Pelle the Conqueror Movie Review 1988

Overpowering tale of a Swedish boy and his widower father who serve landowners in late 19th-century Denmark. Compassionate saga of human spirit contains numerous memorable sequences. Hvenegaard is wonderful as young Pelle, but von Sydow delivers what is probably his finest performance as a sympathetic weakling. American distributors foolishly trimmed the film by some 20 minutes (140 minute version). From the novel by Martin Anderson Nexo. In Swedish with English subtitles.

Distribution

HBO, 1100 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, Phone: (212)512-7400, Fax: (212)512-7498, URL: http://www.hbo.com, Remarks: Online sales through www.store.hbo.com

Available on VHS
Running time 160 minutes.
Originally from Swedish, Danish.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Period Piece: 19th Century, Immigration, Farm Livin', Growing Older, Childhood Visions, 4 Bones

Screenplay

Bille August

Cast

Max von Sydow, Pelle Hvenegaard, Erik Paaske, Bjorn Granath, Axel Strobye, Astrid Villaume, Troels Asmussen, John Wittig, Anne Lise Hirsch Bjerrum, Kristina Tornqvist, Morten Jorgensen

Director

Bille August

Producer

Danish Film Institute

Awards

Oscars 1988: Foreign Film; Cannes 1988: Film; Golden Globes 1989: Foreign Film.