Two Moon Junction

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Zalman King directs. Mark Plummer behind the camera. Jonathan Elias scores. Marc Grossman cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 138 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
• 3Part of the "Two Moon Junction Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
• 4Directed by Zalman King, shot by Mark Plummer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Jonathan Elias. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Marc Grossman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Sherilyn Fenn and Richard Tyson and Louise Fletcher carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "What's love got to do with it".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0096324 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Mark Plummer

Original score

Jonathan Elias

Editing

Marc Grossman

Production design

Michelle Minch

Makeup / hair

Kris Rosenberger

Sound

Gary C. Bourgeois

Stunt coordinator

Jeff Smolek

Runtime

104 min · 1h 44m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Box office

$1,547,397

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Two Moon Junction (1988) ↗

Part of

Two Moon Junction Collection

Two Moon Junction and it's sequel, Return to Two Moon Junction.

• 
  Two Moon Junction

  1988 · this one
• 
  Return to Two Moon Junction

  1994

Also by

Zalman King

• 
  Red Shoe Diaries 3: Another Woman's Lipstick

  1993 · ★ 8.7
• 
  Kamikaze Love Volume 3 - Pushing Boundaries

  2021 · ★ 7.0
• 
  Kamikaze Love Volume 1 - Craving Intensity

  2021 · ★ 6.0
• 
  Kamikaze Love Volume 2 - Overwhelming Passion

  2021 · ★ 6.0
• 
  Kamikaze Love Volume 4 - Exploring Together

  2021 · ★ 6.0
• 
  Kamikaze Love Volume 5 - Unexpected Pleasure

  2021 · ★ 6.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Two Moon Junction (1988) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  Two Moon Junction Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2018-10-22
  ★ 7/10

  A Southern belle has second thoughts about getting married after meeting a carnie hunk Freshly graduated from college, a sultry Alabama debutante (Sherilyn Fenn) is sidetracked from her semi-arranged marriage in a couple of weeks by a hunky carnival worker (Richard Tyson). Louise Fletcher plays the unbending matriarch, Kristy McNichol a street-smart trucker and Burl Ives a seasoned sheriff. This is a drama/romance that would fit into Southern Gothic. Unlike most of these films, “Two Moon Junction” (1988) curiously throws in softcore nudity and sex. If that turns you off, I suggest staying away. I think it’s the main reason people look down on this flick and write it off as “sexploitation trash” and “a romance novel put to film.” I wouldn’t know because I’ve never read one, although my wife encouraged me to read one once (because it had fantasy elements) and I couldn’t get past the first chapter; too much kissy-kissy. If you can get past that or roll with it, this is an entertaining Southern Gothic with a worthy script and the social mindfood thereof (I’m not getting where people say it comes off as if it were written by a 10 year-old, not at all). There’s a hypnotic quality to some of the proceedings, like the haunting “Poison Ivy” (1992), but without the melancholy. Tyson as the roustabout looks like a more rugged version of Val Kilmer, albeit with darker, longer hair. Fenn is surely beautiful and shown tastefully (and unnecessarily) nude in the last act, but she’s actually outshined by McNichol in her physical prime. Seriously, Kristy is just stunning and worth the price of admission. The script was well thought out and includes several gems, like the deep communication through the windows of the soul phenomenon and the dilapidated mansion that April (Fenn) and her friends used to hang out at when they were teens, calling it “our place.” Then there’s the sheriff, who’s in the pocket of the matriarch, and his respectful, but no-nonsense dealings with Perry (Tyson); and the latter’s love for his dog. Also, the commentary on the gulf between the Southern aristocracy and the “riffraff” is insightful. Should April mind that gulf and be well compensated or go with her heart? Either way, it’s a risk. The film runs 1 hour, 44 minutes and was shot in Los Angeles County, California. The producers do a pretty good job of trying to make Southern Cal look like Alabama, but you can tell in a few scenes. GRADE: B

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• LO

  Lorimar Motion Pictures

  US

Key crew

• StuntsSteven Lambert
• StuntsMonty L. Simons
• CastingLinda Francis
• StuntsHannah Kozak
• StuntsGary Morgan
• Stunt CoordinatorJeff Smolek
• StuntsKen Fritz
• StuntsJon Michael Johnson
• StuntsDebbie Lynn Ross
• StuntsBernie Pock
• StuntsRalph Garrett
• StuntsPaul M. Lane
• StuntsVince Deadrick Sr.
• StuntsKaren McLarty
• StuntsSteve Berens
• StuntsJim Wilkey
• StuntsBob Terhune
• StuntsDenney Pierce
• StuntsLarry Randles
• StuntsThomas Rosales Jr.
• StuntsGeorge P. Wilbur
• Costume DesignerMaria Mancuso
• Executive ProducerDon Levin
• Associate ProducerSusan Gelb

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• carnival
• love affair
• smutty
• carnival worker
• eros

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1988-04-29R

Also known as

International titles

• Слияние двух лунRU
• slianie lunRU
• Two Moon JunctionRO
• Слияние лунRU
• Two Moon JunctionBY
• Vágyak találkozásaHU
• Two Moon Junction - Fesseln der LeidenschaftDE
• Encrucijada De PasionesMX