Hard to believe it came out 42 years ago, and is just as good today as it was then. I was 13 when it came out, and remember how powerful and emotional it was, on levels I couldn't possibly understand then, but felt them. 42 years... a blink of an eye.
I was 12 when this movie came out, lived in Chicago's Gold Coast at the time, 7th grade @ Ogden School... I'm 56 today, and I still love this opening, it moves me! Still love this movie... Nothing like this today unfortunately ❤
Heartily agreed... I always enjoyed MTM as a performer, but her performance in this film is (successfully) one of the most complex I have ever seen in a Hollywood movie. I love her bravery in the Foundation interview (link displayed on this page) wherein she's discussing Beth as a good actor would, then suddenly admits--to her self as well as to us--that she IS Beth. For that confession alone, she deserved every award they could mint. The Academy should have corrected its error by giving her an Honorary Award within a couple of years (Jesus H. Christ--they gave one of those to Oprah--and for what?). She was deeply, profoundly touched when her peers bestowed on her a Lifetime Achievement SAG Award. That was for everything she'd ever done, but especially for bringing Beth to life in Ordinary People. RIP my love.
And we can thank Noel Goemanne for the lyrics. Until 1979 there had been no attempt at putting lyrics to this masterpiece. Goemanne did so in that year, and a year later, it was used at the opening of this movie.
Gary W-l-o-t i know, the film is on a different level. So much emotion, the characters were so relatable and likable it is so good you can't put it into words.
This is one of my favorite movies. When it came out I was in high school and I saw it with my mom, dad, brother, and grandparents. One of my favorite memories.
a phenomenal direction debut by robert redford...the movie opens in the autumn with the leaves falling...a time of going inward and letting go, the leaves are falling, the nests are empty...a time of reflection of what once was... And with the music of Pachelbel's Canon playing in the background...what a perfect way to introduce this story...
I never realized that-how clever. I thought film opened with that shot because it was filmed in Lake Forest. I always wonder if directors intentionally add the symbolism or if it is just a lucky coincidence.
I lived in the area with my parents and siblings this movie was filmed in. I have not lived there since about the time this movie was released. I have tears in my eyes, as I recognize most of the scenery (Highland Park and Lake Forest, Illinois) in this opening sequence. My parents are both gone now and my brother and sister live so far away from me that seeing either of them takes financial and logistical planning. Thanks for sharing this. God's Peace to you and all here. 🙏 ✌️
A magnificent film, brilliant acting, exquisite direction. I love how he used the lake, where the tragedy all begun, and the change of seasons, as the opening ,to what changes were about to occur even more, within the perfect family on the inside but the real story that was taking place on the inside then the pan through the chorus to Hutton, and you can see by his appearance he has been through a great trauma. No one makes movies like that anymore. I truly miss the 1980's.
Not only the showing the lake at the start, but also the proximity of Conrad to Jeannine in the opening scene was, no doubt, intentionally done. As I am sure you are aware, that relationship takes on significant meaning in the film.
Re Conrad's appearance: I was 18 when this movie came out, so was pretty much the same age as the characters. It might not be obvious to a viewer now, but Conrad stands out because his hair is so short. As you can see with the other guys in the choir, at that time guys did not wear their hair that short. Of course, later in the movie we find out why it is so short.
The fact we have RU-vid now unlike in the 80s. We have RU-vid today and super amazing computers to make movies but no one can make THIS movie now with everything available and upload it shows the power of great movies and acting.
I saw this movie in a California theater when it first came out in 1981. I was hiking the entire Pacific Crest Trail (2,600 miles) and was in town getting food supplies. It was the only movie I saw during that entire trip, and I was quite moved by it. It was the first time too that I heard the beautiful Pachelbel's Canon in D Major and have loved it ever since.
very moving and sad movie, lost a good friend when I was ten still think of him he was a good person and I wish he could have lived to adulthood, the beginning of this movie alway reminds me of him, we fell out just before he died and I blame myself in part for his death, if I,d been there perhaps it wouldn,t have happened. 40 years ago and I still miss him.
The opening scene has my Coral teacher, Virginia Cecil. She actually had a part I went to the school, it was filmed at Lake Forest high school. Which was kind of funny, because where they filmed the house it was in Glencoe, which is a neighboring,city. Brilliant movie.
My father was alcoholic. He used to get violent every time he got drunk. He threatened to kill me countless times while growing up, so I had to learn to hide in closet, cupboard, any place I could be safe. I once stood in phone booth all night, in the middle of winter. My childhood was filled with tears mostly and I have very few happy memories. My mother, who was not very well educated, had to work earning very little money, because by the time I was 8 my father stopped working. So, she wasn't there for me and my sister when our father was drunk and raging. I long to be in a normal household, where children had normal family life, filled with love and laughter, but it wasn't meant to be. I know my upbringing is different to Conrad's. But somehow I can relate to his heart ache and pain. This film makes me cry, every time I watch even a clip from it.
Fantastic movie by Robert Redford making his director debut he did a fantastic job director this movie and a fantastic cast powerful script in my opinion Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore should got Oscars for there performance they were fantastic in this movie 🎥
One of my favorite movies of all time!! I was a budding psychologist when this came out and it completely moved me. Watching Timothy Hutton’s face descend into depression and his mother -son interaction was excruciating. I’ve used the theme of this movie often in my sessions…emotion is strength, not weakness.
Great intro! Was 13 when this came out and it might not have resonated well for me at 13, but it does now. Both my parents have recently passed and I have a sister who loved this movie, that passed away in'96. No worries. ...still have 4 siblings still alive, but man it was nice to remember who I saw this movie with and the impact that it made on all of us. MTM should've won the Oscar and Sutherland was great too. Very powerful film still to this day!
Lake Michigan is super beautiful! It is very dangerous as what happened to Buck. There are rip currents. Perfect backdrop to the film. There was so much torn in the family
@@shannmaddox1836 It is sad that his father, Jim Hutton of 'Where The Boys Are' fame did not live long enough to witness his son's outstanding performance.
The opening is beautiful with the Colors of Autumn, but depressing and Lonely which catches the essence of the movie prior to seeing the characters, and showing the shore in the Autumn, where alot of activity took place with people just weeks before... Now it's empty.. It gives it a Haunting, sad vibe.
Never saw it on the big screen. But now at 53 I enjoy listening to the beginning credits on RU-vid. I love the opening scene to the ocean and then moving to the green grass with a tree, a tree, and more trees on flat green grass..
This movie resonated so much with me. I was in highschool at the time it came out and graduated that year. Although I think I wanted it to resonate with me. I wanted to be Conrad, the one who tried to off himself. This brings back some painful memories. I've felt nothing but depression all my life and I'm 61 now.
When I watched this movie the year it won the Oscars, it coincided with the period of my growth when there was a family crisis that I could not deal with nor talk about. I could feel how Conrad was crushed and the family was falling apart, just like what happened to my family. The movie made a lasting impact to my life (the other one was "The Awakenings") - that life can be very messy, and you really needed each other to cope with it.
Like Conrad I also lost my mother's love. I tried everything to reach her but she wouldn't admit to herself that helping me to push a shopping is not Love whether I am 5 years old or 55. I had to let her go and move on with my own life. I am still looking for a kindred spirit. Someone I can be friends with. I don't care where she comes from.
I saw this movie with my mom when it first came out. My father grew up in Lake Forest*, and my parents lived there the first few years of their marriage. During this scene, my mom kept whispering, "There's the beach...There's the Presbyterian church...There's the high school..." I, barely out of my teens, was mortified and whispered back, "Shh! Shh!" *P.S. My father's family wasn't wealthy. My grandfather was a cabinetmaker and my grandmother ran a small neighborhood grocery store. The house where Jeannie (Elizabeth McGovern) lived was in my grandparents' neighborhood. My cousin still lives in a townhouse on that very street.
"En el silencio de nuestras almas, oh Señor, Contemplamos tu paz Libre de todos los deseos del mundo Libre de miedo y toda ansiedad Oh Señor, Oh Dios, Sabiduría, alegría y paz y amor divino Oh Señor, oh Dios, Gloria, alabanza y honor sea siempre tuyo Oh, querido Señor, ven a nosotros ahora Ten piedad de nosotros, quédate con nosotros y protégenos a todos Oh Señor, nuestro Dios, sabiduría, verdad, amor, paz y alegría Oh Señor nuestro Rey, tus alabanzas siempre cantaremos Aleluya"
je l'ai regardais 4 fois sans doute ! Très beau film sur le tabou de la dépression, accompagné du classique canon en d majeur de Pachelbel ! émouvant !
This was very memorable opening to a movie.Beautful image -leaves falling.""Hoosiers" with leaves falling great,too.One more -Tom Hanks --as man seeing kids on bleachers in "Big."
The sound is better than the theatrical version I first saw at a critic's preview in Los Angeles. In some of the exteriors of the Jarrett house, you can actually hear the quiet roar of the Great Lake (which is less than a half-mile away). I believe this sound was deliberately included in the mix--a sort of memento mori of the lost son and brother. It's there but it isn't.
@@Juliaflo Correct. Hutton and the movie won Oscars, in addition to Redford. MTM was nominated, but did not win. Unfortunately, Sutherland was not even nominated.
