Savages (film)

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Savages
DVD Cover for Savages, which replicates the original 1972/1973 film poster.
Directed by	James Ivory
Produced by	Ismail Merchant Joseph J.M. Saleh (executive) Anthony Korner (associate)
Written by	George Swift Trow Michael O'Donoghue (based upon an idea by James Ivory)
Starring	Lewis J. Stadlen Anne Francine Sam Waterston Susie Blakely Ultra Violet Salome Jens Kathleen Widdoes Thayer David Asha Puthli Martin Kove
Music by	Joe Raposo Bobby Short (theme song)
Cinematography	Walter Lassally
Editing by	Kent McKinney
Distributed by	Angelika Films
Release date(s)	27 June 1972
Running time	106 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Savages is a 1972 Merchant Ivory Film directed by James Ivory and screenplay by George Swift Trow and Michael O'Donoghue, based on an idea by Ivory.

The film concept given to Trow and O'Donoghue was to tell a story that was the reverse of Luis Buñuel's 1962 film The Exterminating Angel, in which guests at an elegant dinner party become trapped, start dying and by film's end become complete savages. Writing began in late 1968 and continued through 1969.Its first showing came at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1972. Savages was the first Merchant/Ivory film released in the United States.

[edit] Plot Synopsis

In contrast to Buñuel's story, Savages starts when a tribe of primitive "mudpeople" performing a sacrifice encounter a croquet ball, rolling through their forest. Following it, they find themselves on a vast, deserted Long Island estate in the 1930's. Entering, they begin to become civilized and assume the stereotypical roles and dress of people at a weekend party. There follows an allegory of upper-class behavior. At last, they begin to devolve toward their original status, and after a battle at croquet, they disappear into the woods.