Sommersby
Short description
In the years following the American Civil War, a Tennessee landowner named Jack Sommersby returns to his farm and his wife, Laurel, after being presumed dead in battle. The man who comes back is far different from the harsh, violent husband the community remembers. He treats his neighbors with decency, revives the struggling local economy, and earns Laurel's affection. Yet doubts grow among those around him that this is really Jack, and Laurel is caught between wanting to believe in the marriage she now has and the suspicion that the man beside her is someone else entirely. A murder charge from before the war forces the question of his identity into a court of law.
Jon Amiel directed this 1993 drama, the third feature in the chronological list of his films, following Tune in Tomorrow, and drawing on a script by Sarah Kernochan. It is a loose retelling of the story that also inspired the 1983 French film The Return of Martin Guerre, moved to the post-Civil War South. Jodie Foster plays Laurel opposite Richard Gere as the man claiming to be her husband, with Bill Pullman, James Earl Jones, Lanny Flaherty and William Windom in supporting roles. Made for 30 million dollars, it earned 140 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.3 from 25,000 votes, on TMDB 6.4 from 437. The critics' rating is 6 from 27 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- In 16th-century France, a case similar to the one shown in the film occurred. A man named Martin disappeared from a Basque village in 1548 and suddenly returned only 8 years later. His appearance had changed somewhat, but this man managed to convince his wife and other villagers that he was indeed Martin. He and his wife had two more children, and only a relative suspected that this was not Martin, but an imposter named Arnaud. This relative devised a way to bring him to trial as an imposter, and during the trial, the real Martin returned. Arnaud was sentenced to death and executed in 1560.
- Filming took place in the state of Virginia from April 13th to June 30th, 1992.
- The filming of the courtroom scenes took place in the Charlotte County Courthouse in Virginia. Before this, the building was repainted and renovated, and many local residents were allowed to attend the filming in the courtroom as spectators at the trial.
- The original screenwriter, Nicholas Meyer, left the project after the studio refused to allow him to also direct the film. Sarah Kernochen was brought in to revise the script and was greatly surprised to find before her an Americanized version of the French film 'Le Retour de Martin Guerre' (1982). Warner Bros. initially denied this, apparently not wanting to buy the rights to a remake, but the screenwriter insisted, as the similarity was too obvious. Ultimately, the studio conceded and also agreed to acknowledge the authorship of the dismissed Nicholas Meyer.
- The cow in the film is named Clarice, just like the character played by Jodie Foster in the previous year's “The Silence of the Lambs”.
- The first film permitted to be filmed in George Washington National Forest. The film crew was prohibited from digging any holes in the forest for any purpose without the presence of a designated archaeologist who could identify evidence of human presence dating back over 9,000 years.
- 30 acres of tobacco were planted for the filming, and the film crew members themselves did the planting.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
