The Great Santini

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The Great Santini

PG

1979

1h 58m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Bull Meechum (Robert Duvall) is a great fighter pilot -- so great that he dubs himself "The Great Santini." While his take-no-prisoners attitude and willingness to fight has served him well in the military, he's unable to turn it off at home. Eventually his competitive nature and abusive behavior take their toll on his relationships with his wife (Blythe Danner) and his rebellious 18-year-old son (Michael O'Keefe) after a friendly father-and-son basketball game turns ugly.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

10/23/2004

4/4

The Great Santini is a movie to seek out and to treasure.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 5

3.5/4

This is one of those special films that moves effortlessly between tension, tears, and laughs ... Robert Duvall's performance runs neck-and-neck with his Lonesome Dove turn as his career best.

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Leonard Klady

Winnipeg Free Press

08/19/2021

The Great Santini is great. It's a raw, uncompromising film which leaves the audience emotionally drained but richer for the experience.

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Larry Vitacco

Philadelphia Gay News

05/27/2020

4/4

By all means, see The Great Santini, one of the most rewarding film experiences this or any other year.

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

04/09/2007

C

Two-dimensional and minor.

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

10/27/2006

4/5

An emotionally devastating drama with a first rate performance from Robert Duvall.

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Jim N.

@jamesnoone Aug 31

Touching, heartbreaking coming of age story.

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shteebo

08/13/2023

"Being a warrior without a war presents some problems"...and this family drama explores them. Wonderful leading performances from Duvall and O'Keefe and the supporting cast shines as well.

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steve d

07/15/2020

Not great, but the central performance is really good.

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delysid d

06/01/2019

it's a good movie but it's a sort of coming-of-age thing where you see a boy become a man, and i just don't like em

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uncle p

07/29/2018

Not good enough to be good. Not bad enough to be bad.

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J F

@Art_Morgan 06/14/2016

I love this movie - it's probably a 4 star movie but I saw it first as a kid so it gets a nostalgia star - lol.

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Lewis John Carlino

Director

Robert Duvall

Lt. Col. `'Bull'` Meechum

Blythe Danner

Lillian Meechum

Michael O'Keefe

Ben Meechum

Lisa Jane Persky

Mary Anne Meechum

Julie Anne Haddock

Karen Meechum

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Synopsis

Bull Meechum (Robert Duvall) is a great fighter pilot -- so great that he dubs himself "The Great Santini." While his take-no-prisoners attitude and willingness to fight has served him well in the military, he's unable to turn it off at home. Eventually his competitive nature and abusive behavior take their toll on his relationships with his wife (Blythe Danner) and his rebellious 18-year-old son (Michael O'Keefe) after a friendly father-and-son basketball game turns ugly.

Director: Lewis John Carlino
Producer: Charles A. Pratt
Screenwriter: Lewis John Carlino
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Production Co: Bing Crosby Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 26, 1979, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 8, 2015
Runtime: 1h 58m

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