The Turning Point

"The generations change. But the choices remain the same."

1977 1h 59m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🍅

63%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 71🍅63%Rotten Tomatoes●68Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 5,292

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

As young dancers, they were best friends and fierce rivals. Deedee left the stage for marriage and motherhood, while Emma would become an international ballet icon. But when Deedee's teenage daughter is invited to join Emma's dance company and begins an affair with a young Russian star, the two women are forced to confront the choices they've made, the resentments they've hidden and the emotional truths they must face at the turning point.

“The generations change. But the choices remain the same.”

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Cast

Anne Bancroft
Emma
Shirley MacLaine
Deedee
Tom Skerritt
Wayne
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Yuri
Leslie Browne
Emilia
Martha Scott
Adelaide
Antoinette Sibley
Sevilla
Starr Danias
Carolyn

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Herbert Ross
Writers: Arthur Laurents
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

49 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Herbert Ross, shot by Robert Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Lanchbery. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor William Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine and Tom Skerritt carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The generations change. But the choices remain the same.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0076843 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 71 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Herbert Ross directs. Robert Surtees behind the camera. John Lanchbery scores. William Reynolds cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

149 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Herbert Ross, shot by Robert Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by John Lanchbery. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor William Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine and Tom Skerritt carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The generations change. But the choices remain the same.".
7IMDB entry: tt0076843 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 71 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 16 themes, including "infidelity", "new york city", "jealousy", "midlife crisis".
10Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Surtees
Original score: John Lanchbery
Editing: William Reynolds
Production design: Albert Brenner
Costume design: Albert Wolsky
Makeup / hair: Charles H. Schram
Sound: Theodore Soderberg
Runtime: 119 min · 1h 59m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Turning Point (1977)
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 68/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 5,292 votes
MPAA: PG
US box office: $25,933,445

Awards

Nominated for 11 Oscars. 11 wins & 18 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
National Board of Review Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Herbert Ross

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb766221952023-09-27
★ 8/10
The year 1977 was very good for director Herbert Ross. Not only did Ross direct this film, which was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, but he also helmed "The Goodbye Girl," which received five nominations. Out of the twenty acting nominees that year, seven were from two of his films. If you love ballet, you will love "The Turning Point." If you have flashbacks to your little sister's bit part in "The Nutcracker" the same way military veterans flashback to combat, you might still like "The Turning Point." Deedee (Shirley MacLaine) is a former dancer now running a ballet school with her husband Wayne (Tom Skerritt) in Oklahoma City. The American Ballet Company comes through, and Wayne and Deedee reunite with all their old friends and rivals- both ingredients can be found in Emma (Anne Bancroft). Emma and Deedee competed for the same part back in the day, but Deedee ended up pregnant and Emma went on to be a star of the company. Deedee, however, gave birth to Emilia (Leslie Browne), who is now a supreme dancer in her own right. She joins the company, and Deedee and Emilia move to New York City for a summer. Childless Emma makes herself Emilia's surrogate mom, and Deedee finds herself in the arms of old crush Rosie (Anthony Zerbe), never living the life Emma lives. The two head for a collision course on the very night of Emilia's lead debut. While I am not a big ballet fan, I am a big fan of good acting. MacLaine and Bancroft nail their parts. Ross never lets one actress overshadow the other. Both of them are equally heroic and flawed, so the viewer cannot come down on one side or the other. Leslie Browne is hot and cold as Emilia, letting her great dancing speak for her character. Mikhail Baryshnikov is very effective in a clicheed role as the company horndog Yuri, who quickly beds Emilia. While Wayne is wishy-washy, we find out why at the end of the film, and Skerritt holds his own. As with "The Goodbye Girl," Ross directs with a vengeance, never letting the camera stop. He is not show-offy or pretentious, but he keeps things going at a fast clip, even the dance sequences. They do not run too long or too short, but are brief enough where you can still appreciate the pure athleticism of the performers. I have not been in awe of dancers like this since I sat through the original "West Side Story." Watch for a wonderfully edited sequence where a fantasy dance between Yuri and Emilia turns into the two making love, a perfect blend of cuts and musical accompaniment. I do complain that the film runs about fifteen minutes too long, and some closure with Deedee and Rosie would have been nice. "The Turning Point" is not everyone's cup of tea, but the actors and direction save it from being just another melodrama.

Production companies