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The Great Santini

The Great Santini

Drama · 1979

As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated marine pilot.

Movie details

The Great Santini

“The bravest thing he would ever do was let his family love him.”

1979 Drama 1h 55m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated marine pilot.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Great Santini?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Lewis John Carlino

Written by

Lewis John Carlino

Robert Duvall

Robert Duvall

Bull Meechum

Blythe Danner

Blythe Danner

Lillian Meechum

Michael O'Keefe

Michael O'Keefe

Ben Meechum

Lisa Jane Persky

Lisa Jane Persky

Mary Anne Meechum

Julie Anne Haddock

Julie Anne Haddock

Karen Meechum

Brian Andrews

Brian Andrews

Matthew Meechum

Stan Shaw

Stan Shaw

Toomer Smalls

Court is in session

Put The Great Santini on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.