The Great Santini

The Great Santini is a 1979 American drama film written and directed by Lewis John Carlino, based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Pat Conroy. The film stars Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, and Michael O'Keefe, and tells the story of a U.S. Marine Corps officer whose success as an F-4 Phantom military aviator contrasts with his shortcomings as a husband and father. Set in 1962, before widespread American involvement in the Vietnam War, the plot explores the high price of heroism and self-sacrifice.

Plot
A warrior without a war, Lt. Col. Wilbur "Bull" Meechum, a pilot also known as "The Great Santini" to his fellow Marines, moves his family to the military base town of Beaufort, South Carolina, in peacetime 1962. His wife Lillian is loyal and docile, tolerant of Meechum's temper and drinking. Their teenaged kids, Ben and Mary Anne, are accustomed to his stern discipline and behave accordingly, while adapting to their new town and school.

Ben is a basketball star. On the court at school, he is a dominant player. In one-on-one games on his driveway at home, his father won't let him win, even if it means using unnecessarily physical tactics or humiliating the boy, bouncing the ball off him. Ben finally beats him in basketball, but rather than be proud of his son's dedication, he berates and insults him. Ben is publicly embarrassed one night at the school gym when his dad, drunk, orders him to get even with an opponent who committed a foul. Ben decks the boy and is ejected from the game.

Ben befriends a young black man called Toomer, who is being harassed by Red Petus, a bigoted bully. Toomer exacts revenge on Red with the help of a hive of bees, but tragic consequences ensue as Red shoots Toomer. Ben, against the orders of his father, leaves the house and tries to help Toomer, but arrives too late. Meechum is angry for his son's disobedience, but his fellow Marines tell him that Ben showed courage by choosing to help his friend.

Meechum is unwilling or unable to appreciate his son's sensitive nature. Their relationship is still a delicate one when the Great Santini flies one last mission, a military maneuver, from which he does not return.

Cast

 * Robert Duvall as Lt. Col. Wilbur "Bull" Meechum
 * Blythe Danner as Lillian Meechum
 * Michael O'Keefe as Ben Meechum
 * Lisa Jane Persky as Mary Anne Meechum
 * Julie Anne Haddock as Karen Meechum
 * Brian Andrews as Matthew Meechum
 * Stan Shaw as Toomer Smalls
 * Theresa Merritt as Arrabella Smalls
 * David Keith as Red Petus
 * Paul Mantee as Col. Virgil Hedgepath
 * Michael Strong as Col. Varney
 * KC Stiglbauer as Sanders

Production notes
Lewis John Carlino adapted the script from Conroy's novel. Carlino also 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. Also, changed is Meecham's aircraft; in the book, he flies and commands a squadron of F-8 Crusaders, while in the film the fighters shown are F-4 Phantom IIs.

Much of the film was shot on location in Beaufort, South Carolina. Tidalholm, the 19th century-house used for the Meechum residence, was later used in The Big Chill (1983).

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 had a release in the Blu-ray Disc format.

Herman Raucher controversy
Herman Raucher is often credited as a ghostwriter, even receiving IMDB credit. However, Raucher did no work on the film; the misconception arises from the fact that, in the 1980s, Raucher was hired to write the pilot for a failed television adaptation of the movie. Nonetheless, Raucher says that, into the 2000s, he continued to get fan mail for Santini, with the volume of letters he received second only to those for Summer of '42.

Release
Warner Bros. executives were concerned that the film's plot and lack of bankable actors would make it hard to market. It made its world premiere in Beaufort in August 1979 and was soon released in North Carolina and South Carolina to empty houses. Believing the film's title - which implies it's about circus stunts - was the problem, it was tested as Sons and Heroes in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as Reaching Out in Rockford, Illinois, and The Ace in Peoria, Illinois. As it tested better in Peoria, The Ace stuck, though even with its new title it was still performing poorly. Orion Pictures eventually pulled the film and sold cable rights to HBO along with the airline rights to recoup its losses.

Producer Charles A. Pratt still had faith in the film and raised enough money, some coming from Orion, to release The Great Santini in New York under its original title. It ended up getting great reviews and business was steady, but two weeks later debuted on HBO, and audiences stopped coming. Orion executive Mike Medavoy blamed the film's box office failure to a lack of a traditional release: screening it first in New York and expanding markets due to word-of-mouth.

Critical reception
The film was well received by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 94% rating, based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "Like almost all my favorite films, The Great Santini is about people more than it is about a story. It's a study of several characters, most unforgettably the Great Santini himself, played by Robert Duvall ... There are moments so unpredictable and yet so natural they feel just like the spontaneity of life itself."

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