The Great Santini

The Great Santini is a 1979 film which tells the story of a Marine officer whose success as a military aviator contrasts with his shortcomings as a husband and father. The film explores the high price of heroism and self-sacrifice. It stars Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, Michael O'Keefe, Lisa Jane Persky, Julie Anne Haddock, Brian Andrews, Stan Shaw and David Keith.

Much of the film was shot on location in Beaufort, South Carolina. The setting of the Meechum house was later used in The Big Chill.

The film is set in 1962 before widespread American involvement in the Vietnam War. Conroy makes the point that Santini is a warrior without a war, and in turn is at war alternately with the service that he loves and his family.

Production

The script was adapted by Lewis John Carlino from the novel of the same name by Pat Conroy, with assistance from an un-credited Herman Raucher. Carlino directed the film. The title character, Lt. Col. Wilbur "Bull" Meechum, aka "The Great Santini", was based on Conroy's father.

The story, for the most part, follows the book. The movie's major divergence is the absence of Sammy, Ben Meecham's Jewish best friend. The spelling of the family's name was also changed from Meecham to Meechum.

Warner Bros. initially released the film in 1979 under the title, The Ace.

The film was shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, but was only produced in that ratio in the LaserDisc format. Both the VHS & DVD releases are in 1.33:1 also known as full screen or pan & scan. To date the film has not gotten a release on the Blu-ray Disc format.

Awards

The Great Santini received two Academy Award nominations: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Duvall) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (O'Keefe).

References

The film is quoted in season 1 episode 2 of Warehouse 13, a show on the SyFy channel.

In the second season King of the Hill episode, "Hank's Dirty Laundry", Hank Hill claims to have rented the film 23 times.

In Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the scene where Dr. Evil throws the globe in Number 2's face and says "You gonna cry? You gonna cry?" was borrowed from this film's "basketball-in-the-son's-face" scene.

The infamous "basketball-in-the-sons-face" scene is also recreated in the Simpsons episode "Love Is a Many Strangled Thing," during a scene in which Homer Simpson is confronting the origins of his own abusive nature. Interestingly, the following episode's title, "The Great Simpsina" is also a nod to the book and movie.

During the closing credits of season 7, episode 8 of Roseanne titled "Punch and Jimmy", Fred (Michael O'Keefe) and Dan (John Goodman) play a basketball game that turns into a parody of the infamous scene from the film with Goodman doing a Duvall impression and O'Keefe reprising his role in the film.

In the fourth season Psych episode, "You Can't Handle This Episode", Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and Ewan O'Hara (John Cena's character in the episode) mention Robert Duvall from the film in reference to the Army's Major General Felts (played by Robert Patrick).

In the ninth season of NCIS (episode the Penelope's Paper's) by movie buff Anthony DiNozzo.

External links

• The Great Santini at the Internet Movie Database
• The Great Santini at the Internet Book List