14: Far and Away

This week, the movie that’s often considered the first flop of Cruise’s career: Ron Howard’s Far and Away! Is the movie — or are the accents — as bad as we thought? How can a movie work at the highest and lowest levels, but kind of miss the middle? How do we make our peace with the big political choice that Howard makes? Content warning: indigenous erasure, colonialism, physical violence, sex work, harm to animals Unanswered Questions: Was it the right decision to avoid the issue of native populations entirely? Can we understand the Christie storyline as being that of an Englishman coming under the romantic spell of America? Given the Irish immigrant story and the talk of destiny, why is there so little religion in this film? Further reading: Native Land Digital Joy Harjo Copper Yearnings (Kimberly Blaeser) Ron Howard Interview (The Guardian) Far and Away Review (Roger Ebert) Behind the Burly Q: The Story of Burlesque in America (Leslie Zemeckis) Thanks for listening! For bonus shows, extra content and more, support The Last Star In Hollywood and the Next Word network by visiting Patreon.com/NextWord! Join us next time as we finally find out if Tom Cruise can handle the truth in Rob Reiner’s 1992 drama A Few Good Men! The Last Star In Hollywood is an independent podcast produced by Elizabeth Rae and Alastair Stephens. Copyright © 2023 The Last Star In Hollywood. All Rights Reserved. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★