Sommersby

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jon Amiel directs. Philippe Rousselot behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Peter Boyle cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in France, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Made its money back 4.7× over at the box office.
• 233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 3International production across 2 countries: France, United States of America.
• 4Directed by Jon Amiel, shot by Philippe Rousselot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Peter Boyle shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Jodie Foster and Richard Gere and Bill Pullman carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "She knew his face. His touch. His voice. She knew everything about him ... But the truth.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0108185 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 21 themes, including "husband wife relationship", "court case", "war veteran", "ku klux klan".

The technical file

Cinematography

Philippe Rousselot

Original score

Danny Elfman

Editing

Peter Boyle

Production design

Bruno Rubeo

Costume design

Marilyn Vance

Makeup / hair

Elaine Short

Sound

Chris Carpenter

Stunt coordinator

Paul Beahm

Runtime

109 min · 1h 49m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$30,000,000

Box office

$140,081,992

Return

467% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

Sommersby (1993) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

63% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

66/100

IMDB rating

6.3/10 · 24,126 votes

MPAA

PG-13

Also by

Jon Amiel

• 
  The Storyteller

  1988 · ★ 8.2
• 
  The Walking Dead

  2010 · ★ 8.1
• 
  Halt and Catch Fire

  2014 · ★ 7.9
• 
  The Tudors

  2007 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Carnival Row

  2019 · ★ 7.7
• 
  Eyes

  2005 · ★ 7.6

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Sommersby - Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2019-04-14
  ★ 8/10

  You and this child are in danger of spending eternity in everlasting damnation! Directed by Jon Amiel, Sommersby is adapted from the historical account of 16th Century French peasant Martin Guerre. It was previously filmed as The Return of Martin Guerre in 1982. It stars Richard Gere, Jodie Foster and Bill Pullman. Music is by Danny Elfman and cinematography by Philippe Rousselot. In simple terms the film is about a man (Jack Sommersby) who went off to war and was presumed dead by his wife (Laurel) and the village folk of the village where he lived. Some 9 years later he returns a changed man, back in the marital bed and a hero to the village. But then questions start to crop up and it becomes a possibility that this man may not after all be who he claims to be. Sounds bizarre for sure, yet it's a true story, and a fascinating one at that. For this American version we get top line production values across the board, with the film propelled with grace and skill by Gere and Foster in the lead roles of Jack and Laurel Sommersby. Director Amiel rightly uses the slow burn approach, a consideration to the art of story telling. This draws the viewer firmly into the post Civil War period and lets us get to know the principal players and their surroundings. The core narrative thrust is a moving romance, one consistently under pressure of a mystery to be proved or disproved. But there's also economic issues to hand, very much so, and the vile stench of racism still hangs in the air. There's a lot going on in Sommersby and it never sags because of it. Also refreshing that in spite of some critical grumblings in some quarters, the ending is potent and not very Hollywood at all. It's not flawless and although it's based on a true story, some suspension of disbelief is needed as regards physical appearance of Jack and his means and motives. Yet this is a lovely film, simple in story telling structure, beautifully photographed and performed, it very much feels and plays like a classic era period piece. 8/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Regency Enterprises

  US

• AL

  Alcor Films

  US

• 

  Le Studio Canal+

  FR

Key crew

• Production ManagerCydney Bernard
• AuthorNicholas Meyer
• ProducerArnon Milchan
• Executive ProducerRichard Gere
• AuthorAnthony Shaffer
• Executive ProducerMaggie Wilde
• EditorPeter Boyle
• Set DecorationMichael Seirton
• ProducerSteven Reuther
• Production DesignBruno Rubeo
• Dolly GripDwight Joseph Lavers
• Unit Production ManagerMary McLaglen
• First Assistant CameraTed Morris
• Key Hair StylistElaine Short
• Key GripC. Alan Rawlins Sr.
• Stunt CoordinatorPaul Beahm
• Sound MixerChris Newman
• Post Production SupervisorCarol Dantuono
• Steadicam OperatorAnastas N. Michos
• Still PhotographerJohn Clifford
• Second Assistant DirectorDouglas A. Raine
• Boom OperatorDennis Maitland II
• First Assistant DirectorJosh McLaglen
• Camera OperatorAnastas N. Michos

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• husband wife relationship
• court case
• war veteran
• ku klux klan
• southern usa
• village life
• return
• peasant
• suspicion of murder
• gallows
• violent husband
• death sentence
• agriculture
• racial segregation
• based on true story
• look-alike
• impostor
• hanging
• post civil war
• soldier's wife
• reconstruction era

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1993-02-05PG-13

Also known as

International titles

• Sommersby - O Retorno de um EstranhoBR
• Sommersby, o Regresso de Um EstranhoPT
• 似是故人來HK