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A Thousand Acres (1997)

A Thousand Acres (1997)
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A feminist farm belt version of William Shakespeare's King Lear, this film is based on Jane Smiley's novel about an aging farmer and his three daughters. The Lear-like farmer, Larry Cook (Jason Robards), decides to divide up his thousand-acre farm among his three daughters, but he disinherits his youngest, Caroline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), an attorney, when she expresses hesitancy. The other sisters, Ginny (Jessica Lange) and Rose (Michelle Pfeiffer), take up the offer, even though they were sexually abused by their father as children. They also take up romantically with the hippie son of a neighboring farmer, Jess Clark (Colin Firth), after their own drunken, demented father moves out to live with Clark's father Harold (Pat Hingle). When Rose's husband Peter (Kevin Anderson) learns of her betrayal, he gets drunk, crashes his truck, and dies. Ginny's husband Ty (Keith Carradine) enlists Caroline's help and sues Ginny and Rose on behalf of their father, whom he feels has been treated badly by the daughters. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

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Starring:
Michelle PfeifferJessica Lange, (more)
Director(s):
Jocelyn Moorhouse
Theatrical MPAA Rating:
R
Format(s):
DVD
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Synopsis of A Thousand Acres

A feminist farm belt version of William Shakespeare's King Lear, this film is based on Jane Smiley's novel about an aging farmer and his three daughters. The Lear-like farmer, Larry Cook (Jason Robards), decides to divide up his thousand-acre farm among his three daughters, but he disinherits his youngest, Caroline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), an attorney, when she expresses hesitancy. The other sisters, Ginny (Jessica Lange) and Rose (Michelle Pfeiffer), take up the offer, even though they were sexually abused by their father as children. They also take up romantically with the hippie son of a neighboring farmer, Jess Clark (Colin Firth), after their own drunken, demented father moves out to live with Clark's father Harold (Pat Hingle). When Rose's husband Peter (Kevin Anderson) learns of her betrayal, he gets drunk, crashes his truck, and dies. Ginny's husband Ty (Keith Carradine) enlists Caroline's help and sues Ginny and Rose on behalf of their father, whom he feels has been treated badly by the daughters. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
106 mins

Complete Cast of A Thousand Acres


Director(s):
Jocelyn Moorhouse
Writer(s):
Laura Jones
Producer(s):
Marc AbrahamLynn ArostSteve Golin
Theatrical MPAA Rating:
R(Adult Situations, Violence, Profanity, Sexual Situations)
Warning:  This product is intended for mature audiences only. It may contain violence, sexual content, drug abuse and/or strong language. You must be 17 or older to purchase it. By ordering this item you are certifying that you are at least 17 years of age.

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    Member Reviews
     
    Richard G.

    A Thousand Acres is a fantastic drama with a wonderful cast and the storyline is very true to the Jane Smiley novel. Michele Pfeiffer is believeable as the hardened, suspicious sister; but Jessica Lange steals the show as the naive, optimistic sister whose repressed memories of incest spark the family conflagration that ultimately takes the family to the courtroom and create a rift that cannot be healed.

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    Susan P.

    King Lear this is not. And Colin Firth? An American farmer? WHAT?! Who came up with that brilliant idea? The considerable star power in this movie just isn't enough to make it worth watching. The screenplay was laughable and the directing was appallingly bad. And dear Colin Firth with an American accent is simply wrong. Read the book and leave this movie on the shelf.

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    Peter B.

    The book was incredible. The movie comes close, but it can't possibly capture the eloquence of the Pulitzer Prize winning nove. pb

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