The Turning Point

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6.6	Rating (37 ratings)
6.8	IMDB rating

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Directed by

Herbert Ross

Starring (View all)

Anne Bancroft
Emma Jacklin

Shirley MacLaine
Deedee

Tom Skerritt
Wayne

Mikhail Baryshnikov
Yuri

Leslie Browne
Emilia

Martha Scott
Adelaide

Antoinette Sibley
Sevilla Haslam

Alexandra Danilova
Madame Dahkarova

Written by

Arthur Laurents
(written by)

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The Turning Point

10 years, 2 months ago at Feb 3 22:49

JxSxPx

Eleven Academy Award nominations.
Eleven Academy Award nominations.

This was all that kept running through my mind when I was watching The Turning Point, a thin film that somehow ended up with a lion’s share of nominations at that year’s Oscar telecast. That many nominations on a film this generically plotted, anemically directed and indifferently acted by most of the s... read more

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Description: Deedee (Shirley MacLaine), who now lives in Kansas, chose to marry and raise a family. Emma (Anne Bancroft) kept on in dance and became a prima ballerina. They meet again after many years apart when the dance company comes to Kansas on tour. Peering into each other's lives, they both wonder about the wisdom of their choirces made so long ago. Deedee is troubled by jealousy — a longing for the acclaim she would have received if Emma had not cleverly persuaded her to marry Wayne (Tom Skerritt), another dancer. And Emma, surrounded by her scrapbooks, old shoes, and memories, secretly rues the fact that her career is almost ove Deedee (Shirley MacLaine), who now lives in Kansas, chose to marry and raise a family. Emma (Anne Bancroft) kept on in dance and became a prima ballerina. They meet again after many years apart when the dance company comes to Kansas on tour. Peering into each other's lives, they both wonder about the wisdom of their choirces made so long ago.

Deedee is troubled by jealousy — a longing for the acclaim she would have received if Emma had not cleverly persuaded her to marry Wayne (Tom Skerritt), another dancer. And Emma, surrounded by her scrapbooks, old shoes, and memories, secretly rues the fact that her career is almost over and she has no one who really loves her. Deedee's daughter Emily (Leslie Browne) has become a fine ballerina and is the joy of her parents. She is asked to dance in New York with Emma's company. Although Deedee goes with Emily to the city, she soon finds herself displaced. No longer a dancer, she plays second fiddle to Emma who dotes on her daughter.

In the climactic scene of the film, Deedee confronts her friend with her jealousy and resentment. They argue in a bar and move outside where they physically battle — only to finally fall into each other's arms exhausted and cleansed. Emma admits to Deedee that she did counsel her to get married so she could get the prized role which would lead to success.

Anne Bancroft's performance as Emma is of Academy Award proportions. She captures the inner anxiety of a charming and graceful star who is painfully aware of her body's swift decline and her spirit's slow fall into sadness. Shirly MacLaine's Deedee is an affecting depiction of a woman in isolation, nagged by regrets and depleted by self-devaluation. Herbert Ross (The Sunshine Boys, Funny Girl, The Seven Per-Cent Solution) has drawn out splendid performances from these stars. The supporting cast is excellent: Tom Skerritt as Deedee's tender and understanding husband, James Mitchell as a choreographer who cares about old friends, and Martha Scott as the shrewd and frequently gauche manager of the ballet company.

Ross not only excels in the direction of the cast, he also manages to make the world of ballet come to life on the screen in a way that has never been done before. Part of that comes naturally since he was once a choreographer for the American Ballet Theatre. This superb company of dancers play a major role in the film. We watch them in grueling exercises, repeated rehearsals, and then in actual performances. Leslie Browne and Mikhail Baryshnikov, who in the context of the film are lovers for a while, treat us to some stunning dance numbers. There is no dance movement in which grace and power are so perfectly conveyed as in the leap. And Baryshnikov is the master of this movement. Cinematographer Robert Surtees captures these leaps and all other graceful, fluid, and breath taking moments of ballet.

The Turning Point, then, is doubly rich — a well-acted and engaging portrait of friendship regained and a luminous and illuminating glimpse into the world of ballet. After experiencing this superb movie, only a champagne cocktail and a good friend will do! ... (more)

Release date: 18 November 1977
UPC: 013131307597

Tags: Drama (2), 1977 (2), Dance (1), Dancing (1), Romance (1), Love (1), Friendship (1), Ballet (1), 1970s (1), Women (1), 70's (1), HQ (1), Spiritual Cinema (1), 20th Century Fox (1), SnP (1)

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" Director: Herbert Ross Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Anne Bancroft, Tom Skerritt, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne, Martha Scott, Antoinette Sibleyina, Marshall Thompson and Anthony Zerbe Forced to give up ballet after becoming pregnant, Deedee moved from New York to Oklahoma to raise a family with her husband. When her old friend and fellow ballerina, Emma, comes to town with her dance company and invites Deedee's daughter, Emilia, to join, Deedee is both excited for her daughter and nostalg"

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