Eliza's Horoscope
| Eliza's Horoscope | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gordon Sheppard |
| Written by | Gordon Sheppard |
| Produced by | Gordon Sheppard |
| Starring | Elizabeth Moorman Tommy Lee Jones Rose Quong Lila Kedrova Pierre Byland Marcel Sabourin Alanis Obomsawin |
| Cinematography | Jean Boffety Michel Brault Paul van der Linden |
| Edited by | Gordon Sheppard |
| Music by | Elmo Peeler |
| Distributed by | Akoom (Quebec) |
Release dates | September 1975, Stratford International Film Festival; May 1976, Montreal |
Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,400,000 (estimated) |
Eliza's Horoscope is a 1975 Canadian feature from Gordon Sheppard, one of the most enigmatic features made in Canada.
Background
Gordon Sheppard (1937･2006) began his career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1960 as a writer and interviewer on public affairs programs such as "The Lively Arts." In 1965 he was appointed to the Secretary of State as a special consultant on a proposal to create the Canadian Film Development Corporation (later Telefilm Canada). Leaving government service, Sheppard began work on his flawed masterpiece, the splendid Eliza's Horoscope,[1] an ingenious, exotic feature that he began in 1970 and would take four years to complete (which explains why there are three cinematographers on the film).[2]
Synopsis
The central character is a young girl (Elizabeth Moorman, a former Playboy Bunny), who learns from an astrologer that she will meet a rich husband and proceeds to look for one. She rooms with an older hooker (Lila Kedrova, the veteran Russian-born actress who had won an Oscar for Zorba the Greek) in a rundown Montreal apartment where a young man of mixed indigenous and European heritage (Tommy Lee Jones in one of his first screen appearances) falls for her. Later he is killed trying to blow up a bridge as a form of protest. Heavily allegorical and densely symbolic,[3] Eliza's Horoscope is a psychedelic film left over from the 1960s ･ closer to Bob Rafelson’s Head than Federico Fellini’s Juliet of the Spirits. Richard Manuel, formerly of the legendary Canadian group The Band, appears as a background extra in the film.
Awards
Canadian Film Awards ･ Supporting Actress (Kedrova), Cinematography (van der Linden), Art Direction, Overall Sound, Special Award
It was also a nominee for Best Feature Film, but did not win.[4]
References
- ^ Sheppard, Gordon. "The Making of Eliza's Horoscope". Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ Morris, Peter (1984). The Film Companion. Toronto: Irwin Publishing. pp. 270･271. ISBN 0 7725 1505 0.
- ^ Pratley, Gerald (1987). Torn Sprockets: The Uncertain Projection of the Canadian Film. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses. p. 223. ISBN 0874131944.
- ^ "Best-film showdown: 11 vie for all-Canadian honours". Ottawa Journal. October 3, 1975. p. 39. Retrieved March 28, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
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