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EXXONMOBIL MASTERPIECE THEATRE'S
AMERICAN COLLECTION The following titles have been selected for the series.
Learn more about the works by following the links below.
A Death in the Family, based on the novel by James Agee
A DEATH IN THE FAMILY:
This new adaptation of James Agee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about death and the renewal of life in a tightly knit family was filmed entirely on location in
Agee's Tennessee under the direction of Academy Award winner Gil Cates. The most autobiographical of Agee's works, A Death in the Family follows the course of a small but
terrible domestic tragedy in the lazy summer of 1915 and paints a luminous and enduring portrait of the fragility -- and the resilience -- of family.
Almost a Woman
, based on the novel by Esmeralda Santiago
ALMOST A WOMAN: Esmeralda Santiago's vibrant memoir tells the story of young "Negi"
Santiago as she struggles to find an identity between two different cultural traditions and two different worlds -- girlhood and womanhood. Uprooted suddenly from Puerto Rico and thrown
into the strange new world of New York City, Negi finds herself cast as her family's "guide" in a chain of events that mirrors the experience of immigrant children throughout America. With a
script in both English and Spanish by Santiago herself, Almost a Woman will be an especially important film for students in today's multicultural and multilingual classrooms.
The Song of the Lark
, based on the novel by Willa Cather
THE SONG OF THE LARK
tells the story of Thea Kronborg, a young girl with a musical gift who learns that the gift possesses the artist as much as the artist possesses the gift. To realize her
destiny as a musician, Thea must leave her family and home in Moonstone, Colorado, to pursue her piano studies in Chicago — where she discovers that her true talent is her voice. In this
strange and intimidating environment, she submerges herself in her studies and struggles to make ends meet until she encounters a wealthy young man who sponsors her. They fall in love,
but in the end, Thea is alone as she prepares for the final step in her development as an artist: her departure for Europe.
Cora Unashamed, based on the story by Langston Hughes
CORA UNASHAMED: This dramatic story, set in a small Iowa town during the Depression,
focuses on the relationship between Cora, a young African American domestic, her employer, Mrs. Studevant, and Mrs. Studevant's daugher, Jessie. As a member of the only African
American family in town, Cora lives a bleakly isolated life but a deep bond develops between her and Jessie. Cora is devastated when Mrs. Studevant's shame and narrow thinking result in
Jessie's death. At the funeral, Cora is faced with a choice: to let the cause of Jessie's death remain a lie or to stand and speak the truth — and lose everything she has in life.
The American
, based on the novel by Henry James
In THE AMERICAN, one of James' best and most readable early novels, a successful young
American named Christopher Newman decides to quit business and travel to Europe. In France he meets and falls in love with Claire de Bellegarde, the daughter of a noble family. The de
Bellegardes reject his proposal of marriage, but a letter falls into Newman's hands that reveals a dark secret in the family's past. With this information, Newman has the leverage he needs to
force the de Bellegardes to give him Claire's hand — but should he use it? Matthew Modine, Diana Rigg, and Brenda Fricker star in this lavish production.
The Ponder Heart
, adapted from the novel by Eudora Welty
THE PONDER HEART: Uncle Daniel Ponder, whose fortune is exceeded by his desire to give it
away, is the talk of Clay County and a source of vexation for his niece, Edna Earle, whose efforts to thwart his generosity prove unequal to his ingenuity. Bonnie Dee Peacock, the little girl from
the country who becomes Uncle Daniel's second wife in order that he may have someone close by to whom he can give things, is not so small that her disappearance goes unnoticed. Uncle
Daniel's trial for the alleged murder of his young bride is a comic masterpiece worthy of Welty at her best. |
