Cutter's Way
Encyclopedia
Cutter's Way is a 1981 thriller directed by Ivan Passer
. The film stars Jeff Bridges
, John Heard, and Lisa Eichhorn
. The screenplay was by Jeffrey Alan Fiskin, based on the novel Cutter and Bone
by Newton Thornburg
.
) – Cutter begins to take an interest in the mystery that unfolds. His interest soon becomes a conspiracy theory
that develops into a troublesome investigation with his skeptical friend and the dead girl's sister (Ann Dusenberry
) along for the ride.
. Fiskin, who had little money, stole a copy of the book to read. In a 1981 interview, he said of the novel, "The set-up's great, the characters are fine. But the last half of the book is an instant replay of Easy Rider
. You cannot make a film out of this." Gurian agreed and hired Fiskin to write the screenplay. Gurian arranged for the studio EMI
to back the film financially, with Robert Mulligan
to direct and Dustin Hoffman
to play Alex Cutter. However, a scheduling conflict forced Hoffman to leave the project. This prompted Mulligan to leave as well, and EMI to pull its money. Gurian took the film to United Artists
, where the studio's vice president, David Field, became interested in backing it.
Gurian gave Fiskin a list of directors; Ivan Passer
's name was the only one the screenwriter did not recognize. Fiskin and United Artists executives screened Passer's Intimate Lightning and agreed he was the man to direct Cutter and Bone. Passer was already involved with another film, but chose to do Cutter and Bone instead after reading Fiskin's script.
The initial budget was to be $3.3 million, but then Field learned that United Artists would only produce the movie if the budget were reduced to $3 million and that a name star be cast. The studio liked Jeff Bridges
' work in the dailies for Michael Cimino
's Heaven's Gate
and insisted on him for Cutter and Bone. Passer cast John Heard after seeing him in a Joseph Papp
Shakespeare in the Park
production of Othello
. The studio wanted a star, but the director insisted on Heard. Lisa Eichhorn was cast as Mo after she auditioned with Bridges.
, the studio felt that they would get no credit if the film succeeded and no responsibility if it failed and so there was no interest in it. Cutter and Bone became a victim of internal politics. U.A. senior domestic sales and marketing vice president Jerry Esbin saw the film and decided that it did not have any commercial possibilities. Passer did not see his film with a paying audience until the Houston International Film Festival many weeks later. He said in an interview, "They didn't do any research. I was supposed to have two previews with a paying audience. It was in my contract."
United Artists spent a meager $63,000 on promotion for the film's release in New York City
, New York
, in late March 1981. There all three daily papers and the three major network critics gave Cutter and Bone negative reviews. Vincent Canby
in The New York Times
wrote, "[I]t's the sort of picture that never wants to concede what it's about. It is, however, enchanted by the sound of its own dialogue, which is vivid without being informative or even amusing on any level." The studio was so shocked by the negative reviews that it planned to pull the film after only a week. Unbeknownst to them, the next week Richard Schickel
in Time
, David Ansen
in Newsweek
, and New York City
's weekly newspapers would write glowing reviews. Ansen wrote, "Under Passer's sensitive direction, Heard gives his best film performance: he's funny and abrasive and mad, but you see the self-awareness eating him up inside."
The positive reviews prompted United Artists to give Cutter and Bone to its United Artists Classics division, whch changed the film's title to Cutter's Way (thinking that the original title would be mistaken by audiences for a comedy about surgeons) and entered it into a number of film festivals. At Houston, Texas
' Third International Film Festival it won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor (John Heard). A week later, it was given the closing feature slot at the Seattle International Film Festival
. With a new ad campaign, Cutter's Way reopened in the summer of 1981 in Seattle, Washington; Los Angeles
, California
; Boston
, Massachusetts
; and New York City, New York. Passer was bitter about the experience, commenting in an interview, "You can assassinate movies as you can assassinate people. I think UA murdered the film. Or at least they tried to murder it."
In 1982, Fiskin won an Edgar Award
from the Mystery Writers of America
for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.
Ivan Passer
Ivan Passer is a Czech-born film director and screenwriter.A significant figure in the Czech New Wave of the mid-1960s, Passer worked closely with Miloš Forman on many of his films, and directed his first feature in 1965...
. The film stars Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
, John Heard, and Lisa Eichhorn
Lisa Eichhorn
Lisa Eichhorn is an American actress, writer and producer. She made her film debut in 1979 in the John Schlesinger film Yanks for which she received two Golden Globe nominations...
. The screenplay was by Jeffrey Alan Fiskin, based on the novel Cutter and Bone
Cutter and Bone
Cutter and Bone is a 1976 thriller novel by Newton Thornburg about a Vietnam veteran, Alex Cutter, who tries to convince his friend, Richard Bone, that Bone witnessed a murder. It was adapted to film by director Ivan Passer as Cutter's Way in 1981--starring John Heard as Cutter, Jeff Bridges as...
by Newton Thornburg
Newton Thornburg
-Early life:Born in Harvey, Illinois, Thornburg graduated from the University of Iowa with a Fine Arts degree. He worked in a variety of jobs before devoting himself to writing full-time in 1973.-Writing:...
.
Plot
One rainy night, Richard Bone's (Bridges) car breaks down in an alleyway. He spots a large, mysterious car in the distance. A man dumps something into a garbage can. At first, Bone thinks nothing of it and proceeds to meet his friend, Alex Cutter (Heard). The next day, a young girl is found brutally murdered in the same alleyway where Bone abandoned his car. He becomes a suspect. When Bone spots the man he thinks is the murderer in a parade later that day – local tycoon J.J. Cord (Stephen ElliottStephen Elliott (actor)
Stephen Elliott was an American actor. His best known role was that of crime boss, Burt Johnson, in the hit 1981 film Arthur.-Theatre:Elliott's first acting engagement was at the New York Neighborhood Playhouse in 1946...
) – Cutter begins to take an interest in the mystery that unfolds. His interest soon becomes a conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
that develops into a troublesome investigation with his skeptical friend and the dead girl's sister (Ann Dusenberry
Ann Dusenberry
Ann Dusenberry is an American actress from Tucson, Arizona known primarily for a variety of television series and made-for-TV movie roles in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s.-Acting career:...
) along for the ride.
Production history
A friend of Jeffrey Alan Fiskin had Fiskin send a screenplay to Paul Gurian, a would-be film producer. Gurian eventually informed Fiskin that he had bought the rights to the novel Cutter and Bone, and wanted to meet with Fiskin in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Fiskin, who had little money, stole a copy of the book to read. In a 1981 interview, he said of the novel, "The set-up's great, the characters are fine. But the last half of the book is an instant replay of Easy Rider
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
. You cannot make a film out of this." Gurian agreed and hired Fiskin to write the screenplay. Gurian arranged for the studio EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
to back the film financially, with Robert Mulligan
Robert Mulligan
Robert Mulligan was an American film and television director best known as the director of humanistic American dramas, including To Kill A Mockingbird , Summer of '42 , The Other , Same Time, Next Year and The Man in the Moon...
to direct and Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
to play Alex Cutter. However, a scheduling conflict forced Hoffman to leave the project. This prompted Mulligan to leave as well, and EMI to pull its money. Gurian took the film to United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
, where the studio's vice president, David Field, became interested in backing it.
Gurian gave Fiskin a list of directors; Ivan Passer
Ivan Passer
Ivan Passer is a Czech-born film director and screenwriter.A significant figure in the Czech New Wave of the mid-1960s, Passer worked closely with Miloš Forman on many of his films, and directed his first feature in 1965...
's name was the only one the screenwriter did not recognize. Fiskin and United Artists executives screened Passer's Intimate Lightning and agreed he was the man to direct Cutter and Bone. Passer was already involved with another film, but chose to do Cutter and Bone instead after reading Fiskin's script.
The initial budget was to be $3.3 million, but then Field learned that United Artists would only produce the movie if the budget were reduced to $3 million and that a name star be cast. The studio liked Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
' work in the dailies for Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and author. He is best known for writing and directing Academy Award-winning The Deer Hunter and the infamous Heaven's Gate. His films are characterized by their striking visual style and controversial subject...
's Heaven's Gate
Heaven's Gate (film)
Heaven's Gate is a 1980 American epic Western film based on the Johnson County War, a dispute between land barons and European immigrants in Wyoming in the 1890s...
and insisted on him for Cutter and Bone. Passer cast John Heard after seeing him in a Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in downtown New York . "The Public," as it is known, has many small theatres within it...
Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park is a concept used across the world, as a form of free public presentation of William Shakespeare's works. Such performances exist in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America....
production of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. The studio wanted a star, but the director insisted on Heard. Lisa Eichhorn was cast as Mo after she auditioned with Bridges.
Reaction
United Artists did not like the ambiguity in what was then titled Cutter and Bone. When U.A. executives David Field and Claire Townsend, the film's biggest supporters, left for 20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, the studio felt that they would get no credit if the film succeeded and no responsibility if it failed and so there was no interest in it. Cutter and Bone became a victim of internal politics. U.A. senior domestic sales and marketing vice president Jerry Esbin saw the film and decided that it did not have any commercial possibilities. Passer did not see his film with a paying audience until the Houston International Film Festival many weeks later. He said in an interview, "They didn't do any research. I was supposed to have two previews with a paying audience. It was in my contract."
United Artists spent a meager $63,000 on promotion for the film's release in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, in late March 1981. There all three daily papers and the three major network critics gave Cutter and Bone negative reviews. Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote, "[I]t's the sort of picture that never wants to concede what it's about. It is, however, enchanted by the sound of its own dialogue, which is vivid without being informative or even amusing on any level." The studio was so shocked by the negative reviews that it planned to pull the film after only a week. Unbeknownst to them, the next week Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, David Ansen
David Ansen
David Ansen is a reviewer and senior editor for Newsweek, where he has been reviewing movies since 1977. He came to Newsweek after several years as the chief film critic at Boston's The Real Paper...
in Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's weekly newspapers would write glowing reviews. Ansen wrote, "Under Passer's sensitive direction, Heard gives his best film performance: he's funny and abrasive and mad, but you see the self-awareness eating him up inside."
The positive reviews prompted United Artists to give Cutter and Bone to its United Artists Classics division, whch changed the film's title to Cutter's Way (thinking that the original title would be mistaken by audiences for a comedy about surgeons) and entered it into a number of film festivals. At Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
' Third International Film Festival it won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor (John Heard). A week later, it was given the closing feature slot at the Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
. With a new ad campaign, Cutter's Way reopened in the summer of 1981 in Seattle, Washington; Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
; and New York City, New York. Passer was bitter about the experience, commenting in an interview, "You can assassinate movies as you can assassinate people. I think UA murdered the film. Or at least they tried to murder it."
In 1982, Fiskin won an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
from the Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.