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Brad Dourif, Ned Beatty, Harry Dean Stanton, Dan Shor, Amy Wright ... see more see more... , Mary Nell Santacroce , John Huston , Dan Albright , Joe Dorsey , William Hickey , Gladys Hill , Jerry Rushing , Stratton Leopold

Set in the Deep South during the postwar era, Wise Blood stars Brad Dourif as an aimless veteran, who decides to become a Bible-thumping preacher (for a questionable concern called "The Church Wihout ... read more read more...Christ") principally because he hasn't anything better lined up. Dourif links up with a veteran of the hellfire-and-brimstone circuit, who for business purposes pretends to be blind. The older man persuades Dourif to blind himself for real so that he can truly "see the light" (yes, the movie is that weird). Director Huston, himself, appears as Dourif's grandfather. Adapted from the one-of-a-kind novel by Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood was a noble experiment but a box-office failure-though, to be fair, Huston never set out to make a blockbuster from O'Connor's offbeat tale. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Flixster Users

77% liked it

1,490 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

9 critics

PG, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: John Huston

Release Date: October 24, 1979

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DVD Release Date: May 12, 2009

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Stats: 143 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (143)

  • pier007
    February 18, 2012
    pier007
    Decidely more tragicomic and surrealist than ever before. Another show about the love that John Huston always professed to losers.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    May 17, 2011
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    A very strange and thoughtful 70s drama with dark and comedic twists. Directed by John Huston and starring Brad Dourif, the film tackles a lot of themes and adapts to a variety of tones throughout, making for an experience both ambitious and scattershot. The final fourth of the f... read moreilm is particularly difficult to grasp. But despite being uneven and repellant at time, in Huston's hands the film always remains entertaining and interesting. It's worth the effort for Dourif outstanding performance alone. Huston in his more outlandish form.
  • kenstachnik
    March 21, 2011
    kenstachnik
    Very strange, but entertaining, but odd and well acted, but weird and worth watching.
  • flixsterman
    March 10, 2010
    flixsterman
    The oddest sort of John Huston. Bizarre but very, very interesting.
  • mjgildea
    February 25, 2010
    mjgildea
    Wise Blood isn't exactly one of those movies I want to kick myself in the ass for not seeing sooner, but I sure as hell want to know why more people don't know about it and why I haven't heard of it sooner. Brad Dourif, marinated in nonsense, insanity and ignorance, becomes a pre... read moreacher and starts his own church seemingly intent on rejecting everything. Just about everything that comes out of his mouth is such random gibberish (much like the movie itself) with almost no logical basis that you've got no other option than to be completely entertained. The rest of the cast is fantastic. Harry Dean Stanton and Ned Beatty shine in all their shady piousness. Amy Wright was the perfect combination of everything wrong with the south and dopey sexiness. And how excited I got when I saw William Hickey...! I've been seeing a lot of movies lately where the final scenes make the movie and that's definitely the case with Wise Blood. And if that's not enough for you, this is the movie that Ministry sampled for "Jesus Built My Hotrod."
  • bbcfloridabound
    August 18, 2009
    bbcfloridabound
    This is from the Criterion Collection, which is a fine collection of over 500 Movies, check out there web site. Its Directed by John Huston and based upon a novel by Flannery O'Connor, This one was a little hard for me to grasp, its about a young man returning from military servi... read morece to find his families farm abandoned so he decides in order to make money and live he will become a preacher and start his own church. Filmed in Macon, GA a lot of these scenes are still there today. Brad Dourif plays the preacher and does an excellent part. I can only muster up 3 stars as this film is a little bit out there..
  • tsigur
    August 16, 2009
    tsigur
    A fascinating film. Directed by John Huston and based upon a novel by Flannery O'Connor, I was immediately drawn into the film, but can totally understand how someone could find it hard to get into. Brad Dourif is awesome in the lead role and the always reliable Ned Beatty gives ... read morean outstanding performance albeit I wish his character was in the film more. There are some scenes that could have been better with a better choice of actress (the girl who plays the blind preacher's daughter is at times annoying and a little over the top), but overall, it's a nice black comedy about religion with some really great dramatic and hard hitting scenes mixed in nicely. An interesting watch all around.
  • rubystevens
    June 23, 2009
    rubystevens
    brad dourif is like a man possessed. well, he's generally like that but it works perfectly for hazel motes, prophet of the church of truth without christ. this is twisted southern gothic, full of grotesque characters, and a fine adaptation of flannery o'conner's novel, about a ... read moreman haunted by a childhood with his tent preacher grandfather, played by the director. another great huston film from the 70's, bit hard to get hold of. wicked, disturbing, the blackest of comedies and a frightening portrait of obsession
  • fb1144932598
    October 3, 2011
    fb1144932598
    One would think that a film based on a novel by one's favorite Southern Gothic author and directed by John Huston would be a sure-fire recipe for an enjoyable film. One would be wrong. Wooden characterizations, a severely limited emotional range, plot elements loosely thrown toge... read morether, and diversions that went nowhere made this one that the viewer had to force himself to finish. The one bright spot in an otherwise dreadful film was Amy Wright as the young woman, Sabbath Lily. Innocence and worldly wisdom resided comfortably side by side in her characterization, and she could be seductive one minute and incredibly naive the next and make both completely believable. The two young men, Hazel Motes and Enoch Emory, played by Brad Dourif and Dan Shor, respectively, were nothing more than one-dimensional caricatures of backwoods southern boys. Hazel is a returning veteran who has lost his religion and moves to the big city. He is angry at the world and all of his lines and all of his energy was devoted to maintaining a righteous anger throughout. One quickly tired of his diatribes. Enoch, is the country bumpkin who becomes fascinated with whatever shiny thing is in front of his nose at the moment. He desperately wants people to like him, but his efforts to please them are so inept as to make his character pathetic rather than sympathetic. I expected batter from the legendary director and found this effort doubly disappointing.
  • fb1142797643
    June 29, 2008
    fb1142797643
    Finally saw this, after being curious about it for ages. I'm not sure what point of the story is (are we supposed to make some general conclusion about religion, or is this character just too uniquely bizarre have any universality?) but, wow, what a memorable, haunting film. Brad... read more Dourif and Amy Wright (who?) are both just fantastically good. I'm always struck by how many dark, cynical, wholly adult films were part of the '70s mainstream, and mourn the shortage of such films today.

View All Wise Blood Reviews

Critic Reviews

Christopher Long
July 28, 2009
Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis

I dont have to run away from anything cause I dont believe in anything! Full Review

James Kendrick
June 30, 2009
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

strange, sub-Coen Brothers caricature that, especially when underscored with Alex North's deliberately hammy hillbilly music, never amounts to much more than a condescending tragicomic satire of spiri... Full Review

Matthew Sorrento
June 25, 2009
Matthew Sorrento, Film Threat

Huston stays true to the novel's events but draws from the story all the black comedy he can find. We are in strange territory. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
May 15, 2009
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Any film that features both Harry Dean Stanton and Ned Beatty as scam artists and its tale about religious hypocrisy borders on madness, is one not to be missed. Full Review

Chris Cabin
May 13, 2009
Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com

perhaps the most ballistic of Huston's late-period films Full Review

Bill Weber
May 13, 2009
Bill Weber, Slant Magazine

Huston's Wise Blood is a sharp, busy canvas that, like a man with a good car, doesn't need to be justified. Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
January 27, 2004
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Wise Blood is one of the best realized religious drama in many a moon. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
January 1, 2000
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

Chuck O'Leary
October 6, 2005
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily

No review available.

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