Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers (WGA):

Alfred Uhry (play)
Alfred Uhry (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 January 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

The comedy that won a Pulitzer Prize

Plot:

An old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Widow | 1950s | Chauffeur | American South

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Morgan Freeman	...	Hoke Colburn
Jessica Tandy	...	Daisy Werthan
Dan Aykroyd	...	Boolie Werthan
Patti LuPone	...	Florine Werthan
Esther Rolle	...	Idella
Joann Havrilla	...	Miss McClatchey
William Hall Jr.	...	Oscar
Alvin M. Sugarman	...	Dr. Weil
Clarice F. Geigerman	...	Nonie
Muriel Moore	...	Miriam
Sylvia Kaler	...	Beulah
Carolyn Gold	...	Neighbor Lady
Crystal R. Fox	...	Katie Bell
Bob Hannah	...	Red Mitchell
Ray McKinnon	...	Trooper #1

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby Digital (DVD version)

Certification:

Germany:6 | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Brazil:Livre | South Korea:All | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:PG (#29912) | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:F (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

822 Lullwater Road, Druid Hills, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

Majestic Films International

Trivia:

Alfred Uhry's 1987 play "Driving Miss Daisy," on which this movie is based, is the first of his "Atlanta Trilogy" of plays about Jews in Atlanta, Georgia. The other two plays are "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" (1996), a play about a family preparing for the Atlanta Jewish society cotillion, and "Parade" (1998), a musical about the false conviction and 1915 lynching of Atlanta factory manager Leo Frank.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Hoke and Miss Daisy are eating lunch while stopped beside the road, just before the policemen approach there is a crew member clearly reflected in the car door.

Quotes:

[to Hoke on his first day of work]
Idella: I wouldn't be in your shoes if the Sweet Lord Jesus come down and asked me himself.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Matters: Driving Carl Crazy (#4.3)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

AFTER THE BALL

Definitely in my personal top 15

This is an absorbing, memorable, and deeply moving film. It truly deserved the Best Picture of 1989. It is one of those great movies where you really feel as if you had spent time with these realistic, amusing, and ultimately human characters. I felt as if I had spent 30 or so years with Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy, watching their friendship slowly blossom and mature, as well as seeing society change too. The soft-looking cinematography, the gentle, well-known Hans Zimmer score, a splendid stage-adapted screenplay, a wonderful portrayal by Morgan Freeman: all blend together for a marvelous film. The last shot (or dissolve)of the film still gets me every time, as it did the first. There are no pat endings or oversentimentality here....it ends with a simple, beautiful scene that will linger in the memory for a long time.

This is the type of film, if you truly love it, you can watch over and over, and its enjoyment will not diminish.

Around this time, other great movies came out that left me stunned and inspired, like Goodfellas and Dances with Wolves. It was an excellent period of movies for me!