Carbon Copy (film)
Encyclopedia
Carbon Copy is a 1981 British
-American
comedy film
, directed
by Michael Schultz
. The film stars George Segal
, and features Denzel Washington
.
This movie is the first feature film
produced by RKO Pictures
after a break of many years, though they were only co-distributor with Avco/Embassy Pictures and Hemdale Film Corpration.
.
Once Roger turns up at Walter's office, it turns out that he is the result of Walter's relationship with a black woman, who is now dead. Walter's father-in-law had warned him that the relationship would be harmful to his career, so he broke it off.
Walter attempts to help Roger by telling his wife Vivian (Saint James) that he wants to adopt him. She accepts, but soon regrets the decision and ends up kicking Walter out. Her father also fires him, taking his car and benefits in the process. Penniless, he and Roger check into a motel, and later move into an apartment. Walter ends up as a manual labourer, shovelling horse manure.
The final ten minutes makes the transition from comedy to drama
, where Walter has to either accept that Roger is his son, or alienate him in order to salvage his position in society.
The film was released on VHS in 1983, 1989, 1994, and 1999. It was released on Laserdisc only once in 1984, and copys are extremely hard to obtain due to being far less common than the VHS releases.
The film was released to DVD in 2004 from MGM-DVD, but the film was presented in Full Screen and the flim master is from the laserdisc release, being low resolution and often has various shifts in quality and color balance.
A remastered, uncut high quality print in HD 1080i is sometimes broadcast on the MGM-HD Channel.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
-American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Michael Schultz
Michael Schultz
Michael Schultz is an American director and producer of film and television.-Life and career:Schultz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Katherine Frances , a factory worker, and Leo Schultz, an insurance salesman...
. The film stars George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
, and features Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
.
This movie is the first feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
produced by RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
after a break of many years, though they were only co-distributor with Avco/Embassy Pictures and Hemdale Film Corpration.
Plot
Roger Porter (Washington) is the long-lost black son of Walter Whitney (Segal), a respectable businessman who lives in the all-white community of San Marino, CaliforniaSan Marino, California
San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways...
.
Once Roger turns up at Walter's office, it turns out that he is the result of Walter's relationship with a black woman, who is now dead. Walter's father-in-law had warned him that the relationship would be harmful to his career, so he broke it off.
Walter attempts to help Roger by telling his wife Vivian (Saint James) that he wants to adopt him. She accepts, but soon regrets the decision and ends up kicking Walter out. Her father also fires him, taking his car and benefits in the process. Penniless, he and Roger check into a motel, and later move into an apartment. Walter ends up as a manual labourer, shovelling horse manure.
The final ten minutes makes the transition from comedy to drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, where Walter has to either accept that Roger is his son, or alienate him in order to salvage his position in society.
Main cast
- George SegalGeorge SegalGeorge Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
— Walter Whitney - Susan Saint JamesSusan Saint JamesSusan Saint James is an American actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.-Early life:...
— Vivian Whitney - Jack WardenJack WardenJack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
— Nelson Longhurst - Dick MartinDick Martin (comedian)Thomas Richard "Dick" Martin was an American comedian and director, best known for his role as the cohost of the sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.-Early life and career:...
— Victor Bard - Denzel WashingtonDenzel WashingtonDenzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
— Roger Porter - Paul WinfieldPaul WinfieldPaul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....
— Bob Garvey - Macon McCalmanMacon McCalmanWillis Macon "Sonny" McCalman aka Macon McCalman was an American television, stage and big screen movie actor.-Acting career:...
— Tubby Wederholt - Vicky Dawson — Mary Ann (Vivian's daughter)
Home Video releases & TV broadcasts
This film is hardly shown on Telivision due to it's racial themes, though it did premere on ABC in March 1983 only once and does sometimes appear on premimum movie channels, along with the most recent airing on Comedy Central in 2011 (though the print used was from the 80's TV airing, meaning less-than-stellar film quality and had moderate edits).The film was released on VHS in 1983, 1989, 1994, and 1999. It was released on Laserdisc only once in 1984, and copys are extremely hard to obtain due to being far less common than the VHS releases.
The film was released to DVD in 2004 from MGM-DVD, but the film was presented in Full Screen and the flim master is from the laserdisc release, being low resolution and often has various shifts in quality and color balance.
A remastered, uncut high quality print in HD 1080i is sometimes broadcast on the MGM-HD Channel.