| The Spitfire Grill (1996)
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| Front Cover |
Actor |
Back Cover |
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| Alison Elliott |
Percy Talbott
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| Ellen Burstyn |
Hannah Ferguson
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| Marcia Gay Harden |
Shelby Goddard
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| Kieran Mulroney |
Joe Sperling
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| Will Patton |
Nahum Goddard
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| Gailard Sartain |
Sheriff Gary Walsh
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| John M. Jackson |
Johnny B./Eli
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| Louise De Cormier |
Effy Katshaw
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| Ida Griesemer |
Rebecca Goddard
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| Lincoln Grow |
Molly Goddard
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| Plot |
| This well-acted drama won the Audience award at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, causing a festival ruckus when several distributors entered a bidding war in response to the movie's positive buzz. When the movie was finally released, audience and critical response provided a sudden reality check: the movie's good to a point, but hardly worth the fuss it received at Sundance. Packing a miniseries' worth of melodrama into 117 minutes, the story centers on a young woman named Percy (Alison Elliott) who served prison time for manslaughter and arrives in a small town in Maine with hopes of beginning a new life. She works as a waitress in the Spitfire Grill, owned by Hannah (Ellen Burstyn), whose gruff exterior conceals a kind heart and precious little tolerance for the grill's regular customers, who cast their suspicions on Percy's mysterious past. The plot unfolds when Hannah holds a $100-per-entry essay contest to find a new owner for the grill. There's ample mystery surrounding the collected money, a local hermit who's really Hannah's shell-shocked Vietnam veteran son, and circumstances that lead the locals to adopt a lynch-mob mentality at Percy's expense. By the time Percy is nearly drowning in a raging river, The Spitfire Grill has taken its melodrama a few steps 'round the bend. Fine acting is the movie's saving grace, however, and newcomer Alison Elliott anchors The Spitfire Grill with a subtle, emotionally involving performance. Thanks to Elliott and Burstyn, you don't have to feel too guilty if you find yourself reaching for a Kleenex as the closing credits roll. --Jeff Shannon |
| Movie Details |
| Genre |
Drama |
| Director |
Lee David Zlotoff |
| Producer |
Forrest Murray |
| Writer |
Lee David Zlotoff |
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| Studio |
Warner Bros. |
| Country |
USA
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| Language |
English |
| Audience Rating |
PG-13 |
| Running Time |
116 mins |
| Movie Release Date |
8/23/1996 |
| Color |
Color |
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| Personal Details |
| Format |
DVD |
| Seen It |
No |
| Index |
485 |
| Collection Status |
In Collection |
| Purchase Date |
6/17/2005 |
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| Product Details |
| Region |
 Region 1 |
| Screen Ratio |
 Standard 1.33:1 Color
 Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic) |
| Layers |
Dual Side, Single Layer |
| UPC (Barcode) |
053939251722 |
| Chapters |
34 |
| Release Date |
12/7/1999 |
| Subtitles |
English; French |
| Packaging |
Snap Case |
| Audio Tracks |
 ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Surround [CC]
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Surround |
| Nr of Disks/Tapes |
1 |
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Extra Features
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| Color Closed-captioned Widescreen |
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