Product Details

• Actors: Robert Duvall, Olga Bellin, Sudie Bond, Richard McConnell, Peter Masterson
• Directors: Joseph Anthony (II)
• Format: Black & White, Original recording reissued, Special Edition, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: July 27, 1999
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0764006797
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #291,479 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Based on the William Faulkner story and featuring one of Robert Duvall's finest performances, Tomorrow was first adapted by Horton Foote for TV's Playhouse 90 in 1960. Eight years later, Foote--whose script for To Kill a Mockingbird provided Duvall's screen debut--presented the same story as an off-Broadway play with Duvall and Olga Bellin in the lead roles, which they reprised in 1971 for this independently produced film.

As with Tender Mercies--which earned Academy Awards for both Foote and Duvall in 1983--Tomorrow tells a simple tale of gentle people, and the sensitive script, direction, and performances offer an enlightening portrait of compassion and unconditional love. Duvall plays Fentry, a Mississippi cotton farmer in the early 1900s who leaves his father's farm to work as the winter watchman of a dormant sawmill. There, he encounters Sarah (Bellin), a pregnant woman abandoned by her husband and suffering from a life-threatening illness. They eventually marry, but inevitably, Fentry (portrayed by Duvall as a kind of holy innocent) alone must raise the woman's child--a good-natured boy whose fate is determined by a heartbreaking claim of familial custody.

The story is framed by a murder trial, the outcome of which leads to the film's resonant and quietly moving conclusion. Like so much of Foote's work, Tomorrow was tailor-made for Duvall, and it has much to say about endurance, integrity, and uncommon decency under difficult circumstances. Directed by Joseph Anthony with an appropriately somber tone, this delicate drama nevertheless offers a wise and uplifting affirmation of the resilient human spirit. For Duvall's many admirers, this is a must-see film. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a small gem of great drama. Don't miss it!, May 18, 2002

By 

Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tomorrow [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This 1972 film, starring Robert Duvall before he became famous, is a real find. Based on a short story by William Faulkner, the play as well as the screenplay were written by Horton Foote, of "To Kill a Mocking Bird" fame. Naturally, it's set in Mississippi in the days when mules and buggies were used for transportation, and old men still remembered fighting in the Civil War.

Robert Duvall is cast in the role of Jackson Fentry, a simple cotton farmer who takes on a job of caretaker at a sawmill during the winter months. It's a lonely place, and he lives in a shack, but there's a water pump outside and a wood stove to cook on, and he's used to a hard life. He hears a low moan outside one day, and discovers Sarah Eubanks, played by Olga Bellin, who is weak and pregnant and needing care. She's been abandoned by her husband and has no place to go. Both of them are quite shy and their meeting, in which he invites her in to his shack, is a small masterpiece of nuance. She has large expressive eyes and they both talk very slowly, but I never felt bored and easily adjusted to the pace.

During the next few months their life together becomes idyllic but there is always an underlying tragic feel to their happiness. "Marry me Sarah," he says. But alas, she can't; she's already married. As the story moves on, it gets sadder and sadder and, when, twenty years later, he's called to be a juror in a murder trial, we all understand why his vote causes a mistrial. It's a fitting conclusion, although not a happy one.

This is perhaps one of Robert Duvall's greatest roles; one that he has said in interviews is still his favorite. It required excellent acting ability and he certainly demonstrated it. Throughout, we identify completely with the simple farmer with his deep regional southern accent. Olga Bellin is also excellent, but, with the exception of two minor roles on television, this was her only film. The screenplay is perfect also, using language that was natural to the characters. And the simple black and white cinematography sets the mood just perfectly. All together, this is a small gem and not to be missed by those who love good drama. Just be forewarned about the sadness. Recommended.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Tomorrow?, June 23, 2001

By 

Little Dorrit "ldorrit" (WA state) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tomorrow [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Funny title, don't you think? Tomorrow could mean anything, but I don't think such a title would ever fit another story as well as this one. I won't ruin it for you and tell you why, since it is the last line of the film that reveals it and it is one of the most appropriate endings I've ever seen.

Faulkner, Foote and Duvall, what a line up! Throw in the lumninous Olga Bellin as the lead actress and you couldn't lose with this one if you tried. That is of course unless you are one of the people whose idea of a great film is today's mind numbing fast food of cinema called special effects. The 'special effects' in this one are those you will carry with you after viewing a story of love and true nobility of character.

How two people with so little in the world and so little knowledge of the world, could be so eloquent and say so much with the simplest of words, quietest of gestures, always amazes me. If what you want is a story of quiet beauty and grace that will make you feel better about life after you've seen it, then get your own copy of Tomorrow, for you'll want to see it more than once.

We are lovers of fine filmmaking and finer writing and if we could only own five films (heaven forbid!) this would be one of them! Might even be number one on the list.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The great unknown film, March 12, 2000

By 

S. Alesch "schopfung" (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tomorrow [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film is difficult and great. Impatient friends and family members will all drop out..one by one... distilling the viewers to the few quiet ones. Once the pace is set, like a slow slow walk it moves into you like a deep breath. I saw it first in 1984 on accident. A matinee revival in some town. My friend fell asleep.I have since not seen something so slow and powerful.My friend doesn't even know it exists. Regardless he plods through his sad life unaware that men have been there before. Countless times... If you like heaviness and are moved by the struggle to care about love you should see this film.