Avalon is a 1990 American drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson and starring Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elizabeth Perkins, Joan Plowright and Aidan Quinn. It is the third in Levinson's semi-autobiographical tetralogy of "Baltimore films" set in his hometown during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s; the other "Baltimore films" are Diner (1982), Tin Men (1987) and Liberty Heights (1999). The film explores the themes of Jewish assimilation into American life through several generations of a Polish immigrant family from the 1910s through the 1950s.
The film was released on October 5, 1990 by Tri-Star Pictures to critical acclaim and was nominated for four Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.
Plot It is the late 1940s and early 1950s and much has happened to the family of Polish Jewish immigrant Sam Krichinsky since he first arrived in America in 1914 and eventually settled in Baltimore. Television is new. Neighborhoods are changing, with more and more families moving to the suburbs. Wallpaper has been Sam's profession but his son Jules Kaye wants to try his hand at opening a large discount-appliance store with his cousin Izzy Kirk.
Jules and his wife Ann still live with Jules' parents Eva and Hymie but Ann is quietly enduring the way that her opinionated mother-in-law Eva dominates the household. Ann is a modern woman who even learns to drive a car, although Eva refuses to ride with her and takes a streetcar instead.
The family contributes to a fund to bring more relatives to America and real or imagined slights concern them. When Jules and Ann finally move to the suburbs, it takes a long time for their relatives to travel to their home. After arriving late and finding a Thanksgiving turkey has been carved without him, Uncle Gabriel is offended and storms out, beginning a feud with Sam.
Sam also cannot understand the methods his grandson Michael's teachers use in school or why Jules and Izzy have changed their surnames to Kaye and Kirk as they launch their business careers. But when various crises develop, including an armed holdup and a devastating fire, the family gets through the problems together.
Cast
Relationship with other "Baltimore films" Barry Levinson frequently places links between his films that are set in Baltimore. For example, there is an image of a diner under construction, recalling the director's Diner, which also featured a Hudson automobile whose purchase figures in Avalons plot. The house that the Krichinsky family leaves to move to the suburbs was used as a residence in Tin Men.
Release and reception Tri-Star Pictures released Avalon on October 5, 1990, initially in six theaters before expanding the following week to 600. Levinson criticized how the studio under promoted the film and expanded its release too soon, while studio president Mike Medavoy would later defend himself stating "Avalon wasn’t a wide-market movie, and we spent a lot of money to prove we could do it well. Putting it in a lot of theaters maximized the chance of making back our investment. Maybe we guessed wrong, but I don’t think anyone in the business could have squeezed another nickel out of it--or Bugsy, for that matter".
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the a score of 68 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Accolades Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref. Academy Awards Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen Barry Levinson Best Cinematography Allen Daviau Best Costume Design Gloria Gresham Best Original Score Randy Newman American Society of Cinematographers Awards Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases Allen Daviau Artios Awards Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Casting – Drama Ellen Chenoweth Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Film Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Barry Levinson Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture – Drama Best Screenplay – Motion Picture Barry Levinson Best Original Score – Motion Picture Randy Newman Grammy Awards Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television Avalon – Randy Newman Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Music Score Randy Newman National Board of Review Awards Top Ten Films New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actress Joan Plowright Writers Guild of America Awards Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen Barry Levinson Young Artist Awards Most Entertaining Family Youth Motion Picture – Drama Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture Elijah Wood Best Young Actor Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Grant Gelt Best Young Actress Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Mindy Loren Isenstein
Soundtrack Avalon (soundtrack)
Home media Avalon was released on DVD in 2001.
References
External links
JUF : Tweens : Movies : Avalon