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Movies / On DVD / A Thousand Acres
A Thousand Acres

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A Thousand Acres (1997)

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Reviews Counted:46

Fresh:11

Rotten:35

Average Rating:4.4/10

Consensus: A Thousand Acres makes disappointingly sudsy stuff out of the source material, but benefits from solid performances by a strong cast.

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: A THOUSAND ACRES, director Jocelyn Moorhouse's screen adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, finds skeins of KING LEAR-like conflict running through the bedrock of a midwestern... A THOUSAND ACRES, director Jocelyn Moorhouse's screen adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, finds skeins of KING LEAR-like conflict running through the bedrock of a midwestern family. Jason Robards stars as Larry Cook, a powerful, stoic Iowa farmer who decides to retire and split his 1000 acres of land among his three daughters. His two eldest daughters, Rose (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Ginny (Jessica Lange), live and work on the farm and happily accept the lucrative agreement, while the youngest, Larry's favorite, Caroline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), has abandoned farming life for a law career in Des Moines and refuses to take part in the deal. Initially, Larry is consumed with rage and shuts out Caroline while Rose and Ginny go about running the farm with their dutiful but greedy husbands. However, as Larry begins to lose touch with his farming life, he loses touch with reality, and his painful descent into madness leaves him bitterly opposed to his daughters' ways of running the farm. Paranoid and disillusioned, he decides to sue Rose and Ginny with Caroline's help in an effort to regain his patriarchal control. The lawsuit divides the family forever, leaving Rose and Ginny to suffer alone while realizing painful memories from their childhood. As Rose and Ginny discover their own individual strengths in the face of adversity, they learn how to survive on their own, without the protection of the farm and the suffocating presence of their father. Moorhouse's film is an epic tale of loss and redemption that highlights strong and earthy performances from Pfeiffer and Lange. [More]

Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jason Robards

Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jason Robards, Colin Firth, Keith Carradine, Kevin Anderson, Pat Hingle, John Carroll Lynch, Anne Pitoniak, Vyto Ruginis, Michelle Williams, Elizabeth Moss, Ray Toler, Ken Tigar, Steve Key, Dan Conway, Stan Cahill, Ray Baker, Beth Grant, Andrea Nittoli

Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse

Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse
Screenwriter: Laura Jones
Story: Jane Smiley
Composer: Richard Hartley

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Sep 3, 2002

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • A Thousand Acres
  • Academy Award(R)-winner Jessica Lange (Best Actress, 1995, BLUE SKY) and Michelle Pfeiffer (ONE FINE DAY) join Jennifer Jason Leigh (GEORGIA) and Oscar(R)-winner Jason Robards (1977, Best Supporting Actor, ALL THE PRSIDENT'S MEN) in this widely acclaimed motion picture about silence and betrayal ... rivalry and revenge! When an aging father retires, he passes the thriving family farm on to his three daughters. But this generous gift ignites an exposive series of events that threaten to tear the family apart forever! This powerful story of shocking secrets, unspoken rivalries, and hidden desires is a film you must see ... with performances you'll never forget!
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for A Thousand Acres

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    1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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    No review available.

    comment Comment
    01/21/05
    Carol Cling
    Carol Cling
    Las Vegas Review-Journal

    This intimate and riveting portrait of sibling hate, forgiveness, and love hits the mark.

    Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
    02/28/02
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Spirituality and Practice

    It deals with real people in a genuine setting with strong female roles.

    Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Harvey S. Karten
    Harvey S. Karten
    Compuserve

    Although the plot is undeniably overwrought at times, the characters remain strong and reliable, and it's their believability that pulls us through.

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    at the heart of this sometimes strident movie are two magnificent performances, which redeem everything that surrounds them.

    Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    James Sanford
    James Sanford
    Kalamazoo Gazette

    If nothing else, the film deserves credit for bringing together actresses Jessica Lange and Michelle Pfeiffer.

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jeff Vice
    Jeff Vice
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    Fans of Jane Smiley's enthralling Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Thousand Acres, will find the movie version disappointing.

    Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
    07/01/04
    Judith Egerton
    Judith Egerton
    Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

    It's a pretty powerful analysis of an extended family (where lifelong friends in farming are integral to the well being of a community) shot apart by power and greed.

    Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
    04/09/05
    Laura Clifford
    Laura Clifford
    Reeling Reviews

    It's worth overlooking the movie's weaknesses for the sake of those strong, memorable performances from the stars.

    Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
    10/15/02
    Margaret A. McGurk
    Margaret A. McGurk
    Cincinnati Enquirer

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    06/01/05
    Michael Szymanski
    Michael Szymanski
    Zap2it.com

    Though not a completely successful film, A Thousand Acres is hard-hitting, original, and brimming with unwavering moral convictions and the courage to follow them to their troubling conclusions.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Russell Smith
    Russell Smith
    Austin Chronicle

    Robards' senile paterfamilias is, regrettably, a grave embarrassment.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    02/09/06
    Time Out

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
    04/12/02
    Globe and Mail

    All the characters are sharply defined, with Lange and Pfeiffer in fine form, and Robards suitably sour as the grumpy old curmudgeon, but the plot has been watered down until it is little more than a Waltons-styled soap.

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    07/03/08
    Channel 4 Film

    Sadly for all involved, A Thousand Acres is doomed to the label "interesting."

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Angie Errigo
    Angie Errigo
    Empire Magazine

    I don't know anything to redeem the movie except for an understated performance from Leigh -- unless you're into masochism. Avoid.

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Christopher Null
    Christopher Null
    Filmcritic.com

    Episodic and occasionally annoying and bland, the movie goes melodramatic long before the finale.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Cynthia Fuchs
    Cynthia Fuchs
    Philadelphia City Paper

    While many scenes are passionately acted and directed, the overall film is disjointed, and lacks a logical progression of time.

    Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Cynthia Langston
    Cynthia Langston
    Film Journal International

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    02/08/04
    Daniel M. Kimmel
    Daniel M. Kimmel
    Worcester Telegram & Gazette

    From the first frame, a silhouetted barn and windmill at dawn, the images feel prefab, and the all-purpose wistful tinkly piano and sighing strings pin them even more boringly down.

    Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
    07/03/08
    David Edelstein
    David Edelstein
    Slate
     
     
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