This picture show that introduced America to the forgotten 1950s. It launched the meteoric career of its brilliant new director and its talented cast , winning 2 Academy Awards, and nominations for 8. In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied , backwater North Texas town , Anarene City , that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically. Most of the story plays out at the local hangout run by ex-cowboy Dam the Lion (veteran Ben Johnson) . Brusque Duane (Jeff Bridges) is hooked up with spoiled pretty girl Jacy (Cybill Shepherd's film debut ) while Sonny (Joseph Bottoms' film debut ) is having an affair with the coach's neglected wife (Cloris Leachman) . The sensitive Sonny Crawford and tough Duane Jackson are high school seniors, co-captains of the hapless high school football team, and best friends. Along the way , a lot of problems are played out against the backdrop of a town about to close
its cinema. Anarene, Texas, 1951 , nothing much has changed...The story of big dreams in a small town. If you missed it the first time, you owe it to yourself now. If you saw it once, remember it again.
Seldom if ever was the atmosphere of desolation, decay and despair in a small american town that has had its day better caught than this classic study of dust-blown Texas life in the 1950s , including loss of youth innocence , disillusionment , mayhem and confusion . Dealing with a nostalgic farewell to an innocent age and problems of the some youngsters at the time and some elderly people too . Not much happens , but the roles' lives interwine and develop . An interesting and engaging screenplay by prestigious writer Larry McMurtry , author of the original novel and Peter Bognadovich himself creating a field day for the attractive ensemble cast . With a great main cast , such as : Jeff Bridges as the allegedly tough Duane , Joseph Bottoms as the honest guy , Cybill Shephard as the beautiful girl and stunning support cast , such as : Ben Johnson as fading Westerner Sam the Lion , Ellen Burstyn as Jacy's mother, Cloris Leachman as the mature lover , Randy Quaid , Eileen Brennan , Clu Gulager , Sharon Taggart , John Hillerman , among others . From four performance nominations, Academy Awards were won by veteran Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman.
Gorgeous cinematography in black and white by classic cameraman Robert Surtes , Bognadovich himself claimed he didn't want to pretitify the movie by shooting in color . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Peter Bognadovich. Followed by a weak sequel : Texasville (1990) by Peter Bogdanovich with Cybill Shepherd, Jeff Bridges, Eileen Brennan , Timothy Bottoms, Randy Quaid, Cloris Leachman , William McNamara , Annie Potts , set in the summer of 1984: 32 years after Duane Jackson captained the high school football team and Jacy Farrow was homecoming queen, the small town of Anarene, Texas prepares for its centennial celebration.
Seldom if ever was the atmosphere of desolation, decay and despair in a small american town that has had its day better caught than this classic study of dust-blown Texas life in the 1950s , including loss of youth innocence , disillusionment , mayhem and confusion . Dealing with a nostalgic farewell to an innocent age and problems of the some youngsters at the time and some elderly people too . Not much happens , but the roles' lives interwine and develop . An interesting and engaging screenplay by prestigious writer Larry McMurtry , author of the original novel and Peter Bognadovich himself creating a field day for the attractive ensemble cast . With a great main cast , such as : Jeff Bridges as the allegedly tough Duane , Joseph Bottoms as the honest guy , Cybill Shephard as the beautiful girl and stunning support cast , such as : Ben Johnson as fading Westerner Sam the Lion , Ellen Burstyn as Jacy's mother, Cloris Leachman as the mature lover , Randy Quaid , Eileen Brennan , Clu Gulager , Sharon Taggart , John Hillerman , among others . From four performance nominations, Academy Awards were won by veteran Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman.
Gorgeous cinematography in black and white by classic cameraman Robert Surtes , Bognadovich himself claimed he didn't want to pretitify the movie by shooting in color . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Peter Bognadovich. Followed by a weak sequel : Texasville (1990) by Peter Bogdanovich with Cybill Shepherd, Jeff Bridges, Eileen Brennan , Timothy Bottoms, Randy Quaid, Cloris Leachman , William McNamara , Annie Potts , set in the summer of 1984: 32 years after Duane Jackson captained the high school football team and Jacy Farrow was homecoming queen, the small town of Anarene, Texas prepares for its centennial celebration.