Taking Off (film)
| Taking Off | |
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| Directed by | Miloš Forman |
| Written by | Jean-Claude Carrière Miloš Forman John Guare John Klein |
| Starring | Lynn Carlin Buck Henry |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures (1971, original) Park Circus Carlotta Films (under license from Universal Pictures) (2011, Blu-Ray DVD) |
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Running time
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93 mins |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Taking Off is a 1971 American comedy film, the first made in the USA by Czech director Miloš Forman, which tells a story of an average couple in the suburbs of New York City who, when their teenage daughter runs away from home, link up with other parents of vanished children and learn something of youth culture.
Plot[edit]
One evening, a couple (Larry and Lyne Tyne), return home, to find their daughter, Jeannie's gone. (Viewers know she is attending an audition, clips from which (including such artistes as Carly Simon and Kathy Bates) recur throughout the film). The Tynes ring the Divivitos, with whose daughter Jeannie is supposed to be, but lhe Devito's daughter has also disappeared. Enlisting their friends, Tony and Margot, the two men search the neighbourhood bars while the women stay by the phone and gossip about sex. When the men return, they're dead-drunk, and Jeannie reappears. But she again vanishes, and the next day, Larry goes into the city to search for her. it in the street, he meets Ann Lockston, a parent who's also searching for a missing daughter. Ann tells Larry about a self-help group for parents in their predicament.
The police from upstate call the Tynes to say their daughter's been arrested 300 miles away, for stealing. The two rush to get her, only to find when they get there, the police had made a mistake: it was the Divitos' girl who was in custody, not theirs, as the girl had given a false name. On the trip back home, they stop off at a hotel, where Ike and Tina Turner are performing. A drunk Lynn is followed back to their room by an amorous stranger, unaware that Larry WAS already in bed, in the dark, and had gone to sleep. After the stranger disappears, Lynn tries out some of the tips Margot had confided to her, earlier.
Later, back in New York, Larry and Lynn attend a formal dinner for the self-help group. Afterwards, marijuana joints are handed round, and a young man named Schiavelli instructs the parents on how to smoke them. Happily high, Larrry and Lynn take Ann and her husband Ben back to their home for more drinks and a game of strip poker. As the group gets more inebriated, Larry strips off his clothes, and gets on top of the table, and sings Libiamo ne' lieti calici. Jeannie soon reappears, and Larry suggests she brings the boy, Schiavelli back home for dinner. Jeanie goes off to fetch him. The young man turns up, and proves to be an intelligent and wealthy musician. When he declines to play for them, Larry entertains the four with Stranger in Paradise.
Cast[edit]
- Lynn Carlin as Lynn Tyne
- Buck Henry as Larry Tyne
- Georgia Engel as Margot
- Tony Harvey as Tony
- Audra Lindley as Ann Lockston
- Paul Benedict as Ben Lockston
- Vincent Schiavelli as Schiavelli
- David Gittler as Jamie
- Ike Turner as Himself
- Tina Turner as Herself
- Linnea Heacock as Jeannie Tyne
- Rae Allen as Mrs. Divito
- Frank Berle as Committee Man
- Philip Bruns as Policeman (as Phillip Bruns)
- Gail Busman as Nancy Lockston
- Carly Simon as Audition Singer
- Kathy Bates as Audition Singer (as Bobo Bates)
- Shellen Lubin as Audition Singer
- Shelley Ackerman as Audition Singer
- Lois Dengrove as Audition Singer
- Bonnie Marcus as Audition Singer
- Jessica Harper as Audition Singer
Awards[edit]
The film won the Grand Prix at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
DVD[edit]
Taking Off was released to Blu-ray Disc, by British company Park Circus, on 7 November, 2011 as a Region-2 widescreen Blu-ray Disc and by Gaumont (with Carlotta Films as home video distributor) on March 23, 2011 as a Region-0 widescreen Blu-ray Disc.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Taking Off". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
