Product Details

• Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Diane Kagan, Shawn Whittington, Carolyn Coates, Michael Riney
• Directors: Peter Werner
• Writers: Horton Foote, William Faulkner
• Producers: Calvin Skaggs, Ken Golden, Robert Geller
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Monterey Video
• DVD Release Date: November 16, 2004
• Run Time: 41 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002VGSOO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,998 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Barn Burning" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Seen on PBS

Written By: Horton Foote (Academy Award winning screenwriter)

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Diane Kagan

Directed By: Peter Werner Description: Abe Snopes (Tommy Lee Jones) is a Southern tenant farmer whose unrelenting and violent nature proves to be his undoing in William Faulkner's Barn Burning.

Snopes sets his employer's barn on fire when he thinks he's been treated unfairly. His son, Sarty, is horrified. Snope escapes justice for lack of proof, but he and his family are told to move on. No sooner do they move than Snopes is offended by his new rich employer. Torn between trying to win his father's acceptance and his aversion to what his father will do, Sarty must make a decision and act quickly.

Adpated by Academy Award winning screenwriter Horton Foote, Faulkner's complex world of class divisions and hostile family relationships comes to life through a boy's attempt to liberate himself from hatred and poverty.

DVD Extras: About the Author, Actors’ Bios, About the American Short Story Collection, Henry Fonda Intro, Printable Study Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helps visualize the story, but kids may fall asleep, August 22, 2008

By 

LA Teacher "Anne" (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barn Burning (DVD)

The film is approx. 40 minutes and does a decent job of putting Faulkner's work on screen. Some of the stream-of-consciousness is conveyed through voice-overs, which may provide a good talking point with students.

Tommy Lee Jones is a perfect Abner Snipes, in fact, I don't think I could picture him any other way.

The downside is that it is rather boring, though I truly don't know how it could be spiced up, since it does stay true to the story.

I plan to show it intermittently as we read the text, as students really struggle with it. I do believe it will be helpful.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars JUST READ THE STORY, May 17, 2007

By 

T. Bellows "soul9" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Barn Burning (DVD)

My opinion:
My class agreed that this didn't capture the power of the actual short story. That may be impossible to do, actually. Somehow the film lacks the depth and charged darkness of the text.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great acting in a moving story about revengeful acts of violence and family loyalty, February 2, 2011

By 

Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Barn Burning (DVD)

This 1980 short made-for-TV film might be small in size but it sure is big on impact. It was adapted from a short story by William Faulkner and takes place in Mississippi, when the Civil was still a living memory and family loyalty was unquestioned. Tommy Lee Jones, in an outstanding performance is cast as the father in a troubled family which has had to move many times because of his propensity for acts of revengeful violence. When the film opens he is on trial in a country store for burning the barn of a neighbor because of some disagreement regarding a hog. His teenage son, brilliantly played by Shawn Whitting is called to the witness stand but before he can be questioned, the judge refuses to intimidate the boy and simply rules that Tommy Lee Jones and his family must leave town.

The film really gets into the time and the place. The wagon is rickety, the family is weary and their poverty is obvious. They are now to become sharecroppers in another area and, when they arrive at their new home, the father and son go to visit the rich man they will be working for. The story then gets more complex as Tommy Lee Jones makes predicable choices. How it all turns out is the stuff of high drama. Mostly, questions are raised about family loyalty and moral questions of right and wrong. I was completely enhanced by the story, the fine acting, and the inevitable outcome. When it ended it left me with an echo and inspired me to read some more of Faulkner which I had dismissed in the past.