The Prince of Tides

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The Prince of Tides
Directed by Barbra Streisand
Produced by Andrew S. Karsch & Barbra Streisand
Written by Pat Conroy (book)
Becky Johnston & Pat Conroy (screenplay)
Starring Barbra Streisand
Nick Nolte
Kate Nelligan
Music by James Newton Howard
Cinematography Stephen Goldblatt
Editing by Don Zimmerman
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) December 25, 1991
Running time 132 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

The Prince of Tides is a 1986 novel by Pat Conroy. It tells the story of the narrator's struggle to overcome the psychological damage inflicted by his dysfunctional childhood in South Carolina. In 1991, it was adapted to film by producer/director Barbra Streisand from a screenplay by Conroy and Becky Johnston.

While the film was a box office smash and put Streisand on the map as a director, its numerous changes to the story upset some Conroy purists.

Contents

[edit] Story

The Prince of Tides tells the story of Tom Wingo, a teacher and football coach who is reluctant to help his twin sister's psychiatrist unlock their dysfunctional family's secrets. When the sister, famous New York poet Savannah Wingo, attempts suicide again, Tom is torn from his safe and dull world and travels to New York to help her. Savannah, however, is in such a dissociated state that she is unable to help her psychiatrist, Susan Lowenstein, understand the extent of her problems. Susan asks Tom to act as his twin's memory and help her uncover the subconscious painful events that contributed to her emotional collapse and loss of identity. Tom and Susan fall in love as they work together to help Savannah, and Tom is healed from his emotional numbness as he realizes it results from the severe traumas that he endured with his mother and siblings.

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[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The actress Kate Nelligan, who plays Tom and Savannah's mother, Lila, was born on March 16, 1950, and is younger than her twins in the movie, Tom (played by Nick Nolte, born on February 8, 1941) and Savannah (Melinda Dillon, October 13, 1939).
  • Barbra Streisand and Blythe Danner both appeared onscreen together once more in the Meet the Parents sequel Meet the Fockers. They did not share a scene together in the Prince of Tides but did so in Meet the Fockers.
  • The movie can be seen during the episode Two Tonys of The Sopranos.
  • The original story inspired Jimmy Buffett to write a song by the same name on 1988's Hot Water
  • In the fourth season episode of The Simpsons, "Selma's Choice", Marge recalls a memory of herself, Patty, Selma, and their Aunt Gladys jumping off a wharf, before remembering that's actually a scene from The Prince of Tides. Later, in the sixth season episode "Fear of Flying", on thanking her psychiatrist Doctor Zweig Marge says "When ever the wind blows, I will hear the name Lowenstein...Lowenstein..."
  • George Carlin has said on numerous occasions that Eddie Detreville, was his favorite character of anyone he played in a movie. Plus his most pleasant time working on a movie.

[edit] External Links