Tender Mercies [Blu-ray]

Overview

Mac Sledge, a once-famous country western singer, wakes up broke and hung over in a tiny Texas motel run by widowed Rosa Lee. Having nowhere else to go, Sledge takes a job at the motel, and through the kindness and religiosity of Rosa he changes his self-destructive ways.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/2020
UPC:	0738329249014
Original Release:	1983
Rating:	PG
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	1:32:00
Sales rank:	6,129

Special Features

Audio Commentary by Film Critic and Author Simon Abrams; Miracles and Mercies: Documentary featuring interviews with stars Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Allan Hubbard, Director Bruce Beresford and Writer/Co-Producer Horton Foote; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robert Duvall	Mac Sledge
Tess Harper	Rosa Lee Wadsworth
Betty Buckley	Dixie Scott
Ellen Barkin	Sue Anne
Wilford Brimley	Harry
Allan Hubbard	Sonny
Lenny Von Dohlen	Robert Dennis
Paul Gleason	Reporter
Michael Crabtree	Lewis Menefee
Norman Bennett	Rev. Hotchkiss
Andrew Scott Hollon	LaRue
Rick Murray	Jake
Stephen Funchess	Bertie
Glen Fleming	Steve
Suzanne Jacobs	Nurse
Jerry Biggs	Man at Bar
Sheila Bird	Concessionaire
Robert E. Blackburn III	Boy at Dance
Eli Cummins	Doorman
Tony Frank	Man at Motel
Pat Minter	Man at Dixie's House
Oliver Seal	Man at Dixie's House
Berkley H. Garrett	Man at Dixie's House
Helena Humann	Woman with Groceries
Barbara Jones	Country Woman,Country Man
Harlan Jordan	Waiter
Robert P. Kelley	Choirmaster
Ray LePere	Man in Bar
Terry Schoolcraft	Ada
James Aaron	Henry
Robert Stewart	Concessionaire
George Dreyfus	Composer
Bobby Hart	Composer

Technical Credits

Horton Foote

Bruce Beresford	Director
Horton Foote	Screenwriter,Producer
Robert Duvall	Producer
Mary-Ann Hobel	Producer,Producer
Philip Hobel	Producer
Shari Rhodes	Casting

Editorial Reviews

The unconventional, reserved actor Robert Duvall chooses similarly challenging material to produce and direct himself, whether it be 1997's The Apostle or his 1980s pet projects, Angelo, My Love and Tender Mercies. The latter film gave him one of his most delicate, nuanced roles, as well as his first Academy Award. Far from a vanity project, Mercies doesn't revel in Duvall's gruff, stoic persona so much as critique it. His washed-up country singer is a recovering alcoholic, hesitant and guarded with those who try to get close to him, whether fans (Lenny von Dohlen) or potential lovers (Tess Harper). As scripted by Horton Foote, the film has the lazy, unforced rhythms of real life. It's very much a piece with Foote's The Trip to Bountiful (1985): both stories are swan songs for long-neglected people who find redemption by revisiting the places and moments that have haunted them all their lives. In his first American feature, Australian director Bruce Beresford shows a real affinity for the barren Texas locales, never condescending to his characters or their simple, humble desires. Duvall wrote and performed a number of the songs.