Saint Jack (1979)
- Starring:
- Ben Gazzara, Denholm Elliott, (more)
- Director(s):
- Peter Bogdanovich
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
- Format(s):
- DVD
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Synopsis of Saint Jack
After a couple of major studio flops, Peter Bogdanovich returned to his 1960s filmmaking roots with this Roger Corman-produced low budget film. Easygoing expatriate Jack Flowers (Ben Gazzara) makes his living in early-1970s Singapore legally and illegally looking after the needs of American and British businessmen, such as the mild-mannered William Leigh (Denholm Elliott). With his gift for putting clients and girls at ease, Jack opens a successful brothel, but pressure from local mobsters soon puts him out of business. Ever the survivor, he starts working for the shady, Cuban-cigar-smoking Eddie Schuman (Bogdanovich) as a pimp for GIs on breaks from Vietnam. But Jack's conscience starts to dog him when Schuman hires him to take compromising pictures of a visiting Senator (George Lazenby). Adapted by Bogdanovich, Howard O. Sackler, and Paul Theroux from Theroux's novel, Saint Jack offers a pimp with a heart of gold, who is less an ugly colonial American abroad than an outsider trying to make the best of a bad situation. Shooting on location in Singapore, cinematographer Robby Müller lends an appropriately gritty look to the matter-of-fact narrative. With restrained and forceful performances by Gazzara and Elliott, Saint Jack was something of a succès d'estime for the embattled Bogdanovich, winning the Italian Journalist Award for Best Film at the 1979 Venice Film Festival. While not a box-office success, it remains an affecting and unsung character study of a man's desire to forge a reasonably honorable life in a dishonorable profession. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 114 mins
Complete Cast of Saint Jack
- Ben Gazzara - Jack Flowers
- James Villiers - Frogget
- Rodney Bewes - Smale
- Lisa Lu - Mrs. Yates
- Judy Lim - Judy
- Peter Bogdanovich - Eddie Schuman
- David Lazenby
- Denholm Elliott - William Leigh
- Joss Ackland - Yardley
- Mark Kingston - Yates
- Monika Subramaniam - Monika
- George Lazenby - Senator
- Joseph Noel - Gopi
- Director(s):
- Peter Bogdanovich
- Writer(s):
- Peter Bogdanovich, Howard O. Sackler, Paul Theroux
- Producer(s):
- Edward L. Rissien, Roger Corman
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Adult Language, Violence, Not For Children, Nudity)
- 1979 - Venice International Film Festival - Italian Film Critics' Prize (Best Film)
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