Equus (film)
Encyclopedia
Equus is a 1977 British-American drama film
directed by Sidney Lumet
and starring Richard Burton
. Peter Shaffer
wrote the screenplay based on his play Equus
. The film also featured Peter Firth
, Colin Blakely
, Joan Plowright
, Eileen Atkins
, and Jenny Agutter
.
Martin Dysart (Richard Burton
) investigates the savage blinding of six horses with a metal spike in a stable in Hampshire, England. The atrocity was committed by an unassuming 17-year-old stable boy named Alan Strang (Peter Firth
), the only son of an opinionated but inwardly-timid father (Colin Blakely
) and a genteel, religious mother (Joan Plowright
). As Dysart exposes the truths behind the boy's demons, he finds himself face-to-face with his own; Jenny Agutter
played Jill Mason, Alan's girlfriend, with whom he shares an extended full frontal nude scene in front of the horses in a stable.
.
Golden Globes
Others
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
and starring Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
. Peter Shaffer
Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
wrote the screenplay based on his play Equus
Equus (play)
Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses....
. The film also featured Peter Firth
Peter Firth
Peter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
, Colin Blakely
Colin Blakely
Colin George Blakely was a Northern Irish character actor. He was considered an actor of great range.-Early life:...
, Joan Plowright
Joan Plowright
Joan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier, DBE , better known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English actress, whose career has spanned over sixty years. Throughout her career she has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two BAFTA Awards...
, Eileen Atkins
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
, and Jenny Agutter
Jenny Agutter
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She...
.
Plot
PsychiatristPsychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
Martin Dysart (Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
) investigates the savage blinding of six horses with a metal spike in a stable in Hampshire, England. The atrocity was committed by an unassuming 17-year-old stable boy named Alan Strang (Peter Firth
Peter Firth
Peter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
), the only son of an opinionated but inwardly-timid father (Colin Blakely
Colin Blakely
Colin George Blakely was a Northern Irish character actor. He was considered an actor of great range.-Early life:...
) and a genteel, religious mother (Joan Plowright
Joan Plowright
Joan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier, DBE , better known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English actress, whose career has spanned over sixty years. Throughout her career she has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two BAFTA Awards...
). As Dysart exposes the truths behind the boy's demons, he finds himself face-to-face with his own; Jenny Agutter
Jenny Agutter
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She...
played Jill Mason, Alan's girlfriend, with whom he shares an extended full frontal nude scene in front of the horses in a stable.
Cast
- Richard BurtonRichard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
as Martin Dysart - Peter FirthPeter FirthPeter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
as Alan Strang - Colin BlakelyColin BlakelyColin George Blakely was a Northern Irish character actor. He was considered an actor of great range.-Early life:...
as Frank Strang - Joan PlowrightJoan PlowrightJoan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier, DBE , better known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English actress, whose career has spanned over sixty years. Throughout her career she has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two BAFTA Awards...
as Dora Strang - Harry AndrewsHarry AndrewsHarry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
as Harry Dalton - Eileen AtkinsEileen AtkinsDame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
as Hesther Saloman - Jenny AgutterJenny AgutterJennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She...
as Jill Mason - Kate ReidKate ReidKate Reid, OC was a Canadian stage, film and television actress.-Life and career:Daphne Kate Reid was born in London, England, the daughter of Canadian parents, Helen Isabel and Walter Clarke Reid, who was a former Bengal Lancer in the Indian army and a retired colonel...
as Margaret Dysart - John WymanJohn WymanJohn Wyman is a British actor probably best known for his role as Erich Kriegler in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.In the 1970s, John Wyman played "The Mighty Ajax" in a series of commercials...
as Horseman - Elva Mai Hoover as Miss Raintree
- Ken JamesKen JamesKen James may refer to:* Ken James , played Tony Wild in The Box and later played Mike O'Brien in Sons and Daughters...
as Mr Pearce
Reception
Unlike the play, the film version was placed in a realistic setting, using real horses. Some critics and theatre purists found this objectionable, arguing that the spirit of the stage play was lost in the film. Others had praise for both Burton and Firth, who were in the stage versions of the play. The film received mixed reviews, currently holding a 63% rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Accolades
Academy Awards- Best ActorAcademy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
- Richard BurtonRichard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
(nominated) - Best Supporting ActorAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
- Peter FirthPeter FirthPeter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
(nominated) - Best Adapted Screenplay - Peter ShafferPeter ShafferSir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
(nominated)
Golden Globes
- Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama - Richard Burton (won)
- Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture - Peter Firth (won)
Others
- BAFTA Award for Best Supporting ActressBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleBest Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film...
- Jenny AgutterJenny AgutterJennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She...
(won) - BAFTA Award for Best Film MusicBAFTA Award for Best Film MusicThe Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music is an annual award given by British Academy of Film and Television Arts.-1960s:*1968 - The Lion in Winter - John Barry...
- Richard Rodney Bennett (won) - Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting ActorKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting ActorThe Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award given by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle to honor the best achievements in acting.-1960s:-1970:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:*...
- Peter Firth (won)