The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)

Director:

Tony Richardson

Writers:

John Irving (novel)
Tony Richardson (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 March 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

If you experienced "The World According To Garp" and found it witty, delightful and totally unpredictable, then be happily surprised all over again when you join the fun and games that go on at the...Hotel New Hampshire

Plot:

The film talks about a family that weathers all sorts of disasters and keeps going in spite of it all...

Plot Keywords:

Bisexual | Christmas | Prostitute | Rape | Unrequited Love

Cast

Rob Lowe	...	John Berry
Jodie Foster	...	Frannie Berry
Paul McCrane	...	Frank
Beau Bridges	...	Mr. Win Berry
Lisa Banes	...	Mother
Jennifer Dundas	...	Lilly (as Jennie Dundas)
Seth Green	...	'Egg' Berry
Wally Aspell	...	Hotel Manager
Nastassja Kinski	...	Susie the Bear
Joely Richardson	...	Waitress
Wallace Shawn	...	Freud
Jobst Oriwol	...	German Man (as Jobst Oriwal)
Linda Clark	...	German Woman
Nicholas Podbrey	...	Boy with Rifle
Norris Domingue	...	High School Band Conductor
Matthew Modine	...	Chip Dove / Ernst
Wilford Brimley	...	Iowa Bob
Cali Timmins	...	Bitty Tuck
Dorsey Wright	...	Junior Jones
Richard Jutras	...	Lenny Metz
Johnny O'Neil	...	Chester Pulaski
Colin Irving	...	Chip Dove Gang Member
Anthony Ulc	...	Chip Dove Gang Member
Nick Nardi	...	Chip Dove Gang Member
Charles Fournier	...	Howard Tuck
Anita Morris	...	Ronda Ray
Fred Doederlein	...	Finnish Doctor
Walter Massey	...	Texan
Young Sup Chung	...	Oriental Couple
Inhi Chung	...	Oriental Couple
Ada Fuoco	...	New Jersey Woman
Joan Heney	...	Connecticut Woman
Robert Thomas	...	Harold Swallow
Gayle Garfinkle	...	Doris Wales / Screaming Annie
Jonelle Allen	...	Sabrina
Elie Oren	...	King of Mice
Roger Blay	...	Arbeiter
Timothy Webber	...	Wrench
Janine Manatis	...	Schwanger
Jean-Louis Roux	...	Old Billig
Amanda Plummer	...	Miss Miscarriage
Sharon Noble	...	Babette
Lorena Gale	...	Dark Inge
Jade Bari	...	Jolanta (as Jade D. Bari)
Adrian Aron	...	American Woman
Arthur Grosser	...	American Man
Tara O'Donnell	...	American Daughter
Louis Di Bianco	...	Bartender (as Louis di Bianco)
Michele Scarabelli	...	Chip Dove Girlfriend
Jeffrey Cohen	...	New York Journalist
Jyanna Horey	...	Bar Patron
Benoît Laberge	...	Bookstore Man (as Benoit Laberge)
Jon Hutman	...	Reporter No. 1
James V. Mathews	...	Reporter No. 2
Prudence Emery	...	Mean Female Reporter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gerald Iles	...	Austrian President (uncredited)
Marlon Sterling Long	...	Actor (uncredited)

Directed by
Tony Richardson

Writing credits
John Irving		(novel)
Tony Richardson		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jim Beach	....	co-producer
Neil Hartley	....	producer
Grahame Jennings	....	executive producer
Pieter Kroonenburg	....	producer: Filmline Productions
David J. Patterson	....	producer: Filmline Productions (as David Patterson)
Bill Scott	....	associate producer
Norman Twain	....	associate producer
Kent Walwin	....	executive producer
George Yaneff	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
David Watkin

Film Editing by
Robert K. Lambert

Casting by
Howard Feuer
Jeremy Ritzer

Production Design by
Jocelyn Herbert

Art Direction by
John Meighen

Costume Design by
Jocelyn Herbert

Makeup Department
Pierre David	....	hair stylist
Richard Hansen	....	additional hairdresser
Marie-Josée La Fontaine	....	makeup assistant (as Marie-Josée Lafontaine)
Martin Ménard	....	additional hairdresser
Bob Pritchett	....	hair stylist
Cécile Rigault	....	makeup assistant
Diane Simard	....	makeup artist
Micheline Trépanier	....	makeup artist (as Micheline Foisy)

Production Management
Mychèle Boudrias	....	production manager
Estelle Lemieux	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert K. Lambert	....	second unit director
Anne Murphy	....	second assistant director
Bill Scott	....	assistant director

Art Department
Frances Calder	....	prop buyer
Jacques Chamberland	....	property master
Jean-Vincent Fournier	....	set props
Chris Gilmore	....	art department assistant
Richard Hernandez	....	art department assistant
Skipp Hobbs	....	art department assistant (as Skip Hobbs)
Jon Hutman	....	art department assistant
Eudore Leclerc	....	carpenter
Claude F. Powell	....	construction coordinator (as Claude Powell)
Norman Richer	....	chief carpenter (as Normand Richer)
François Séguin	....	prop buyer
Claude Simard	....	construction supervisor
Maurice Tremblay	....	art department assistant

Sound Department
James Beshears	....	sound editor
Mike Dobie	....	sound editor (as Michael Dobie)
Véronique Gabillaud	....	boom woman
Ginette Guillard	....	cable woman
J. Paul Huntsman	....	adr supervisor (as Paul Huntsman)
Gregg Landaker	....	sound re-recording
John Larson	....	sound editor
Steve Maslow	....	sound re-recording
Dan O'Connell	....	foley artist
David Pettijohn	....	supervising sound editor
Patrick Rousseau	....	sound
Jerry Stanford	....	adr supervisor
Lionel Strutt	....	adr mixer
Bill Varney	....	sound re-recording

Special Effects by
Louis Craig	....	special effects
Jacques Godbout	....	special effects

Stunts
Peter Cox	....	stunts
Céline Fournier	....	stunts (as Celine Fournier)
David Rigby	....	stunts
Jérôme Tiberghien	....	stunt coordinator
Jérôme Tiberghien	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Benison	....	camera operator: second camera
Jacques F. Bernier	....	camera assistant: second camera (as Jacques Bernier)
Michael Connor	....	assistant cameraman
Rodger Dean	....	generator operator
Attila Dory	....	still photographer
Claude Fortier	....	best boy
Gilles Fortier	....	electrician
Jean-Jacques Gervais	....	second assistant cameraman
Denis Gingras	....	camera assistant: second camera
Robert Grenier	....	grip
Serge Grenier	....	key grip
Glen MacPherson	....	camera assistant: second camera (as Glen McPherson)
Marion Mailhot	....	grip
André Ouellette	....	grip
John Palmer	....	camera operator
Jean-François Pouliot	....	camera assistant: second camera
Gregg Schmidt	....	grip
Jean Trudeau	....	electrician
Normand Viau	....	electrician

Casting Department
Barbara Lambertson	....	location casting (as Barbara A. Lambertson)
Vera Miller	....	extras casting
Nadia Rona	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Huguette Gagné	....	wardrobe mistress
Thomas Lee Keller	....	costume supervisor (as Thomas Keller)
François Laplante	....	costume coordinator
John Stowe	....	wardrobe master
Richard Tautkus	....	costume maker: Ms. Kinski's bear costume

Editorial Department
Barbara Brown	....	assistant film editor
Cathy Carr	....	negative cutter
Richard Ritchie	....	color timer (as Dick Ritchie)
Tim Tobin	....	assistant film editor (as Timothy Tobin)

Music Department
Raymond Leppard	....	arranger
Raymond Leppard	....	conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra	....	music performed by
John Richards	....	recording engineer
Ted Whitfield	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Jackie Crane	....	driver: honeywagon
Don Poole	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Leon Askin	....	dialogue consultant
Alain Belhumeur	....	production assistant
Michael Boyer	....	production assistant
Léo D. Carpenter	....	production assistant (as Léo D. Carpentier)
Jean-Claude Cloutier	....	production assistant
Lucie Drolet	....	location accounting staff
Yvette Duguet	....	location accounting staff
Prudence Emery	....	unit publicist
Richard Grégoire	....	production assistant (as Richard Gregoire)
Pierre Houle	....	production assistant
Susan Jenkinson	....	assistant: Ms. Herbert
Scott Johnston	....	production assistant
Jacques Laberge	....	production assistant
France Lachapelle	....	script supervisor
Élisabeth Lamy	....	production assistant (as Elizabeth Lamy)
Wally Naghtin	....	bear trainer
Denis Normandeau	....	production assistant
Louis-Philippe Rochon	....	production assistant
Danièle Rohrbach	....	production coordinator
Danielle Rossignol	....	production secretary
Sandra Maltz Saccio	....	assistant to producer (as Sandra Maltz)
Roger Tremblay	....	production assistant
Claire Williamson	....	location accounting staff
Mona Williamson	....	location accounting staff

Production Companies

• Woodfall Film Productions
• Filmline Productions (in association with)
• Producers Circle (in association with) (as The Producers' Circle)
• Yellowbill Productions Limited (in association with) (uncredited)

Distributors

• Orion Pictures Corporation (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• LW Editora (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Lumière (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2001) (Canada) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Intrigue (special effects) (uncredited)

Other Companies

• Optical House, The  opticals (as The Optical House, L.A.)
• Studios CTS  music recorded at (as CTS Studios Ltd., Wembley, London)
• Universal Pictures  courtesy of: still photographs from the motion pictures "This Gun For Hire" [Paramount 1942]
• Universal Pictures  courtesy of: still photographs from the motion pictures "The Great Gatsby" [Paramount 1949]
• Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)  approved by
• Dennis Davidson & Associates Public Releations (DDA)  publicity (uncredited)
• Mayflower Studios  ADR recording (uncredited)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

UK | Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:R (Canadian Home Video rating) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | USA:R (Approved No. 27215) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Hudson, Québec, Canada

Company:

Woodfall Film Productions

Trivia:

Rob Lowe broke his nose while filming a fight scene.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the award ceremony scene, numerous Austrian flags are show, but all are the civil/merchant version. As an official government function, the flags would have been the state flag (the government flag.) Unlike the United States, Austria and many other nations have multiple national flags for different purposes (government, civilian/merchant, military, on shore versus afloat, etc.) Austria's state flag bears the national coat of arms in the centre, overlapping into both of the red bars. The vertical version of the state flag has the coat of arms turned 90 degrees and placed within a shield. None of the flags in the scene bore the coat of arms.

Quotes:

[last lines]
John: [narrating] So we dream on, inventing our lives; a little lost sister, a saintly mother, a hero father. But our dreams escape us however vividly we imagine them. There's only one thing you can do, keep passing the open windows.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Dawson's Creek: Hotel New Hampshire (#5.8)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Bad Boy Blues

Life As We Know It

This is a story about life and the many facets of love, dreams and aspirations, and the journey of discovery we all have to make in our own way in our own time. But the single thread that runs through the film and ties the characters and their lives together is sorrow; and in this instance, using an extremely overt metaphor, `Sorrow' is the family pet-- a dog-- who comes to symbolize a seemingly prevalent condition of the Berry family in `The Hotel New Hampshire,' written for the screen and directed by Tony Richardson, adapted from the novel by John Irving. The story centers on the Berry family, a close but eccentric clan, and is told from the perspective of John (Rob Lowe), who tries to make sense of his too familiar relationship with his sister, Frannie (Jodie Foster), his gay older brother, Frank (Paul McCrane), his literally `little' sister, Lilly (Jennifer Dundas) who `isn't a midget,' but who stopped growing too soon, the youngest of the bunch, Egg (Seth Green), his grandfather, Iowa Bob (Wilford Brimley) and his parents (Beau Bridges and Lisa Banes).

John's father, Win, was a dreamer, or as Lilly called him, a `Gatsby,' always looking for something better, for `it.' Win and Mother Berry had met one summer working together at a hotel, and when Win tires of his job as a school teacher, he decides their town needs a hotel. So he buys an abandoned building that suits his needs perfectly, and transforms it into a hotel, the Hotel New Hampshire, owned and operated by the entire Berry family. And it is here that the memories of his formative years are made for John; memories like struggling with his love for his sister while she lives through a particularly traumatic experience that involves a boy of whom she is enamored, Chip Dove (Matthew Modine), and tasting love himself for the first time with a waitress at the hotel (Joely Richardson). It is also at this time that he experiences a death in the family for the first time. And, as it is in life, it won't be the last; nor will it be his final encounter with tragedy and sorrow.

In this film, Richardson touches upon a number of themes that at one time (and not that long ago) would have been considered taboo in a film: Homosexuality, incest and interracial relationships. And he does it successfully by weaving them into the story naturally and objectively, without expounding upon or exploring them simply to enhance the drama. This is simply the story of the Berry family, for better or worse, with John telling it like it is while refraining from any sensationalism or judgment calls, to which the likes of a film of this nature would ordinarily be disposed.

Lowe gives a convincing performance as John-- arguably some of the best work he's ever done-- and he underscores his role of narrator by making the story as much about the others as about himself, which is generous, and a good piece of acting. Foster, who would've been twenty-one or twenty-two when this was filmed (1984), displays an insight, poise and maturity well beyond her years, with a performance that is intuitively discerning and believable, and which serves the character so well while bringing her vividly to life. There is such a natural quality to Foster's acting that it makes her a joy to watch, and it makes Frannie a memorable character. The young Dundas is also very impressive in the role of Lilly and, like Foster, manages to bring the necessary maturity to the character that makes her entirely credible.

The supporting cast includes Wallace Shawn (Freud), Dorsey Wright (Junior), Cali Timmins (Bitty), Anita Morris (Ronda Ray) and Walter Massey (Texan). The film is by turns poignant, funny and disturbing; one could say a succinct reflection of life. And, diverse as this story is, thematically, there will undoubtedly be one aspect of it or another to which just about anyone will be able to relate. Because that's what life is; a journey we all share, but which we take on different roads that sooner or later are bound to intersect, and which becomes the point at which we realize something that's inescapable and possibly the most important thing we will ever learn: That we are not alone in this. And, in the final analysis, that is what `The Hotel New Hampshire' is all about. And that's the magic of the movies. I rate this one 7/10.