Isadora (film)

Isadora
Film poster by Reynold Brown
Directed byKarel Reisz
Written by
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLarry Pizer
Edited byTom Priestley
Music byAnthony Bowles
(dance music)
Maurice Jarre
Distributed by
Release date
  • 18 December 1968 (1968-12-18)
Running time
Original version
177 min
Director's cut
153 min
Edited version
140 min (1969 UK release)
131 min (1969 US release)
CountryUK / France
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.7 million[1] or £1,484,021[2][3]
Box office$1.25 million (US/Canada rentals)[4]

Isadora (also known as The Loves of Isadora) is a 1968 biographical drama film directed by Karel Reisz from a screenplay written by Melvyn Bragg, Margaret Drabble, and Clive Exton adapted from the books My Life by Isadora Duncan and Isadora, an Intimate Portrait by Sewell Stokes. The film follows the life of American pioneering modern contemporary dance artist and choreographer Isadora Duncan, who performed to great acclaim throughout the US and Europe during the 19th century. A co-production between the United Kingdom and France, it stars Vanessa Redgrave as Duncan and also features James Fox, Jason Robards, and John Fraser in supporting roles.

Isadora was in the main competition at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival where Redgrave won the Best Actress Prize.[5] The film's initial limited theatrical release on 18 December 1968 by Universal Pictures in Los Angeles was for the Academy Award qualification.[6] Its general release in Spring 1969 received generally positive reviews with major acclaim for Redgrave's performance.[7] However the film underperformed at the box office grossing mere $1.25 million on a $1.7 million budget. For her performance, Redgrave won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress,[8] and received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress[9] and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.[10]

  1. ^ Walker, Alexander (1974). Hollywood, England: The British Film Industry in the Sixties. Stein and Day. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-7181-0891-5.
  2. ^ Chapman, L. (2021). “They wanted a bigger, more ambitious film”: Film Finances and the American “Runaways” That Ran Away. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 18(2), 176–197 p 189. https://doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2021.0565
  3. ^ Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 361
  4. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1969". Variety. 7 January 1970. p. 15.
  5. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Isadora". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  6. ^ Benson, Sheila (31 January 1987). "'ISADORA' RELAUNCHED WITH REFRESHING TWIST". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  7. ^ Canby, Vincent (28 April 1969). "Vanessa Redgrave Sparks 'The Loves of Isadora':Karel Reisz's Picture on 2 Screens Here". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Past Awards: National Society of Film Critics". National Society of Film Critics. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  9. ^ "The 41st Academy Awards | 1969 Winners & Nominees". Oscars.org. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  10. ^ "The Los Angeles Times The Envelope – Past Winners Database". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2007.