Alice's Restaurant (1969)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writers:

Arlo Guthrie (song)
Venable Herndon (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 August 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Where the heads of all nations meet

Plot:

A cinematic adaption of Arlo Guthrie's classic song story.

Plot Keywords:

Narration | Revivalism | Episcopalian Church | Unwanted Kiss | Drug Overdose

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Arlo Guthrie	...	Arlo Guthrie
Patricia Quinn	...	Alice Brock (as Pat Quinn)
James Broderick	...	Ray Brock
Pete Seeger	...	Himself
Lee Hays	...	Himself - Reverend at Evangelical Meeting
Michael McClanathan	...	Shelly
Geoff Outlaw	...	Roger Crowther
Tina Chen	...	Mari-chan
Kathleen Dabney	...	Karin
William Obanhein	...	Himself - Officer Obie
Seth Allen	...	Evangelist
Monroe Arnold	...	Blueglass
Joseph Boley	...	Woody Guthrie
Vinnette Carroll	...	Draft Clerk
Sylvia Davis	...	Marjorie Guthrie

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:GP (edited for re-rating) (1970) | USA:R (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Great Barrington, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Elkins Entertainment

Trivia:

Tina Chen, who played Arlo Guthrie's on-screen girlfriend, wore an authentic Chinese dress that had belonged to her grandmother. When they wrapped up the shoot, the film crew put the dress in storage. She never got it back.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The outdoor scenes in Stockbridge, MA on Thanksgiving Day show brightly colored leaves on the trees. By late November, the trees are bare. This scene was likely shot during the first two weeks of October.

Quotes:

Criminal: [approaching Arlo on the bench] Kid, what'd you get?
Arlo Guthrie: I didn't get nothin'. I had to pay fifty dollars, and pick up the garbage.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

Soundtrack:

Car-Car Song

One groovy flick

This excellent film was written by my late screen writing teacher Venable Herndon, but I saw it and fell in love with it long before I took his class.

It manages to be both good humored and effortlessly profound at the same time. The recruitment scenes are hysterically funny. I miss movies with this laid-back quality. A lot of people are adverse to this type of loose narrative structure, but since almost every flick and TV show has such a rigid structure why can't the rest of us have a couple of films to ourselves.

The final shot of Alice's Restaurant with all its beautiful ambiguity has affected me more than the final shot of the "Searchers" every time I've seen it. It manages to celebrate something and take it with a grain of salt at the same time. Hurrah for the director of photography!

A beautiful trip all round.