Same Time, Next Year (film)
Encyclopedia
Same Time, Next Year is a 1978 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Robert Mulligan
. The screenplay by Bernard Slade
is based on his 1975 play of the same title
.
) is a 24-year-old housewife from Oakland
, George (Alan Alda
) a 27-year-old accountant from New Jersey
. They meet at dinner, have an affair
, and then agree to meet once a year to rekindle the sparks they experience at their first meeting, despite the fact that both are happily married, with six children between them.
Over the course of the next two dozen years, they develop an emotional intimacy deeper than what one would expect to find between two people meeting for a clandestine relationship just once a year. During the time they spend with each other, they discuss the births, deaths, including George's son Michael dying in Vietnam
, which changes George politically, and marital problems each experiences at home, while they adapt themselves to the social changes affecting their lives.
. The shell of the cottage was built on a temporary foundation overlooking the Pacific Ocean
, but the interior was filmed on a Hollywood sound stage
. After filming was completed, Universal paid for the shell to be relocated to a permanent foundation and the interior was finished and outfitted with the studio furnishings. The cottage remains popular as a romantic getaway.
Paul McCartney
composed a title song for the film, which he recorded with Wings
, that was not used. He later released it as the B-side
of a single in 1990
. The theme song ultimately used was "The Last Time I Felt Like This," written by Marvin Hamlisch
and Alan
and Marilyn Bergman
and performed by Johnny Mathis
and Jane Olivor
.
Slade's play was also adapted by Hong Kong
filmmaker Clifton Ko
for his 1994 movie I Will Wait for You starring Tony Leung Ka-Fai
and Anita Yuen
.
's acclaimed stage play earned a storm of praise, the movie received mixed reviews. Janet Maslin
of the New York Times said, "Mr. Slade's screenplay isn't often funny, and it's full of momentous events that can't be laughed away . . . As directed by Robert Mulligan . . . Same Time, Next Year is both less and more than it could have been. By moving the action outdoors once in a while, or into the inn's restaurant, Mr. Mulligan loses the element of claustrophobia
that might have taken an audience's mind off the screenplay's troubles. But he substitutes the serenity of a California coastal setting, and gives the film a visual glamour that is mercifully distracting. Mr. Mulligan seems to have been more interested in sprucing up the material than in preserving its absolute integrity, and under the circumstances, his approach makes sense . . . Mr. Alda isn't terribly playful, and he reads every line as if it were part of a joke, which only accentuates the flatness of the script. Miss Burstyn, on the other hand . . . brings so much sweetness to Doris's various incarnations that the character very nearly comes to life."
Variety
called the film "a textbook example of how to successfully transport a stage play to the big screen" and added "The production of Bernard Slade's play, sensitively directed by Robert Mulligan, is everything you'd want from this kind of film. And it features two first class performances by Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda."
Robert Mulligan
Robert Mulligan was an American film and television director best known as the director of humanistic American dramas, including To Kill A Mockingbird , Summer of '42 , The Other , Same Time, Next Year and The Man in the Moon...
. The screenplay by Bernard Slade
Bernard Slade
Bernard Slade is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter.Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Slade began his career as an actor with the Garden Center Theatre in Vineland, Ontario. In the mid-1960s, he relocated to Hollywood and began to work as a writer for television sitcoms, including Bewitched...
is based on his 1975 play of the same title
Same Time, Next Year
Same Time, Next Year is 1975 comedy play by Bernard Slade. The plot focuses on two people, married to others, who meet for a romantic tryst once a year for two dozen years.-Plot:...
.
Plot synopsis
The film opens in 1951 at an inn located on the Mendocino County coast. Doris (Ellen BurstynEllen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
) is a 24-year-old housewife from Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, George (Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
) a 27-year-old accountant from New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. They meet at dinner, have an affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
, and then agree to meet once a year to rekindle the sparks they experience at their first meeting, despite the fact that both are happily married, with six children between them.
Over the course of the next two dozen years, they develop an emotional intimacy deeper than what one would expect to find between two people meeting for a clandestine relationship just once a year. During the time they spend with each other, they discuss the births, deaths, including George's son Michael dying in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, which changes George politically, and marital problems each experiences at home, while they adapt themselves to the social changes affecting their lives.
Production
Exteriors for the film were shot at the Heritage House Inn in Little River, CaliforniaLittle River, California
Little River is a small census-designated place in Mendocino County, California. It lies at an elevation of 66 feet . It is located two miles south of the town of Mendocino and running along the Pacific Ocean coast on State Route 1...
. The shell of the cottage was built on a temporary foundation overlooking the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, but the interior was filmed on a Hollywood sound stage
Sound stage
In common usage, a sound stage is a soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for the production of theatrical filmmaking and television production, usually located on a secure movie studio property.-Overview:...
. After filming was completed, Universal paid for the shell to be relocated to a permanent foundation and the interior was finished and outfitted with the studio furnishings. The cottage remains popular as a romantic getaway.
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
composed a title song for the film, which he recorded with Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
, that was not used. He later released it as the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of a single in 1990
Put It There
"Put It There" is a 1990 single from Paul McCartney's 1989 album, Flowers in the Dirt. The song reached number 32 on the UK singles chart....
. The theme song ultimately used was "The Last Time I Felt Like This," written by Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
and Alan
Alan Bergman
Alan Bergman is an American lyricist and songwriter.-Life & career:Born in Brooklyn, New York, he studied at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UCLA. His involvement in the entertainment industry began in the early 1950s as a director of children's television shows...
and Marilyn Bergman
Marilyn Bergman
Marilyn Bergman is a composer, songwriter and author.She was born Marilyn Keith in Brooklyn, New York and studied psychology and English at New York University...
and performed by Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
and Jane Olivor
Jane Olivor
Jane Olivor is an American cabaret singer. She was initially compared, often favorably, to Barbra Streisand and Édith Piaf.-Background:...
.
Slade's play was also adapted by Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
filmmaker Clifton Ko
Clifton Ko
-Filmography as director:-External links:* *...
for his 1994 movie I Will Wait for You starring Tony Leung Ka-Fai
Tony Leung Ka-Fai
Tony Leung Ka-fai is a three-time Hong Kong Film Award-winning Chinese film actor.Because he is often confused with actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai is known as "Big Tony", while Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is known as "Little Tony", nicknames which correspond to the actors' respective...
and Anita Yuen
Anita Yuen
Anita Yuen Wing-yi is a Hong Kong film and television actress. She was the winner of the 1990 Miss Hong Kong Pageant.-Pageant career:At the age of 18, Yuen entered the Miss Hong Kong 1990 pageant. She was a heavy favorite to win the crown from the semifinal to final. During the semifinals on August...
.
Critical reception
While Bernard SladeBernard Slade
Bernard Slade is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter.Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Slade began his career as an actor with the Garden Center Theatre in Vineland, Ontario. In the mid-1960s, he relocated to Hollywood and began to work as a writer for television sitcoms, including Bewitched...
's acclaimed stage play earned a storm of praise, the movie received mixed reviews. Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
of the New York Times said, "Mr. Slade's screenplay isn't often funny, and it's full of momentous events that can't be laughed away . . . As directed by Robert Mulligan . . . Same Time, Next Year is both less and more than it could have been. By moving the action outdoors once in a while, or into the inn's restaurant, Mr. Mulligan loses the element of claustrophobia
Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces or rooms...
that might have taken an audience's mind off the screenplay's troubles. But he substitutes the serenity of a California coastal setting, and gives the film a visual glamour that is mercifully distracting. Mr. Mulligan seems to have been more interested in sprucing up the material than in preserving its absolute integrity, and under the circumstances, his approach makes sense . . . Mr. Alda isn't terribly playful, and he reads every line as if it were part of a joke, which only accentuates the flatness of the script. Miss Burstyn, on the other hand . . . brings so much sweetness to Doris's various incarnations that the character very nearly comes to life."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called the film "a textbook example of how to successfully transport a stage play to the big screen" and added "The production of Bernard Slade's play, sensitively directed by Robert Mulligan, is everything you'd want from this kind of film. And it features two first class performances by Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda."
Awards and nominations
- Academy Award for Best ActressAcademy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Ellen Burstyn, nominee) - Academy Award for Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
(Robert Surtees, nominee) - Academy Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
(Bernard Slade, nominee) - Academy Award for Best Song ("The Last Time I Felt Like This," nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyGolden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
(Burstyn, winner) - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyGolden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
(Alan Alda, nominee) - Golden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
(nominee) - Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayWriters Guild of America Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayThe Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is one of the three screenwriting Writers Guild of America Awards, one that is specifically for film...
(Slade, nominee)