Tex | |
---|---|
Directed by | Tim Hunter |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | Tex by S. E. Hinton |
Produced by | Tim Zinnemann |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ric Waite |
Edited by | Howard E. Smith |
Music by | Pino Donaggio |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million[1] |
Box office | $7.4 million[2] |
Tex is a 1982 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Tim Hunter in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Charles S. Haas and Hunter, based on S. E. Hinton's best-selling 1979 novel of the same name. It follows two teenage brothers in rural Oklahoma and their struggle to grow up after their mother's death and their father's departure. The film stars Matt Dillon in the title role, with Jim Metzler, Meg Tilly, Emilio Estevez, in his film debut, Bill McKinney, Frances Lee McCain and Ben Johnson in supporting roles. Metzler was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance.
Tex is seen as one of the earliest efforts for Walt Disney Productions to put mature content in its movies and received positive reviews for its realism and its content.
Premise
A coming-of-age adventure about two brothers, Tex and Mason McCormick, struggling to make it on their own when their mother dies and their father leaves them in their Oklahoma home. Fifteen-year-old Tex McCormick and his 17-year-old brother Mason are trying to make it on their own in the absence of their rodeo-riding father. Mason takes over running the household and, to make ends meet, sells Tex's beloved horse, Rowdy. Tex gets mad at Mason and heedlessly tumbles into scrape after scrape. When his Pop comes home, Tex is shocked to learn that he isn't his real father. But Tex realizes that Mason and Pop do love him, and it is time to start growing up.
Cast
- Matt Dillon as Texas "Tex" McCormick
- Jim Metzler as Mason "Mace" McCormick
- Meg Tilly as Jamie Collins
- Bill McKinney as Pop McCormick
- Frances Lee McCain as Mrs. Johnson
- Ben Johnson as Cole Collins
- Phil Brock as Lem Peters
- Emilio Estevez as Johnny Collins
- Tom Virtue as Robert “Bob” Collins
- Jack Thibeau as Coach Jackson
- Željko Ivanek as Hitchhiker Mark Jennings
- Pamela Ludwig as Connie Peters
- S.E. Hinton as Mrs. Barnes
Production
The film was given a PG-rating by the Motion Picture Association rather than a G-rating traditionally earned by Walt Disney Studios productions, and was noted as an early effort by Disney to incorporate more mature subject matter into its films. The film was somewhat edgy for Disney at the time for its scenes that depicted marijuana use as well as featuring a moderate amount of profanity. Tim Hunter, who had previously co-written the 1979 film Over the Edge with Charles Haas, brought the project to Disney and asked for the opportunity to direct it himself. The film was shot entirely on location in and around Tulsa, Oklahoma and its suburbs,[3] the setting of the S. E. Hinton novel on which it is based.
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 13 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[4] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[5]
Janet Maslin of The New York Times lauded Tex as "an utterly disarming, believable portrait of a small-town adolescent" that "captures Miss Hinton's novel perfectly" and that would "make a star out of Matt Dillon" and "forever alter the way moviegoers think about Walt Disney pictures." Maslin concluded her review by stating, "This is a film that accomplishes everything that it attempts, and does so expertly. On its own terms, it is a success through and through."[6]
Roger Ebert gave the film 4 stars out of 4 and noted that Hunter and Haas, as in their previous writing effort, the 1979 film Over the Edge, were "still remembering what it's like to be young, still getting the dialogue and the attitudes, the hang-ups and the dreams, exactly right."[7] David Sterritt of The Christian Science Monitor called it "probably the best picture turned out by the Disney studio since the heyday of the legendary Walt himself."[8] On the other hand, Variety wrote that "writers Charlie Haas and Tim Hunter (latter making his directing debut) seem intent on incorporating every conceivable adolescent and adult trauma into their script [from the novel by S.E. Hinton], thus leaving the film with a very overdone, contrived feeling."[9]
Accolades
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982 | 4th Youth in Film Awards | Best Young Motion Picture Actor | Matt Dillon | Nominated | [10] |
Best Family Motion Picture | Tex | Nominated | |||
1983 | 40th Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jim Metzler | Nominated | [11] |
Home video release
Tex was released on VHS in 1983 by Walt Disney Home Video. The film was released on DVD by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on September 7, 2004.
References
- ↑ Farber, Stephen (October 10, 1982). "THE 'ODDBALL' WHO BROUGHT 'TEX' TO DISNEY". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ↑ "Tex". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ↑ Stephen Farber, "The 'Oddball' Who Brought 'Tex' to Disney", The New York Times, October 10, 1982.
- ↑ "Tex". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ↑ "Tex". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ↑ Maslin, Janet (September 28, 1982). "'TEX,' PARENTLESS BOYS IN OKLAHOMA". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ↑ Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1982). "Tex". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group – via rogerebert.com.
- ↑ Sterritt, David (August 5, 1982). "'Tex,' Disney's sensitive story of a teenager's life". The Christian Science Monitor. Boston, Massachusetts: Christian Science Publishing Society.
- ↑ "Review: 'Tex'". Variety. December 31, 1981.
- ↑ "Fourth Annual Youth in Film Awards 1981-1982". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on March 10, 2008. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ↑ "Tex". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
External links
- Official website
- Tex at IMDb
- Tex at AllMovie