Avalon (1990 film)

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Infobox film Avalon is a 1990 American drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson and starring Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elizabeth Perkins, Joan Plowright and Aidan Quinn. It is the third in Levinson's semi-autobiographical tetralogy of "Baltimore films" set in his hometown during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: Diner (1982), Tin Men (1987), and Liberty Heights (1999).<ref name=NYT2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The film explores the themes of Jewish assimilation into American life, through several generations of a Polish immigrant family from the 1910s through the 1950s.

The film was released to critical acclaim, and was nominated for four Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.

Plot

It is the late 1940s and early 1950s, and much has happened to the family of Polish Jewish immigrant Sam Krichinsky since he first arrived in America in 1914 and eventually settled in Baltimore.

Television is new. Neighborhoods are changing, with more and more families moving to the suburbs. Wallpaper has been Sam's profession, but his son Jules wants to try his hand at opening a large discount-appliance store with his cousin, Izzy, maybe even do their own commercials on TV.

Jules and his wife, Ann, still live with his parents, but Ann is quietly enduring the way that her opinionated mother-in-law Eva dominates the household. Ann is a modern woman who even learns to drive a car, although Eva refuses to ride with her and takes a streetcar instead.

The family contributes to a fund to bring more relatives to America. Slights, real or imagined, concern the family, as when Jules and Ann finally move to the suburbs, a long way for their relatives to travel. After arriving late and finding a Thanksgiving turkey has been carved without him, Uncle Gabriel is offended and storms out, beginning a feud with Sam.

Sam also cannot understand the methods his grandson Michael's teachers use in school, or why Jules and Izzy have changed their surnames to Kaye and Kirk as they launch their business careers. But when various crises develop, including an armed holdup and a devastating fire, the family gets through the problems together.

Relationship with other "Baltimore films"

Levinson frequently places links between his films that are set in Baltimore. For example, there is an image of a diner under construction, recalling the director's Diner, which also featured a Hudson automobile whose purchase figures in AvalonTemplate:'s plot.<ref name="screenplay">Template:Cite book</ref> The house that the Krichinsky family leaves to move to the suburbs was used as a residence in Tin Men.<ref name="screenplay"/>

Release and reception

Tri-Star Pictures released Avalon on October 5, 1990, initially in six theaters before expanding the following week to 600. Levinson criticized how the studio underpromoted the film and expanded its release too soon, while studio president Mike Medavoy would later defend himself stating "Avalon wasn’t a wide-market movie, and we spent a lot of money to prove we could do it well. Putting it in a lot of theaters maximized the chance of making back our investment. Maybe we guessed wrong, but I don’t think anyone in the business could have squeezed another nickel out of it--or Bugsy, for that matter".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Template:Rotten Tomatoes prose<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Metacritic film prose<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Accolades

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
Academy Awards	Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen	Barry Levinson	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Best Cinematography	Allen Daviau	Template:Nom
	Best Costume Design	Gloria Gresham	Template:Nom
	Best Original Score	Randy Newman	Template:Nom
American Society of Cinematographers Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases	Allen Daviau	Template:Nom
Artios Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Casting – Drama	Ellen Chenoweth	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards	Best Film		Template:Nom
Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures	Barry Levinson	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Drama		Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Best Screenplay – Motion Picture	Barry Levinson	Template:Nom
	Best Original Score – Motion Picture	Randy Newman	Template:Nom
Grammy Awards	Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television	Avalon – Randy Newman	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards	Best Music Score	Randy Newman	Template:Runner-up	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
National Board of Review Awards	Top Ten Films		Template:Draw	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Joan Plowright	Template:Runner-up	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen	Barry Levinson	Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Young Artist Awards	Most Entertaining Family Youth Motion Picture – Drama		Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture	Elijah Wood	Template:Nom
	Best Young Actor Supporting Role in a Motion Picture	Grant Gelt	Template:Nom
	Best Young Actress Supporting Role in a Motion Picture	Mindy Loren Isenstein	Template:Nom

Soundtrack

• Avalon (soundtrack)

Home media

Avalon was released on DVD in 2001.

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0099073

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