Four Friends (1981)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writer:

Steve Tesich (writer)

Release Date:

11 December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

All the boys love Georgia...and Georgia loves all the boys!

Plot:

This story of four working-class kids in a small industrial town--who go their separate ways after high...

Plot Keywords:

High School | Wedding | Pregnancy | Immigration | Love

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Craig Wasson	...	Danilo
Jodi Thelen	...	Georgia
Michael Huddleston	...	David
Jim Metzler	...	Tom
Scott Hardt	...	Young Danilo
Elizabeth Lawrence	...	Mrs. Prozor
Miklos Simon	...	Mr. Prozor
Michael Kovacs	...	Prozor Neighbor
Beatrice Fredman	...	Mrs. Zoldos
Pier Calabria	...	Conductor
Zaid Farid	...	Rudy
David Graf	...	Gergley
Felix Shuman	...	Principal
George Womack	...	Mr. Bellknap
Todd Isaacson	...	Senior Kid

Also Known As:

Georgia's Friends

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Sweden:15 (original rating) | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Cinema 77

Trivia:

Filmed on the campus of Northwestern University (Evanston IL).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Danilo watches Apollo 11 moonwalk on TV at Tom's house in the afternoon. In reality, the moonwalk began at shortly before 11 pm Eastern Daylight time. This would be 10pm in the Central time zone, well after dark in the Chicago area (even in July).

Quotes:

Georgia: Shouldn't you be at work?
Danilo: I called in sick.
Georgia: Then you should call a doctor.
Danilo: I'm fine.
Georgia: Then you should be at work.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Arthur Penn (1995)

Soundtrack:

Georgia On My Mind

One of my top 5 all time favorite films

I haven't seen this film for over 20 years, but it had such an impact on me that I remember sitting through the credits and for several minutes after in complete awe. This is one of the most underrated films of the entire decade in which it was originally released. I just ordered a copy of it on DVD and paid for overnight shipping and can't wait for it to arrive. It is uplifting at times, and also very dark and somewhat disturbing. It's a story of a close-knit band of regular kids growing up in the inner city and makes one feel as though they are actually sitting on the sidelines, rather than watching on a movie screen or television. Hard to explain, but it is something that must be experienced. The story starts at childhood and tracks the lives of the four main characters through high school and as they embark on their separate journeys in life. The entire cast did an incredible job and it's by far the best work of Jodi Thelen's career. I'm hoping that the DVD lives up to my memory and plan on watching it this Friday with a good friend.