time Magazine
Editor's Note
Mary Steenburgen (MELVIN AND HOWARD) stars in this adaptation of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's classic novel about her experiences living in rural Florida during the 1920s and 1930s. Mixing together elements of both CROSS CREEK and THE YEARLING, director Martin Ritt creates a glowing period piece that finds the essence of both books. In the film, Mrs. Rawlings (Steenburgen), a New Yorker, buys an orange grove in the Florida swamps for the purpose of going there to write the gothic romance she can't seem to finish in the city. As soon as she arrives, Mrs. Rawlings becomes immersed in the colorful backwoods community that surrounds her grove, and acquires a young cook named Geechee (Woodard) as well as farm hands to work the groves. Enchanted by life in Cross Creek, Mrs. Rawlings finds herself writing not gothic romances, but tales of small town life in rural Florida. Next thing she knows, her stories catch the attention of a major publisher. A lyrical meditation on both rural life and the nature of creativity, Martin Ritt's film is filled with lush imagery and standout performances. In particular, Rip Torn's performance as Marsh Turner, a drunken but loving father, is outstanding, and it rightfully won him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Plot Summary
A frustrated newspaper reporter turns her back on her cosmopolitan existence and takes up residence in the Florida Everglades. There she turns her efforts and attention to writing novels.
| Features | Widescreen Version, Enhanced For 16X9 TVs | | Cross Creek: A Look Back With Mary Steenburgen--An All New 17 Minute Featurette | | Theatrical Trailer |
| Technical Info
|
Release Information
| | Studio: Anchor Bay |
| Release Date: 2/19/2002 |
| Running Time: 120 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1983 | | Catalog ID: 11444 | | UPC: 00013131144499 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1984) | | | Rip Torn, Nominee, Best Supporting Actor | | | Alfre Woodard, Nominee, Best Supporting Actress | | | Leonard Rosenman, Nominee, Best Music, Original Score | |
Cannes Film Festival (1983) | | | Martin Ritt, Nominee, Golden Palm |
|
|
