Joshua Then and Now (film)

Joshua Then and Now
Joshua Then and Now
Directed byTed Kotcheff
Screenplay byMordecai Richler
Based onJoshua Then and Now by Mordecai Richler
Produced byRobert Lantos
Stephen J. Roth
StarringJames Woods
Gabrielle Lazure
Michael Sarrazin
Linda Sorenson
Alan Arkin
Alan Scarfe
Ken Campbell
Alexander Knox
Chuck Shamata
Kate Trotter
Robert Joy
Harvey Atkin
Paul Hecht
Eric Kimmel
CinematographyFrançois Protat
Edited byRon Wisman
Music byPhilippe Sarde
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • 17 May 1985 (1985-05-17)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10,940,00
Box office$542,420

Joshua Then and Now is a 1985 Canadian film and a TV mini-series, adapted by Mordecai Richler from his semi-autobiographical novel Joshua Then and Now. James Woods starred as the adult Joshua, Gabrielle Lazure as his wife, and Alan Arkin as Joshua's father. It was directed by Ted Kotcheff who had previously directed Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.

The film depicts Joshua growing up in his Montreal neighborhood, and then his adventures as a modestly successful writer. He marries the "golden shiksa" of his dreams, but eventually everything around him crumbles and he must act quickly to recover it all. A comedic drama, the film moves quickly without lingering for long on any incident and tells a connected complete narrative. Alan Arkin is frequently noted in reviews for an outstanding performance.

The cast included Michael Sarrazin as Kevin Hornby (Pauline's brother), Robert Joy as Colin Fraser (Pauline's first husband), Linda Sorenson as Esther Shapiro (Joshua's mother), Alan Scarfe as Jack Trimble, Ken Campbell as Sidney Murdoch, Kate Trotter as Jane Trimble, Alexander Knox as Senator Hornby, and Eric Kimmel as young Joshua. Filmed on location in Montreal, London, Brockville, and Ottawa, Ontario. Rated R. It has been transcribed to VHS (1986) and DVD-R (2016).

In 2023, Telefilm Canada announced that the film was one of 23 titles that will be digitally restored under its new Canadian Cinema Reignited program to preserve classic Canadian films.[2]