A Perfect World (1993)

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writer (WGA):

John Lee Hancock (written by)

Release Date:

24 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.

Plot Keywords:

Texas | Prison | Halloween | Criminologist | Kidnapping

Cast

Kevin Costner	...	Robert 'Butch' Haynes
Clint Eastwood	...	Chief Red Garnett
Laura Dern	...	Sally Gerber
T.J. Lowther	...	Phillip 'Buzz' Perry
Keith Szarabajka	...	Terry Pugh
Leo Burmester	...	Tom Adler
Paul Hewitt	...	Dick Suttle
Bradley Whitford	...	Bobby Lee
Ray McKinnon	...	Bradley
Jennifer Griffin	...	Gladys Perry
Leslie Flowers	...	Naomi Perry
Belinda Flowers	...	Ruth Perry
Darryl Cox	...	Mr. Hughes
Jay Whiteaker	...	Superman
Taylor Suzanna McBride	...	Tinkerbell
Christopher Reagan Ammons	...	Dancing Skeleton
Mark Voges	...	Larry Billings
Vernon Grote	...	Prison Guard
James Jeter	...	Oldtimer
Ed Geldart	...	Fred Cummings
Bruce McGill	...	Paul Saunders
Nik Hagler	...	General Store Manager
Gary Moody	...	Local Sheriff
George Haynes	...	Farmer
Marietta Marich	...	Farmer's Wife
Rodger Boyce	...	Mr. Willits
Lucy Lee Flippin	...	Lucy
Elizabeth Ruscio	...	Paula
David Kroll	...	Newscaster
Gabriel Folse	...	Officer Terrance
Gil Glasgow	...	Officer Pete
Dennis Letts	...	Governor
John Hussey	...	Governor's Aide
Margaret Bowman	...	Trick 'r Treat Lady
John M. Jackson	...	Bob Fielder
Connie Cooper	...	Bob's Wife
Cameron Finley	...	Bob Fielder, Jr.
Katy Wottrich	...	Patsy Fielder
Marco Perella	...	Road Block Officer
Linda Hart	...	Eileen, Waitress
Brandon Smith	...	Officer Jones
George Orrison	...	Officer Orrison
Wayne Dehart	...	Mack, the Farmer
Mary Alice	...	Lottie, Mack's Wife
Kevin Jamal Woods	...	Cleveland, Mack's Grandson (as Kevin Woods)
Tony Frank	...	Arch Andrews, Farm Owner
Woody Watson	...	Lt. Hendricks
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James W. Gavin	...	Helicopter Pilot
Craig Hosking	...	Helicopter Pilot
Jimmy Ray Pickens	...	Cop (uncredited)
David Stanford	...	Neighbor kid (uncredited)
Greg Stechman	...	Teen Onlooker (uncredited)
Libby Villari	...	Reporter (uncredited)

Directed by
Clint Eastwood

Writing credits (WGA)
John Lee Hancock		(written by)

Produced by
Clint Eastwood	....	producer
Mark Johnson	....	producer
David Valdes	....	producer

Original Music by
Lennie Niehaus

Cinematography by
Jack N. Green

Film Editing by
Joel Cox
Ron Spang

Casting by
Phyllis Huffman

Production Design by
Henry Bumstead

Art Direction by
Jack G. Taylor Jr.

Set Decoration by
Alan Hicks

Costume Design by
Erica Edell Phillips

Makeup Department
Fríða Aradóttir	....	hair stylist (as Frida Aradóttir)
Elle Elliott	....	hair stylist
James Lee McCoy	....	makeup artist (as James McCoy)
Carol A. O'Connell	....	hair stylist (as Carol O'Connell)
Francisco X. Pérez	....	makeup artist (as F.X. Perez)

Production Management
David Valdes	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bill Bannerman	....	second assistant director
L. Dean Jones Jr.	....	first assistant director (as L. Dean Jones)
Sarah Shields	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Donald R. Abblett	....	production painter (as Donald Abblett)
Edward Aiona	....	property master
Don Beal	....	swing gang
Ron Beal	....	swing gang
Bob Danyla	....	swing gang
Patricia Dillon	....	swing gang
Jess Gonchor	....	construction foreman
Antoinette J. Gordon	....	set designer (as Antoinette Gordon)
Michael Koellner	....	swing gang
Kenneth R. Rector	....	swing gang (as Kenny Rector)
William F. Reynolds	....	leadperson (as Bill Reynolds)
Mike Seefus	....	construction foreman
Michael Sexton	....	assistant property master
Bruce G. Smith	....	scenic foreman (as Bruce Smith)
Charles Vassar	....	set designer (as Charlie Vassar)
Butch West	....	construction coordinator
Doug Wilson	....	scenic foreman
Glenn Dunn	....	property maker (uncredited)
Ken Gaston-Kilgore	....	greensman (uncredited)
Stanford Gilbert	....	assistant property master (uncredited)
Gretchen Goetz	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Adele Plauche	....	painter (uncredited)
Steve Sawhill	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Rick Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Richard Alexander)
Bobbi Banks	....	adr editor
Stu Bernstein	....	dialogue editor
Milton C. Burrow	....	sound effects editor
Neil Burrow	....	sound effects editor
Richard Burton	....	dialogue editor
Don Coufal	....	boom operator
Samuel C. Crutcher	....	sound effects editor
Zack Davis	....	dialogue editor
Rickley W. Dumm	....	assistant sound editor
Les Fresholtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Leonard T. Geschke	....	foley editor
Matthew Harrison	....	foley editor
Devon Heffley Curry	....	adr supervisor (as Devon Curry)
David L. Horton Jr.	....	foley editor
Chris Ingram	....	assistant sound editor
James J. Isaacs	....	dialogue editor
Maxwell Spencer Jackson	....	foley editor
James J. Klinger	....	sound effects editor
Gary Krivacek	....	sound effects editor
John Kwiatkowski	....	dialogue editor
Michael Magill	....	dialogue editor
Darrin Martin	....	assistant sound editor
Michael Mirkovich	....	assistant sound editor
Alan Robert Murray	....	supervising sound editor
Jayme S. Parker	....	dialogue editor
John Phillips	....	sound effects editor
David M. Roberts	....	cable person (as David Roberts)
Terry Rodman	....	sound effects editor
John Roesch	....	foley walker
Catherine Rowe	....	foley walker
Michael Ruiz	....	assistant sound editor
Kim Secrist	....	dialogue editor
Craig Sims	....	assistant sound editor
Karen Spangenberg	....	supervising dialogue editor
Tom Stevens	....	sound effects editor
Allen L. Stone	....	sound re-recording mixer
Madeleine Swift	....	assistant sound editor
Jeff Wexler	....	sound mixer
Les Wolf	....	foley editor (as Leslie E. Wolf Jr.)
Tim Song Jones	....	sound transferer (uncredited)
Mary Jo Lang	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)
Carolyn Tapp	....	foley recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
David Amborn	....	special effects
John Frazier	....	special effects coordinator
James W. McCormick	....	special effects (as J.W. McCormick)

Stunts
Daniel W. Barringer	....	stunts (as Dan Barringer)
Laura Dash	....	stunts
Diamond Farnsworth	....	stunts
Andy Gill	....	stunts
Orwin C. Harvey	....	stunts (as Orwin Harvey)
Norman Howell	....	stunt double: Kevin Costner
John Robotham	....	stunts
Spike Silver	....	stunts
Brian Smrz	....	stunts
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunt coordinator
George Orrison	....	stunt double: Clint Eastwood (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Buzzy Burwell	....	rigging gaffer
Murray Close	....	still photographer
Antonio V. Garrido	....	dolly grip (as Tony Garrido)
Gary Jay	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
John Lacy	....	rigging gaffer
Hal Nelson	....	best boy grip
Víctor Pérez	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Victor Perez)
Don Reddy	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Tony Rivetti	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera (as Anthony J. Rivetti)
Charles Saldana	....	key grip
John Patrick Smith	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera (as Patrick Smith)
Tom Stern	....	chief lighting technician
Stephen St. John	....	camera operator: "a" camera
John Waldo	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Peter N. Green	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Olivia Harris	....	casting assistant
Nadene Katz	....	casting assistant
Liz Keigley	....	casting: Texas
Sari E. Keigley	....	extras casting (as Sari Keigley)
Michael Shortt	....	casting: day players (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kelly Lindquist	....	set costumer
Amy Stofsky	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Michael Cipriano	....	assistant film editor
Bob Putynkowski	....	color timer

Music Department
Robert Fernandez	....	scoring mixer (as Bobby Fernandez)
Donald Harris	....	music editor
Jeff Harris	....	assistant music editor
Judd Miller	....	musician: solo EVI

Transportation Department
Manny Demello	....	driver (uncredited)
Greg Faucett	....	driver (uncredited)
Phil Schriber	....	driver: Mr. Eastwood (uncredited)
Larry Stelling	....	picture car coordinator (uncredited)

Other crew
Marco Barla	....	unit publicist
Caroline Brock	....	assistant location manager
Amy Chance	....	production secretary
Walter T. Falls III	....	staff assistant (as Tres Falls)
Kay James	....	craft service
Elizabeth Jones	....	staff assistant
Jeff Kloss	....	production accountant (as Jeffrey Kloss)
David R. Lawson	....	first aid
Cindy Lindauer	....	teacher
Michael Maurer	....	production auditor
Karon May	....	script supervisor
Kate McCarley	....	location manager
Moira McLaughlin	....	assistant: Mr. Costner
Tom Moore	....	staff assistant (as Tom Boyd Moore)
Gwen Osborne	....	assistant: Mr. Johnson
Melissa Rooker	....	assistant: Mr. Eastwood
Tom Rooker	....	assistant: Mr. Eastwood
Cody Ross	....	stand-in: T.J. Lowther
Steve Stone	....	staff assistant
Cynthia Streit	....	production coordinator
Mark Thomason	....	stand-in: Kevin Costner
Loranne Turgeon	....	assistant: Mr. Valdes
Tracey Holman Weaver	....	staff assistant (as Tracey Weaver)
Kelly Kernan	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Larry Stelling	....	mechanic (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Malpaso Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1993) (USA) (theatrical)
• Falcon (1994) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1993) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1993) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1994) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1993) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1993) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1993) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1993) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (1994) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1999) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (1994) (Germany) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1994) (Germany) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Reprise Records  soundtrack

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content and language. (on appeal)

Runtime:

138 min | Germany:125 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | South Korea:12 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Philippines:R-18 | USA:R (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (re-rating on appeal) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Director Clint Eastwood originally intended to give the role of Butch to Denzel Washington.

Goofs:

Continuity: As he lays dying under the tree, Butch gives Phillip a wad of paper money and tucks it in his shirt. After Butch dies and Phillip is being led across the meadow, the money is shown falling out of his shirt. The breeze scatters it, leaving a trail of money behind him. Yet when Butch's body is shown later, somehow much of that money has somehow been magically returned to the immediate area around him.

Quotes:

Robert 'Butch' Haynes: Walkin's for squares.

Movie Connections:

References Bull Durham (1988)

Soundtrack:

Don't Worry

the grandson of "Hunted"

In 1952, Charles Crichton had produced a successful suspenseful movie with a derivative premise: a man (an excellent Dirk Bogarde) compelled to take a brat hostage with him because he was the witness of his murder and to flee with him across Britain to escape the police. This journey had brought the two runaways together and Bogarde eventually felt real love and care for his young hostage. Crichton (I find it hard to believe that it's the same man who 36 years later will cook "a Fish Called Wanda", 1988!) had construed his topic with a lot of reserve and sensitivity which bestowed his wonderful piece of work with pathos and tenderness.

40 years later, Clint Eastwood, freshly showered with praise for his dusky "Unforgiven" (1992) takes back this formula for a flick which basically was to be directed by Steven Spielberg but the latter had a lot to do with "Schindler's List" (1994), probably his finest moment. The amount was "a Perfect World" (1993) and it deserves better than the lukewarm reviews it received and stands as a winner in Eastwood's eclectic filmography. In spite of a few installments in its second part that one can deem as overlong, it has enough commendable stuff to grab the audience.

First, Eastwood's vehicle is helped by the work of John Lee Hancock who 4 years later will pen the scenario for another Eastwood flick: "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (1997). Because it eschews the formulaic ingredients of the movie genre, "a Perfect World" deals with and it encompasses various tones: from the droll moments Kevin Costner goes through with his young hostage to gripping scenes which incommodes the audience (the scene when Costner holds the black family in their living room with a song he hadn't heard for years), the script takes the viewer by surprise. It's true that suspense takes a back seat during most of the viewing but Eastwood's flick has other stuff in store. In the favorable reviews, it has been said that the relationships between Costner and his young partner were highly interesting. From their first confrontation, Costner has an evident interest in the little boy, a nagging curiosity that will grow throughout his run. In this way, his attitude, at least in the outset of the film is quite different from Bogarde's. The latter realizing that he has no other choice to take his brat with him expresses at first hostility and scorn before starting to get interested in him. Not Costner who is clearly interested with his hostage from the outset and for whom he feels affection. In the two flicks, the little boys may see in Bogarde and Costner the father figures they never had. Their households are characterized by an absence of father. As for Costner, he unveils to his partner, scraps of his anterior life which might explain one of his attitudes towards him. Maybe, he tries to play his role of father and this way to get close to him: "we have a lot of things in common you and me: we love Coke, we never had father". He wants to make him discover a new life, a freer and more maverick one in which anything goes (he asks him to write the things he craves to do).

Nature plays a momentum role in "a Perfect World": it surrounds the characters and is of a vivacious green which symbolizes bliss and hope. In this perfect world, the two main protagonists try to search for support, friendship, bliss but impending danger waits around the corner.

Eastwood's flick was also decried because the other sequences of the film in which Eastwood and his crew appear were rather weak. I don't think so. True the character of Laura Dern is a little formulaic but in one sequence the most important members offer their vision of a perfect world. And even if here he doesn't hold the main role, Clint Eastwood has a prime secondary part. The cast is a major asset of the film. The little boy is directed with care and respect and Eastwood gave Costner his last great hour, given the duds in which he acted afterward: the horrible "Waterworld" (1995), a waste of money and time and the insipid "Postman" (1997).

Coming after a pinnacle in his career, "Unforgiven", I feel that Eastwood wasn't hampered by this critical and commercial triumph and broke new ground in the fugitive movie with this startling piece of work. Give this movie a chance. It deserves it. And if you have the chance to see "Hunted", don't think twice. Eastwood's flick compares favorably with his 40 year old model. And after the projection, try to ask yourself this question: what is a perfect world?