Windows (film)
| Windows | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gordon Willis |
| Produced by | Mike Lobell |
| Written by | Barry Siegel |
| Starring |
Talia Shire Joseph Cortese Elizabeth Ashley |
| Music by | Ennio Morricone |
| Edited by | Barry Malkin |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates | January 18, 1980 |
Running time | 96 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2,128,395 |
Windows is a 1980 thriller starring Talia Shire, Joseph Cortese and Elizabeth Ashley, directed by Gordon Willis.
Background
Willis was the cinematographer of some of the most acclaimed films of the 1970s, among them The Godfather (and its sequel, The Godfather Part II), All the President's Men, Annie Hall and others. This would be his only attempt at directing a movie.
Plot
Emily Hollander (Shire) is the subject of a lesbian obsession at the hands of Andrea Glassen (Ashley), her next-door neighbor. As Emily begins dating detective Bob Luffrono (Cortese), Andrea overflows with jealousy, spying on Hollander through her own window.
Criticism
The film was the subject of many protests from gay rights activists who accused the film of being homophobic and resorting to hateful stereotypes of lesbians.[1] David Denby attacked the film, saying "Windows exists only in the perverted fantasies of men who hate lesbians so much they will concoct any idiocy in order to slander them." [2]
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert selected the film as one of their "dogs of the year" in a 1980 episode of Sneak Previews.[3]
Gordon Willis admitted the film had been a mistake,[4]and later said of directing that he didn't really like it. "I've had a good relationship with actors," he reflected, "but I can do what I do and back off. I don't want that much romancing. I don't want them to call me up at two in the morning saying, 'I don't know who I am'".[5]
Awards and nominations
- Nominated: Worst Picture
- Nominated: Worst Screenplay
- Nominated: Worst Actress (Talia Shire)
- Nominated: Worst Supporting Actress (Elizabeth Ashley)
- Nominated: Worst Director (Gordon Willis)
External links
References
- ↑ The celluloid closet s
- ↑ Kendall R. Phillips, Controversial Cinema: The Films That Outraged America. ABC-CLIO, 2008 ISBN 1567207243, (p.35).
- ↑ Sneak Previews: Worst of 1980
- ↑ Feeney, Mark. "A Study in Contrasts", The Boston Globe, 14 January 2007. Quoted on NPR affiliate publicbroadcasting.net Retrieved 2011-03-04.
- ↑ Peary, Gerald. "Gerald Peary: Gordon Willis", Boston Phoenix, August 2003. Retrieved 2011-03-04.