Suture(film)
| Suture | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Scott McGehee David Siegel |
| Written by | Scott McGehee David Siegel |
| Produced by | Scott McGehee David Siegel |
| Starring | Dennis Haysbert Mel Harris Sab Shimono Dina Merrill David Graf |
| Cinematography | Greg Gardiner |
| Edited by | Lauren Zuckerman |
| Music by | Cary Berger |
| Distributed by | The Samuel Goldwyn Company |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $900,000 |
Sutureis a 1993 Americanthriller filmdirected byScott McGeheeandDavid Siegeland starringDennis HaysbertandMel Harris.[1][2][3]It was screened in theUn Certain Regardsection at the1994 Cannes Film Festival.[4]
Plot[edit]
After murdering his father, wealthy Vincent Towers decides to fake his own death. He plants a car bomb in an attempt to kill a nearly identical half-brother, Clay Arlington, after persuading Arlington to switch identities with him.
Arlington survives, but requires facial reconstruction and also has lost most of his memory. Dr. Renee Descartes is there during his recovery. Towers resurfaces and tries once more to eliminate him, but is killed himself. Arlington makes a decision to make his new identity a permanent one.
Cast[edit]
- Dennis Haysbertas Clay Arlington
- Mel Harrisas Dr. Renee Descartes
- Sab Shimonoas Dr. Max Shinoda
- Dina Merrillas Alice Jameson
- Michael Harris as Vincent Towers
- David Grafas Lt. Weismann
- Fran Ryanas Mrs. Lucerne
- John Ingleas Sidney Callahan
- Sanford Gibbons as Dr. Fuller (as Sandy Gibbons)
- Mark DeMichele as Detective Joe
- Sandra Ellis Lafferty as Nurse Stevens (as Sandra Lafferty)
- Capri Darling as Soprano
- Carol Kiernan as Ticket Agent
- Laura Groppe as Sportswoman
- Mel Coleman as Sportsman
Production[edit]
Scott McGehee and David Siegel had been working together since 1989.[5]They had made two short films: "Birds Past" and "Speak Then Persephone" in 1989 and 1990, respectively. Afterwards, they decided to make a feature-length film and "attempted to construct a story that was generally about identity".[5]McGehee has said thatSuturewas influenced by mid-1960s Japanese films and Hollywood films likeNorth by Northwest.[6]Specifically, they were inspired byHiroshi Teshigahara'sThe Face of AnotherandYoshitaro Nomura'sTokyo Bay,which utilized widescreen black and white cinematography. They also wanted to give the film an early '60s sensibility and loved the widescreen black and white films from that period:The Manchurian CandidateandSeconds.Siegel said, "It's an absolutely gripping look that's used so rarely today, and it's a look from a time period that we wanted to evoke".[6]
McGehee and Siegel set up a limited partnership and borrowed money for the $1 million budget from family and friends.[6]They decided to shootSutureinPhoenix, Arizonabecause McGehee felt that it was "almost like an abandoned city, it's so large and overbuilt and the streets are so dead it feels empty". They liked the city's "high modernist, very spare aesthetic".[5]After seeing an early rough cut of the film,Steven Soderberghbecame fascinated with it and helped McGehee and Siegel find completion finances during post-production.[6]
Release[edit]
Suturehad its premiere at the 1993Telluride Film Festivalwith screenings at theSundance Film FestivalandToronto Festival of Festivals.[6]A 4K restoration was completed in 2016, and released on Blu-ray byArrow Videoin July 2016.[7]
Awards[edit]
- In 1994, Scott McGehee and David Siegel won Best Director at theSitges - Catalan International Film Festival[8]
- In 1994, Greg Gardiner won the Excellence in Cinematography Award at theSundance Film Festival[9]
References[edit]
- ^Macaulay, Scott (August 7, 2010)."Filmmaker Flashback: Winter 1994".Filmmaker Magazine.
- ^Wood, Jason (July 4, 2016)."Suture: Interview with Scott McGehee and David Siegel".Electric Sheep Magazine.
- ^Teodoro, José (25 January 2021)."The Two Faces of Suture".Metrograph Journal.
- ^"Festival de Cannes: Suture".festival-cannes.com.Retrieved2009-08-31.
- ^abcRomney, Jonathan (February 1995). "How Did We Get Here?".Sight and Sound.
- ^abcdeAltman, Mark A. (June 1994). "Restitched Noir".Film Threat.
- ^Galloway, Chris (July 26, 2016)."Suture".criterionforum.org.Retrieved2022-11-29.
- ^"Suture (1993) Awards & Festivals".MUBI.RetrievedNovember 29,2022.
- ^"1994 Sundance Film Festival".sundance.org.RetrievedNovember 29,2022.
