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.
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.
Links
Sources
- Mr. Mike: The Life and Work of Michael O'Donoghue by Dennis Perrin, 1999. ISBN 0-380-72832-X.
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