The Apostle

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Duvall directs. Barry Markowitz behind the camera. David Mansfield scores. Stephen Mack cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Made its money back 4.0× over at the box office.
• 229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 3Directed by Robert Duvall, shot by Barry Markowitz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by David Mansfield. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Stephen Mack shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Robert Duvall and Farrah Fawcett and Miranda Richardson carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "The hardest soul to save was his own.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt0118632 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Classified under 10 themes, including "jealousy", "coma", "radio station", "forgiveness".

The technical file

Cinematography

Barry Markowitz

Original score

David Mansfield

Editing

Stephen Mack

Production design

Linda Burton

Makeup / hair

Alicia Allain

Stunt coordinator

Ethan Jensen

Runtime

134 min · 2h 14m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$5,000,000

Box office

$19,868,354

Return

397% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

The Apostle (1997) ↗

Also by

Robert Duvall

• 
  We're Not the Jet Set

  1977 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Angelo My Love

  1983 · ★ 6.4
• 
  Assassination Tango

  2003 · ★ 5.5
• 
  Wild Horses

  2015 · ★ 4.8

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The Apostle - Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2021-08-02
  ★ 8/10

  Character study of a flawed preacher "The Apostle" (1997) is a film that I've appreciated more as I've matured. Writer/director Robert Duvall had to make it independently because studios wouldn’t touch the material. The story's a character study of a Southern Pentecostal preacher, Sonny (Duvall), whose wife wants to leave him (Farrah Fawcett) and more. Sonny reacts foolishly and is forced into exile to the backwaters of Louisiana. Wherever Sonny goes, he can't seem to part with his "calling" and "anointing" – to lead people to the LORD and motivate believers. If you can't handle Pentecostalism and all that goes with it – lively praise & worship, charismatic gifts, evangelism and prayer – I suggest staying far away from "The Apostle." I also suggest you stay away if you're not into seeing depictions of Southern poverty or nigh-poverty since large portions of the film take place in this environment. Duvall's idea was to do a modern take on the King David tragedy: A man of God who falls into adultery and, then, worse. Even so, Duvall stated in a 2010 interview that Sonny's sins aren't half as bad as David's since there are big differences between their transgressions. "The Apostle" is the best kind of character study because it evokes strong opinions and interesting discussions. Is Sonny a genuine but seriously flawed minister or just a phony who doesn't know it? Put another way, can a Christian be a "man (or woman) after God's own heart" and still commit serious sins? Does Sonny legitimately repent or does he evade repentance? Is the theology presented in the film shallow or heavy? Is resorting to righteous anger or corporeal punishment sometimes appropriate for the New Testament believer or should Christians always be lovey-dovey doormats? There's nothing like "The Apostle" in cinema. It's a unique and moving drama that gets better with repeat viewings because a lot of what is conveyed is subtle and wordless. There's just the right amount of ambiguity that keeps the viewer guessing and the movie open to interpretation. The film runs 2 hours, 14 minutes, and was shot in Collin County & Denton County, Texas (both just north of Dallas) and Lafayette, Louisiana. GRADE: A-

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• BU

  Butcher's Run Productions

Key crew

• Production DesignLinda Burton
• EditorStephen Mack
• Stand InJan Fawcett
• Art DirectionIrfan Akdag
• CastingEd Johnston
• CastingRenee Rousselot
• Co-ProducerSteven Brown
• Associate ProducerEd Johnston
• Executive ProducerRobert Duvall
• ProducerRob Carliner
• Sound Effects EditorMalcolm Fife
• Script SupervisorCarol Banker
• First Assistant DirectorLouis Shaw Milito
• Supervising Sound EditorJohn Nutt
• ThanksWalter Murch
• Art Department CoordinatorShelly Stoll
• First Assistant EditorFulvio Valsangiacomo
• Script SupervisorMamie Mitchell
• Costume DesignerDoug Hall
• Key Hair StylistAlicia Allain
• Dialect CoachFrancie Brown
• Set DecorationLori Johnson-Guirard
• Key Makeup ArtistAllison Gordin
• Post Production SupervisorSharre Jacoby

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• jealousy
• coma
• radio station
• forgiveness
• christianity
• texas
• minister
• apostle
• louisiana
• preacher

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere1997-10-09· New York Film Festival
• Theatrical (limited)1997-12-19PG-13