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A Thousand Acres

Play trailer Poster for A Thousand Acres R 1997 1h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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22% Tomatometer 50 Reviews 42% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A patriarch (Jason Robards) deeds his farm to two (Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange) of his three daughters in a modern "King Lear" set in the U.S. Midwest.
A Thousand Acres

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A Thousand Acres makes disappointingly sudsy stuff out of the source material, but benefits from solid performances by a strong cast.

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Critics Reviews

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Michael Wilmington Chicago Tribune Despite the golden promise of the cornfields, its crops are barren. Rated: 2.5/4 Nov 27, 2019 Full Review Ann Hornaday Baltimore Sun Both beg the question of whether rage or forgiveness is the correct moral response to immoral acts. It's a good question, but one that's probably better contemplated by reading a good book rather than watching a pale imitation. Rated: 2/4 Nov 27, 2019 Full Review Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly A Thousand Acres plays like five masochistic Lifetime-channel movies that have been mashed together until they have all the flavor of strained peas. Rated: F Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Leah Rozen People Magazine With, in effect, two authors to accommodate, the movie exhausts the audience by piling on the tear-jerky plot: fatal diseases and accidents, extramarital affairs, lawsuits, you name it. Nov 27, 2019 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com This is the type of perverse material which would have made a fine high-profile spectacle from the late 1950s or 60s, when its issues could ride the line between sacred and profane, obvious and subtle. Rated: 2.5/5 Sep 7, 2018 Full Review Film4 All the characters are sharply defined, with Lange and Pfeiffer in fine form, and Robards suitably sour as the grumpy old curmudgeon, but the plot has been watered down until it is little more than a Waltons-styled soap. Jul 3, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Missed this one along the way - but it has some great talent in it. Pfeiffer and Lange are country sisters that finally come to grips with a dark childhood on the farm. Daddy is a southern tyrant and family is country dysfunctional. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Is there one character who isn't a walking disaster? Just one? I have enjoyed many of Jane Smiley's books, but I couldn't make it through A Thousand Acres. I was hoping the film would be better, but even a cast of very fine actors wasn't enough to redeem this. I wonder how this would have been received in the Me Too era. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Between 2 and 2.5 stars. Too conventional drama. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review steve d The performances can't save the uninteresting film. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Another stellar film by Jocelyn Moorehouse. A fantastic A-list cast with mesmerising performances. A formidable depiction of what women and girls endure in everyday life. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member En flott film,på godt og vondt. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
A Thousand Acres

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Cast & Crew

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Jocelyn Moorhouse

Director

Michelle Pfeiffer

Rose Cook Lewis

Jessica Lange

Ginny Cook Smith

Jason Robards

Larry Cook

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Caroline Cook

Colin Firth

Jess Clark

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A Thousand Acres

A Thousand Acres (1997) A Thousand Acres (1997) A Thousand Acres (1997) A Thousand Acres (1997) A Thousand Acres (1997) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A patriarch (Jason Robards) deeds his farm to two (Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange) of his three daughters in a modern "King Lear" set in the U.S. Midwest.
Director
Jocelyn Moorhouse
Producer
Marc Abraham, Lynn Arost, Steve Golin, Kate Guinzburg, Sigurjon Sighvatsson
Screenwriter
Laura Jones
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Oct 30, 2001
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.9M
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Surround