Jonathan Livingston Seagull (film)
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a 1973 American film directed by Hall Bartlett
, adapted from the novella
by Richard Bach
. The film, which has no human actors on screen, tells the story of a young seabird who, after being outcast by his stern flock, goes on an odyssey to discover how to break the limits of his own flying speed. Whereas the source text was a commercial success, the film version was poorly received by critics and barely broke even at the box office. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and the musical score
by Neil Diamond
won a Golden Globe Award
and a Grammy Award
.
came onto the project in the wake of a mid-life artistic crisis. Bartlett was not proud of the films he had made in the last ten years, during which he had helmed several major critical and commercial misfires—among them such titles as The Caretakers
and All the Young Men
. By this point Bartlett was attempting to make films independently from Hollywood, often with his own money. It was at this time that his then-wife, Rhonda Fleming
, had given him a copy of Richard Bach's novella of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. So fascinated was Bartlett by the story that he immediately decided to make it his next feature film; when production began, he declared, "I was born to make this movie."
, who only awarded it one out of four stars, confessed that he walked out of the screening, writing: "This has got to be the biggest pseudocultural, would-be metaphysical
ripoff of the year".
(Jack Couffer
) and Best Film Editing (Frank P. Keller and James Galloway).
Hall Bartlett
Hall Bartlett was an American film producer, director, and screen writer.-Early life:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he graduated from Yale University Phi Beta Kappa, and was a Rhodes Scholar nominee...
, adapted from the novella
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach, is a fable in novella form about a seagull learning about life and flight, and a homily about self-perfection...
by Richard Bach
Richard Bach
Richard David Bach is an American writer. He is widely known as the author of the hugely popular 1970s best-sellers Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, and others. His books espouse his philosophy that our apparent physical limits and mortality are merely...
. The film, which has no human actors on screen, tells the story of a young seabird who, after being outcast by his stern flock, goes on an odyssey to discover how to break the limits of his own flying speed. Whereas the source text was a commercial success, the film version was poorly received by critics and barely broke even at the box office. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and the musical score
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (album)
In 1973 Neil Diamond recorded the soundtrack to the film Jonathan Livingston Seagull on Columbia Records. The album grossed more than the film itself...
by Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
won a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
and a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
.
Plot
As the film begins, Jonathan Livingston Seagull is soaring through the sky hoping to travel at a speed more than 60 miles per hour. Eventually, with luck he is able to break that barrier, but when Jonathan returns to his own flock he is greeted with anything but applause. The Elders of the flock shame Jonathan for doing things the other seagulls never dare to do. Jonathan pleads to stay and claims that he wants to share his newfound discovery with everybody, but the Elders dismiss him as an outcast, and he is banished from the flock. Jonathan goes off on his own, believing that all hope is lost. However, he is soon greeted by mysterious seagulls from other lands who assure him that his talent is a unique one, and with them Jonathan is trained to become independent and proud of his beliefs. Eventually, Jonathan himself ends up becoming a mentor for other seagulls who are suffering the same fates in their own flocks as he once did.Production
Director Hall BartlettHall Bartlett
Hall Bartlett was an American film producer, director, and screen writer.-Early life:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he graduated from Yale University Phi Beta Kappa, and was a Rhodes Scholar nominee...
came onto the project in the wake of a mid-life artistic crisis. Bartlett was not proud of the films he had made in the last ten years, during which he had helmed several major critical and commercial misfires—among them such titles as The Caretakers
The Caretakers
The Caretakers is a 1963 United Artists film drama starring Joan Crawford, Robert Stack, Polly Bergen and Janis Paige in a story about a mental hospital....
and All the Young Men
All the Young Men
All the Young Men is a 1960 Korean War feature film starring Alan Ladd and Sidney Poitier dealing with desegregation in the United States Marine Corps.-Plot:...
. By this point Bartlett was attempting to make films independently from Hollywood, often with his own money. It was at this time that his then-wife, Rhonda Fleming
Rhonda Fleming
Rhonda Fleming , is an American film and television actress.She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most beautiful and glamorous actresses of her day...
, had given him a copy of Richard Bach's novella of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. So fascinated was Bartlett by the story that he immediately decided to make it his next feature film; when production began, he declared, "I was born to make this movie."
Reception
The film was critically panned at the time of its release in 1973. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, who only awarded it one out of four stars, confessed that he walked out of the screening, writing: "This has got to be the biggest pseudocultural, would-be metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
ripoff of the year".
Award nominations
The film was nominated for the 1973 Academy Awards for Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
(Jack Couffer
Jack Couffer
Jack Couffer A.S.C. is an American cinematographer and film and television director. Couffer has specialized on documentary films, often involving nature and animal cinematography...
) and Best Film Editing (Frank P. Keller and James Galloway).