The Big Brass Ring (1999)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

George Hickenlooper

Writers (WGA):

Orson Welles (earlier screenplay) and
Oja Kodar (earlier screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 June 2000 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

You can't buy absolution...What you seek is something that can only be given.

Plot:

Blake Pellarin is on the campaign trail to become president of the United States. While making a stop in St...

Plot Keywords:

Political | Based On Short Film | Remake | Closeted Homosexual | Gay Interest

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

William Hurt	...	William Blake Pellarin
Nigel Hawthorne	...	Kim Mennaker
Miranda Richardson	...	Dinah Pellarin
Irène Jacob	...	Cela Brandini
Ewan Stewart	...	Kinzel
Gregg Henry	...	Billy
Ron Livingston	...	Sheldon Buckle
Jefferson Mays	...	Garne Strickland
Jim Metzler	...	Pacxy Barragan
Carmine Giovinazzo	...	Young Billy
Thomas Patrick Kelly	...	Young Blake
Mack Harrell	...	Homer Dix
Lisette Bross	...	B.C. Dix
F. Joseph Schulte	...	Senator Jack Moorehead
Peggy Freisen	...	Gigi Moorehead (as Peggy Friesen)

MPAA:

Rated R for some graphic sexuality, and for language and some violence.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | Germany:16 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Alhambra, California, USA

Company:

Millennium Films

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene just after Blake (Hurt) and Brandini (Jacob) make love, she is still in bed and is trying to encourage Blake to come public with the truth. She suggests that she might expose him if he doesn't. Blake then yanks the bed covers off exposing her completely naked body. But in the next second, closeup, she is seen with something covering her from the waist down.

Movie Connections:

References Campanadas a medianoche (1965)

A muddled and stagnant mess of a movie

The Big Brass Ring apparently never made it to a movie theater, and doesn't get anywhere else, either. The script, credited posthumously to Orson Welles, takes a number of twists and turns, but they are neither clever or clear. William Hurt portrays Missouri gubernatorial candidate Blake Pellarin, an independent running against another independent, which is unlikely enough. The fact that both candidates sport Southern accents even though it is set in Missouri is another peculiarity that is never explained. Miss it and you'll be better off.