The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (film)

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For other uses, see The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
Directed by Ted Kotcheff
Produced by John Shmidt
Written by Lionel Chetwynd
Mordecai Richler
Starring Richard Dreyfuss
Micheline Lanctôt
Jack Warden
Randy Quaid
Music by Stanley Myers
Andrew Powell
Cinematography Brian West
Editing by Thom Noble
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) April 11, 1974 (Canada)
July 14, 1974 (USA, NYC only)
Running time 120 min.
Language English
Budget Can $910,000 (est)
IMDb profile

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is a 1974 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff; based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Duddy Kravitz is a brash Jewish kid from Montreal who is determined to "make it": whatever "it" is, and whatever "it" takes. Taking to heart his grandfather's maxim that "a man without land is nothing", Kravitz schemes and dreams and hits on his idea: a lakeshore property in the Laurentian mountains. To become successful, he often betrays the people who have loved and helped him. He finally gains the land he wants, but loses love and friendship.

[edit] Production

The film was actually Kotcheff's second adaptation of Richler's 1959 novel. In 1961, he had directed a television play for the BBC's Armchair Theatre based on "Kravitz", with Hugh Futcher in the title role. Richard Dreyfuss was initially horrified at his performance in the film, and fearing it would end his career, caused him to jump at the role of Matt Hooper in Jaws.[1]

The film was shot in Montreal and in the Ontario village of Elora.[citation needed]

[edit] Awards and honours

Duddy Kravitz has an important place in Canadian film history because it was the most commercially successful Canadian film ever made at the time of its release, and has thus been described as a 'coming of age' for Canadian cinema.[2] The film has been designated and preserved as a "masterwork" by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada, a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of Canada’s audio-visual heritage. [1]

[edit] Prizes

[edit] Nominations

[edit] Principal cast

[edit] Stage adaptation

In 1987 The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz was adapted into a musical for the New York stage, directed by Austin Pendleton.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Spotlight on Location: The Making of Jaws, Jaws 30th Anniversary DVD documentary, [2005]
  2. ^ George Melnyk, One Hundred Years of Canadian Cinema (University of Toronto Press, 2004), p. 118.

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Distant Thunder		 Golden Bear winner
1974		 Succeeded by
Adoption
Languages