The Age of Innocence (1993)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers (WGA):

Edith Wharton (novel)
Jay Cocks (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 October 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

In a world of tradition. In an age of innocence. They dared to break the rules.

Plot:

Tale of 19th century New York high society in which a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.

Plot Keywords:

Repressed Love | Upper Class | Paris | Social Climber | Male Female Relationship

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Newland Archer
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Ellen Olenska
Winona Ryder	...	May Welland
Alexis Smith	...	Louisa van der Luyden
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Mrs. Welland
Mary Beth Hurt	...	Regina Beaufort
Alec McCowen	...	Sillerton Jackson
Richard E. Grant	...	Larry Lefferts
Miriam Margolyes	...	Mrs. Mingott
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Ted Archer
Siân Phillips	...	Mrs. Archer
Jonathan Pryce	...	Rivière
Michael Gough	...	Henry van der Luyden
Joanne Woodward	...	Narrator (voice)
Stuart Wilson	...	Julius Beaufort

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements and some mild language.

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:6 | Iceland:L | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Albany, New York, USA

Company:

Cappa Production

Trivia:

The lady standing to the right of Winona Ryder and admiring her engagement ring at the Beauforts' ball (just before Archer approaches and bows) is Tamasin Day-Lewis, sister of Daniel Day-Lewis, who was in town to visit her brother and drafted by Martin Scorsese to take the part. She's better known as the author of a series of cookbooks.

Goofs:

Continuity: On the park bench in Boston, Newland Archer sits down with Ellen Olenska. As he sits, his gloves are off, and we see his wedding ring. The camera cuts away and then back, and his gloves are on. He then removes them.

Quotes:

Ellen Olenska: Is New York such a labyrinth? I thought it was all straight up and down like Fifth Avenue. All the cross streets numbered and big honest labels on everything.
Newland Archer: Everything is labeled, but everybody is not.
Ellen Olenska: Then I must count on you for warnings too.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Martin Scorsese, l'émotion par la musique (2005)

Soundtrack:

Quintet In B Flat Op 87, 3rd Movement

A Stunning Law Breaker

I saw "The Aviator" a couple of days ago and while I still have Howard Hughes flying through my brain I felt the need to see again another Scorsese. I have all of his films in my collection. I closed my eyes and picked one, just like that, at random. "The Age Of Innocence" This is what happens with great artists, you can always re visit them and you'll come out of the experience with something new, something valuable. Transported by the sublime voice of Joanne Woodward I took the trip again to discover that everything in this extraordinary universe that Martin Scorsese, based on Edith Wharton work, is not what it appears. Conventions out of the window, breaking every imaginable rule. Just as the characters get off their trucks, swimming against the tide of the times. Scorsese breaks cinematic rules with such artistry that we're allow to inspect, re live and enjoy a story as old as the world from a completely new perspective. Is as if Luchino Visconti had suddenly woken up with a new contemporary sight to look back with. Daniel Day Lewis is so marvelous that the pain of his predicament becomes more than visual, becomes visceral. For Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder this was the zenith of their careers. They are sensational. The casting, as usual in a Scorsese film, is superb even in the smallest roles. Glimpses of Sian Phillips, Alexis Smith and Geraldine Chaplin add to the pleasures, making this overwhelming banquet of a film one of the most rewarding film experiences I've ever had.