Jump to content

Best Boy (film): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
+poster
(20 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|1979 film by Ira Wohl}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = Best Boy
| name = Best Boy
| image =
| image = Best Boy film.jpg
⚫
| image_size =
| caption =
| caption =
| director = [[Ira Wohl]]
| director = [[Ira Wohl]]
⚫
| producer = [[Ira Wohl]]<ref>[https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1980 1980|Oscars.org]</ref>
| writer = Ira Wohl
| writer = Ira Wohl
⚫
| producer = Ira Wohl<ref>[https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1980 1980|Oscars.org]</ref>
| narrator =
| starring =
| starring =
| music =
| narrator =
| cinematography = Tom McDonough
| cinematography = Tom McDonough
| editing =
| editing =
⚫
| music =
| distributor = International Film Exchange
| distributor = International Film Exchange
| released = {{Start date|1979}}
| released = {{Film date|1979}}
| runtime = 110 minutes
| runtime = 110 minutes
| country = United States
| country = United States
| language =
| language =
| budget =
| budget =
| gross =
| gross =
}}
}}
'''''Best Boy''''' is a 1979 American documentary made by [[Ira Wohl]].<ref>"The Compassionate Man Behind 'Best Boy'; Ira Wohl of 'Best Boy'". ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 16, 1980.</ref> The film received critical acclaim, and won many awards including the [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwbLZNpaSjg William Shatner and Persis Khambatta present Documentary Oscars® in 1980 - Oscars on YouTube]</ref>
'''''Best Boy''''' is a 1979 American documentary made by [[Ira Wohl]]. The film received critical acclaim, and won many awards including the [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwbLZNpaSjg William Shatner and Persis Khambatta present Documentary Oscars® in 1980 - Oscars on YouTube]</ref>


==Summary==
==Summary==
Line 27: Line 27:
Philly's father, Max Wohl, dies during the course of the film. His mother, Pearl, died in 1980. Philly, himself, died in late April, 2020, at the age of 92. [[Zero Mostel]] died in 1977, and the film was dedicated to his memory.
Philly's father, Max Wohl, dies during the course of the film. His mother, Pearl, died in 1980. Philly, himself, died in late April, 2020, at the age of 92. [[Zero Mostel]] died in 1977, and the film was dedicated to his memory.


==RelEase==
==Release==
''Best Boy'' premiered at the [[1979 Toronto International Film Festival]], where it was one of two documentary films (alongside [[Michael Moore]]'s ''[[Roger & Me]]'' ten years later) to win the festival's [[Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award|People's Choice Award]] before a separate People's Choice Award was instituted for the festival's documentary stream.<ref>[http://www.torontosun.com/2015/08/16/tiff-2015-40-facts-for-the-fests-40th-year "TIFF 2015: 40 facts for the fest's 40th year"]. ''[[Toronto Sun]]'', August 16, 2015.</ref>
''Best Boy'' premiered at the [[1979 Toronto International Film Festival]], where it was one of two documentary films (alongside [[Michael Moore]]'s ''[[Roger & Me]]'' ten years later) to win the festival's [[Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award|People's Choice Award]] before a separate People's Choice Award was instituted for the festival's documentary stream.<ref>[http://www.torontosun.com/2015/08/16/tiff-2015-40-facts-for-the-fests-40th-year "TIFF 2015: 40 facts for the fest's 40th year"]. ''[[Toronto Sun]]'', August 16, 2015.</ref>

==Reception==
Writing in ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'', [[David Denby]] called ''Best Boy'' "a remarkably powerful film" with "an undercurrent of humor".<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0028-7369| volume = 13| issue = 12| pages = 76–77| last = Denby| first = David| title = Making Love, Not War| work = New York| date = 1980-03-24}}</ref> In ''Film News'', Jack Neher described ''Best Boy'' as "a beautifully detailed and very moving portrait of a family undergoing profound change".<ref>{{Cite news| volume = 37| issue = 4| pages = 26| last = Neher| first = Jack| title = Best Boy| work = Film News| date = 1980}}</ref> In ''[[Commonweal (magazine)|Commonweal]]'', [[Colin Westerbeck]] wrote "It's difficult to describe the documentary that Ira Wohl has made about his cousin Philly in terms that aren't cliches. Best Boy is a movie that's "heartwarming." It's that rare film which is able to remove the quotation marks from such terms and leave us, for once, unembarrassed to use them."<ref>{{Cite news| volume = CVII| issue = 8| pages = 243–244| last = Westerbeck Jr| first = Colin L.| title = Rising to the Occasion| work = Commonweal| date = 1980-04-25}}</ref>

In addition to the Academy Award, ''Best Boy'' won the [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film|New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Documentary]].


==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
Line 37: Line 42:


==External links==
==External links==
*{{official website|http://bestboythemovie.com}}
⚫
*{{imdb title|0078850|Best Boy}}
* {{Amg movie|4907|Best Boy}}
*{{IMDb title|0078850|Best Boy}}
⚫
* {{AllMovie title|4907|Best Boy}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1002058_best_boy?/ ''Best Boy'' on Rotten Tomatoes]


{{Navboxes
{{Navboxes
Line 49: Line 56:


[[Category:1979 films]]
[[Category:1979 films]]
⚫
[[Category:American films]]
⚫
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:American documentary films]]
[[Category:American documentary films]]
[[Category:Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:POV (TV series) films]]
[[Category:POV (TV series) films]]
[[Category:Documentary films about people with disability]]
[[Category:Documentary films about people with disabilities]]
[[Category:1979 documentary films]]
[[Category:1979 documentary films]]
⚫
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
⚫
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:Films about disability in the United States]]
[[Category:Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award winners]]

Revision as of 13:02, 23 August 2024

Best Boy
Directed byIra Wohl
Written byIra Wohl
Produced byIra Wohl[1]
CinematographyTom McDonough
Distributed byInternational Film Exchange
Release date
  • 1979 (1979)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States

Best Boy is a 1979 American documentary made by Ira Wohl. The film received critical acclaim, and won many awards including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[2]

Summary

The film follows Philly Wohl, Ira's mentally handicapped cousin, who at that time was 52 years old and still living with his elderly parents. Ira forces his aunt and uncle to realize that they will not be around to care for Philly forever, and that they must start making preparations for when that time should come. Philly then begins to attend classes in New York City to learn how to take care of himself and become independent.

Philly's father, Max Wohl, dies during the course of the film. His mother, Pearl, died in 1980. Philly, himself, died in late April, 2020, at the age of 92. Zero Mostel died in 1977, and the film was dedicated to his memory.

Release

Best Boy premiered at the 1979 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was one of two documentary films (alongside Michael Moore's Roger & Me ten years later) to win the festival's People's Choice Award before a separate People's Choice Award was instituted for the festival's documentary stream.[3]

Reception

Writing in New York, David Denby called Best Boy "a remarkably powerful film" with "an undercurrent of humor".[4] In Film News, Jack Neher described Best Boy as "a beautifully detailed and very moving portrait of a family undergoing profound change".[5] In Commonweal, Colin Westerbeck wrote "It's difficult to describe the documentary that Ira Wohl has made about his cousin Philly in terms that aren't cliches. Best Boy is a movie that's "heartwarming." It's that rare film which is able to remove the quotation marks from such terms and leave us, for once, unembarrassed to use them."[6]

In addition to the Academy Award, Best Boy won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Documentary.

Aftermath

A sequel titled Best Man: 'Best Boy' and All of Us, 20 Years Later, was produced in 1997.[7] Following the sequel, Wohl released Best Sister in 2006, which rounded off the trilogy by looking at the effect Philly's sister had on his current life.[8]

References

  1. ^ 1980|Oscars.org
  2. ^ William Shatner and Persis Khambatta present Documentary Oscars® in 1980 - Oscars on YouTube
  3. ^ "TIFF 2015: 40 facts for the fest's 40th year". Toronto Sun, August 16, 2015.
  4. ^ Denby, David (1980-03-24). "Making Love, Not War". New York. Vol. 13, no. 12. pp. 76–77. ISSN 0028-7369.
  5. ^ Neher, Jack (1980). "Best Boy". Film News. Vol. 37, no. 4. p. 26.
  6. ^ Westerbeck Jr, Colin L. (1980-04-25). "Rising to the Occasion". Commonweal. Vol. CVII, no. 8. pp. 243–244.
  7. ^ "The Documentary As Family Memoir: A Surprise Sequel". The New York Times, January 11, 1998.
  8. ^ "Ira Wohl To Screen His Academy Award-winning Film “Best Boy” May 17th At The CoSA Theater". Coronado Eagle and Journal, April 27, 2015.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Best_Boy_(film)&oldid=1241843548"