Product Details

• Actors: Mary Steenburgen, Rip Torn, Peter Coyote, Dana Hill, Alfre Woodard
• Directors: Martin Ritt
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• DVD Release Date: February 19, 2002
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005R242
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,184 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Cross Creek" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover
In 1928, frustrated newspaper reporter Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen) leaves her husband and career and moves to an isolated orange grove in the Florida bayou to concentrate on writing fiction. But here is this strange and untamed land, Marjorie will find her life changed forever by a devoted servant (Alfre Woodard) who becomes her friend, a local businessman (Peter Coyote) who becomes her lover and the backwoods father (Rip Torn) and his young daughter (Dana Hill) who become her greatest inspiration. Cross Creek is based on the best-selling memoirs of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The Yearling. Directed by the legendary Martin Ritt (Sounder, Norma Rae), the film became the sensation of the 1983 Cannes Film Festival and remains one of the most powerful portraits ever of a writer's search for fulfillment as well as the remarkable story of one woman's bold struggle for independence.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful characters, beautiful location, funny and poignant, September 30, 1999

By	[e-mail] (USA (Texas)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cross Creek [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Mary Steenbergen's portrayal of writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is very believable - she's independent and a little stand-offish, but comes to care for her backwoods (and often eccentric) neighbors at Cross Creek as she adjusts to country life in the 1920's. Rip Torn is entertaining and touching as her sometimes-inebriated friend and neighbor Marsh Turner, and Peter Coyote is a charming friend and suitor. The movie is shot on location near Cross Creek, which enhances this interpretation of her 1941 bestselling book of the same name.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Drama - Brilliant Performances, July 25, 2002

By	"songbear" (Ashburn, VA United States) - See all my reviews

Cross Creek is the story of Marjorie Rawlings, the author of the Yearling. Set in a backwoods community in Florida in the 1920s, Ms. Rawlings sets off to write the perfect gothic romance and become a published author. She arrives at her recently purchased property in a broken down automobile to find her house is nothing more than a run down shack and her orange grove completely grown over from neglect. The conflict in the movie arises from her strong willed independence and the need to become part of the community at Cross Creek in order to survive. The characters that are part of that community and the actors and actresses that portray them is precisely what makes this film one of the best dramas ever made. The screenplay is strong, the character development is rich, and the screenplay and story line is completely convincing.

Mary Steenburgen performs the lead role with elegance and a vitality rarely found in roles like this. She has more charm than Kate Hepburn, and she manages to be so believable because she can navigate the feistiness, fear, anger, frustration, sadness, and humor of Ms. Rawlings and her adventures at Cross Creek without missing a beat. Peter Coyote plays Mr. Norton Baskin, a local innkeeper seeking her attention. Alfre Woodard brilliantly plays Geechie, her maid and manages to steal a few scenes in the process. But the two supporting performances that stand out are those of Rip Torn and Dana Hill. Torn and Hill are father and daughter from a dirt poor family try to scrap a living on the creek. They befriend Rawlings, and what results is the real life inspiration for the Yearling.

I believe this film was nominated for four Academy Award Nominations - with three acting nominations - one each for Rip Torn, Alfre Woodard, and Steenburgen. If you enjoy good drama, strong female roles, true stories, or just plain great acting, this would be a fine addition to any collection. My only disappointment with the DVD package is the film is presented in mono instead of Dolby Stereo, but the picture quality is superb. They even managed to include a short featurette. Still, I give this movie five stars, and highly recommend. It is one of my personal favorites.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Cross Creek" is unforgettable, in the good way., March 6, 2002

By	J. J. Smith (Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When was the last time you felt the hairs stand up on your arms as you watched a film? This radiant, measured drama, with a stubborn, diffident and magnetic performance by Mary Steenburgen, does it for me every time. Telling the story of writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and her sojurn in rural Florida in the 20's, it paints (and for once "paints" is the right verb) an eloquent portrait of the artist-as-not-always-likeable person, and also conveys an overwhleming sense of place and community. Martin Ritt's great feeling for ordinary people breathes extraordinary life into this material, and the location settings and photography are superb. Also superb are the supporting performances, including the acclaimed pairing of Rip Torn and the late, astonishing child actor Dana Hill as father and daughter. But my personal favorite is Alfre Woodard's all-out, headlong portrayal of Geechee, Rawling's devoted, wild woman housekeeper. This is the only film I know that conveys a real sense of the writer's life, and without pretense at that. As for the raising of the hairs, there is nothing else in film to compare with the final lyrical montage that concludes the picture. As Steenburgen speaks words from the text of Rawling's original "Cross Creek," Ritt gives us image after ravishing image of Cross Creek and environs. Once seen, you will never forget it. The DVD is beautifully produced. A treasure.