The Whales of August

Starring:Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern, Harry Carey Jr., Frank Grimes, Margaret Ladd, Tisha Sterling, Mary Steenburgen, Frank Pitkin, Mike Bush
Director: Lindsay Anderson
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Vincent Canby of The New York Times called The Whales of August "a cinema event." His generosity is understandable, given the film's main draw: two of the greatest actresses in movie history, whose careers extend back to the very beginnings of narrative. They are Lillian Gish and Bette Davis, and they are two of cinema's lovely, essential people... so it is painful to report that Mr. Canby's gallant review is not really justified by this trifle, a once-round-the-Golden Pond-lightly. Demanding Bette and dutiful Lillian are sisters living on the Maine coast; Vincent Price is a courtly suitor, and Ann Sothern and Harry Carey Jr. (the liveliest performers in the picture) are local folk. Directed by a great student of film, Lindsay Anderson (O Lucky Man!), the material is fatally soppy. In truth, this isn't a movie, it's a shrine to two giants in winter--well-intended, and best seen as a tribute. --Robert Horton

Description

Two of the greatest motion picture actresses of all timeBette Davis and Lillian Gishunite their legendary talents in this beautifully photographed, intensely emotional drama that offers unexpected and quite marvelous rewards (The New York Times)! Libby (Davis) and Sarah (Gish) are widowed siblings who have vacationed for half a century at a seaside cottage in Maine. Now intheir eighties, the sisters have unexpectedly arrived at an impasse: While Sarah embraces change and the possibility of romance with a courtly Russian suitor (Vincent Price), the stubbornly bitter Libby rages at the inevitability of death. As the summer months wane, can Libby and Sarah rediscover the powerful bonds of memory, family and love?

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful Maine Movie.......2006-11-11

The Maine background is spectacular in this movie! I recently moved to Maine and have taken some boat trips into Casco Bay where the movie was filmed. The movie is always mentioned by the "locals".....along with stories about the famous actors who were in it. The movie is worth seeing if you love Maine.

disappointingly ambiguous.......2006-11-10

Lillian Gish was lovely , Ann Sothern was delightful ( her perky self),the scenery is well photographed and sustained interest for about half of the movie. The plot,though,was too episodic to make this the experience I had hoped it would afford me.The entire story of the sweet sister(Lillian Gish) being enslaved by the bitter sister(Bette Davis) who then saves her from selfish,charming people(Ann Sothern and Vincent Price) who would take advantage of her sunny nature wore thin very quickly.

An August Movie, Indeed.......2006-07-27

Forget the Amazon editorial review of this movie. "Fatally soppy" indeed. There's nothing maudlin here at all. This is a perfectly observed movie by several giants of the movie screen: Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, and Vincent Price at their finest, with outstanding back-up by Ann Sothern and Harry Carey, Jr. It is a moving, melancholy, sometimes almost elegiac look at two elderly sisters in their picturesque Maine cottage, dealing with memories and mortality. The movie takes place over the space of one day, in the 1950s.

Bette Davis is Libby, the caustic blind sister who seems to thrive on bitterness and offending others. But she is also quite astute and, in the end, is the one holding out hope to see the whales of August, to see that change can be good even near the end of a long life.

Gish is the kind, long-suffering sister who owns the cottage, and is a widow like her sibling. She dearly misses her husband, dead for many decades, and wonders what to do with her irritable sister.

The sisters are visited by Tisha (Ann Sothern), the island gossiper and spark plug who is also beginning to really feel her age (she has just had her driver's license suspended). Also visiting is the courtly Maranov (Vincent Price), a refugee from imperial Russia who has lived off his mother's jewels and with friends all his life. A sport fisherman, he brings his catch to a dinner with the sisters, with Libby rebuffing him out loud for angling for more than just a meal.

There are frequent, peaceful scenery shots of the house and property, and of the sere yet beautiful cove and shoreline nearby. And always the gentle clanging of an old buoy in the cove, the same one that was there when the sisters were young and spry, and the whales came by every August. Handyman Harry Carey, Jr. is the one fly in the ointment. While injecting a perhaps useful counterpoint of noise and gruffness to this gentle movie, not to mention a bit of lament about how times are changing (tourists with their autos have discovered the island), he is quite profane. The movie didn't need this jarring quality, but I suppose a reputation as a "G"-type movie (my VHS is unrated) would be considered the kiss of death to adult viewers and yet this subtle a movie too boring for kids.

Such an extraordinary and rich story this movie enfolds. The contrast of youth and age; the way life "fools" us (a constant refrain with Libby); the sorrow of a long life and yet the promise of good things worth living for, and the perfect photography which precisely complements the movie's moods. This is superb filmmaking and acting. Understated but clear, this show will haunt your quiet moments. The older you get, the more you'll understand it.

Early in the movie Sarah asks Libby, who seems more irritable than usual, if something's wrong. "I'm all right," Libby replies in a way that the viewer finds out can be taken two ways, "just a touch of November in my bones." But there's always hope that a memento of their youth, the passage of the whales every August, will be there in their dotage.

This was the last or one of the last movies the principals in it made. It is a beautiful farewell and all the more touching because of it.

4 giants of acting in their last great roles.......2006-05-04

i almost never enjoy plotless all-character talky movies, but this is a rare exception. bette davis and lillian gish as sisters facing their final days, and great supporting work from vincent price and ann sothern. beautifully directed by lindsay anderson. very slow going, not for everybody, but if youve seen or read any chekhov (& liked it), this is a good movie for you.

A Whale of a Film.......2006-04-15

Was not aware of this film (or the play) before stumbling across it at a rental shop. Both my girlfriend and I are residents of, and share passionate interests in, the New England coast. With her away in Europe on holiday, I rented this in hopes of coastal scenery that would allow me to dwell on our mutual interests. I received a stunning visual treat and so much more. A very delicate play, filmed against a very bold, delicious scenery, with sensational performances. Yes, it's tempo is slow, and as Bette Davis' character, Libby, states, "I feel November in my bones" although it is clearly August by the calendar's gauge, the story indicates the struggle of a half full, or half empty glass, as time draws life closer to it's end. The richness of now, and the treasures of yesterday are examined in such simple, yet handsomely illustrated parallels.
If you are a fan of Bette Davis, you will be thrilled by a bravo performance of a bittered soul, envious of her sisters still thriving passion for life. I knew of, but had never seen Lillian Gish. I was mesmerized, enchanted and deeply touched by her stunning portrayal of Sarah, who states defiantly to her sister, "I am nowhere near ready for my life to be over." Sarah has the ability to remain reverent to the past, kissing her long deceased husbands picture every day while dusting, and thrive on the new days glory, and her hopes for future whale sightings and dreams of a picture window with which to enjoy dinner by moonlight. A difficulty in marking the time setting of the story was my only nagging question. At one point someone comments of the number of cars appearing lately on "the island" (off Maine's rocky coast) as being "more than Eleanor Roosevelt has causes." Which prompts the handyman to comment "seems a bit follish since ya can't drive a mile in any direction before ya fall into the ocean!" One assumes it is set in the early 50's. There are so many lines so worthy of note, so many poignant scenes, enriching character studies, and breathtaking visuals, that this tender little screen adaptation, is a rainy evening well spent. Far from my usual fare, but very near to my heart.

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