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Sommersby

  • 19931993
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
22K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)
Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video
Play trailer1:56
1 Video
84 Photos
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Romance

A farmer returns home from the Civil War, but his wife begins to suspect that the man is an impostor.A farmer returns home from the Civil War, but his wife begins to suspect that the man is an impostor.A farmer returns home from the Civil War, but his wife begins to suspect that the man is an impostor.

IMDb RATING
6.2/10
22K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Jon Amiel
  • Writers
    • Daniel Vigne(film The Return of Martin Guerre)
    • Jean-Claude Carrière(film The Return of Martin Guerre)
    • Nicholas Meyer(story)
  • Stars
    • Richard Gere
    • Jodie Foster
    • Lanny Flaherty
Top credits
  • Director
    • Jon Amiel
  • Writers
    • Daniel Vigne(film The Return of Martin Guerre)
    • Jean-Claude Carrière(film The Return of Martin Guerre)
    • Nicholas Meyer(story)
  • Stars
    • Richard Gere
    • Jodie Foster
    • Lanny Flaherty
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 67User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Videos1

    Sommersby
    Trailer 1:56
    Sommersby

    Photos84

    Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)
    Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)
    Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)
    Sommersby (1993)
    Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)
    Jodie Foster in Sommersby (1993)
    Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)
    Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)
    Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)
    Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)
    Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)
    Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Gere
    Richard Gere
    • Jackas Jack
    Jodie Foster
    Jodie Foster
    • Laurelas Laurel
    Lanny Flaherty
    Lanny Flaherty
    • Buckas Buck
    Wendell Wellman
    Wendell Wellman
    • Travisas Travis
    Bill Pullman
    Bill Pullman
    • Orinas Orin
    Brett Kelley
    • Little Robas Little Rob
    William Windom
    William Windom
    • Reverend Powellas Reverend Powell
    Clarice Taylor
    Clarice Taylor
    • Estheras Esther
    Frankie Faison
    Frankie Faison
    • Josephas Joseph
    R. Lee Ermey
    R. Lee Ermey
    • Dick Meadas Dick Mead
    • (as Ronald Lee Ermey)
    Richard Hamilton
    Richard Hamilton
    • Doc Evansas Doc Evans
    Karen Kirschenbauer
    Karen Kirschenbauer
    • Mrs. Evansas Mrs. Evans
    Carter McNeese
    • Storekeeper Wilsonas Storekeeper Wilson
    Dean Whitworth
    • Tom Clemmonsas Tom Clemmons
    Stan Kelly
    • John Greenas John Green
    Stephanie Weaver
    • Mrs. Bundyas Mrs. Bundy
    Khaz Benyahmeen
    • Elias Eli
    • (as Khaz B.)
    Joshua David McLerran
    • Boy #1as Boy #1
    • (as Josh McClerren)
    • Director
      • Jon Amiel
    • Writers
      • Daniel Vigne(film The Return of Martin Guerre)
      • Jean-Claude Carrière(film The Return of Martin Guerre)
      • Nicholas Meyer(story) (screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Set in the south of the United States just after the Civil War, Laurel Sommersby is just managing to work the farm without her husband Jack, believed killed in the Civil War. By all accounts, Jack Sommersby was not a pleasant man, thus when he returns, Laurel has mixed emotions. It appears that Jack has changed a great deal, leading some people to believe that this is not actually Jack but an impostor. Laurel herself is unsure, but willing to take the man into her home, and perhaps later into her heart... —Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>
    • impostor
    • husband wife relationship
    • assumed identity
    • civil war veteran
    • post civil war
    • 54 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • She knew his face. His touch. His voice. She knew everything about him... But the truth.
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Mystery
      • Romance
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated PG-13 for sensuality
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie is one of several fictional adaptations of a true, famous legal case of imposture from sixteenth century France. The case involved a man named Martin Guerre who, having disappeared from his Basque village in 1548, suddenly reappeared eight years later. Despite his slightly changed appearance, he convinced his family, wife, and fellow villagers that he was indeed Martin Guerre; he and his wife had two more children and he sued a paternal uncle for the claim to his father's estate. That uncle became suspicious that this returned Martin Guerre was actually an impostor named Arnaud du Tilh, and he contrived a way to have him tried for imposture. This suspicion was ultimately confirmed when the actual Martin Guerre arrived in court during du Tilh's trial. Arnaud du Tilh was convicted and hanged in September 1560.
    • Goofs
      The fiddle being played at the homecoming dance is fitted with a chin piece, which was not used until the 20th century.
    • Quotes

      Laurel Sommersby: You are not Jack Sommersby, so why do you keep going on pretending that you are?

      John Robert 'Jack' Sommersby: How do you know I'm not?

      Laurel Sommersby: I know because...

      John Robert 'Jack' Sommersby: How do you know?

      Laurel Sommersby: I know because...

      John Robert 'Jack' Sommersby: How do you know?

      Laurel Sommersby: I know because I never loved him the way that I love you.

      John Robert 'Jack' Sommersby: Now Laurel tell me, from the bottom of your heart. Am I your husband?

      Laurel Sommersby: Yes, you are.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1/The Cemetery Club/Sommersby/The Vanishing/Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)

    User reviews67

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Underrated Civil War drama with Richard Gere and Jodie Foster
    Released in 1993 and directed by Jon Amiel, "Sommersby" stars Richard Gere as a Confederate soldier returning to his rundown estate in Tennessee and his wife, Laurel (Jodie Foster), after a long six years absence. Curiously, Laurel discovers that the war has changed Jack for the better. Bill Pullman plays his rival for Laurel's affections while James Earl Jones appears as a judge in the final act.

    This is such a well-done Civil War drama, taking place just after the war in 1866-1867. The story is contrived, but executed believably with convincing performances. Contrived or not, something like this COULD happen, if you reflect on it. I can't say more because it's best that you go into the movie without knowing the revelations of the final act. The first half is low-key, but it's just a foundation for the realistic thrills of the mid-point and the suspenseful drama of the closing act.

    The film runs 114 minutes and was shot in Virginia with the opening winter scene filmed at Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort, West Virginia.

    GRADE: B+

    ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY ***SPOILER ALERT***

    A clueless reviewer criticized the film on the grounds that "this story fell a bit flat for me when Jack, for some reason, doesn't tell the same (true) story (that clarifies the identity confusion) to the court, that he does to his wife in the final jail scene."

    This is incredible because the movie plainly reveals several reasons why Jack didn't want to tell the truth that he wasn't really Jack Sommersby: (1.) The freed blacks and others who bought & farmed parts of his land would lose it; (2.) his wife & daughter would be condemned as an adulteress and a bastard child respectively; (3.) he "buried" Horace Townsend forever when he buried the real Jack Sommersby; he wasn't willing to "resurrect" that wicked loser, even at the cost of his life.

    And (4.) If jack was proved to be Horace, and was released, another court would have arrested him on the grounds that he was a liar, an impostor and a thief. That court would NOT have released him on the grounds that he had found love and done charitable things while impersonating a dead man. He would have gone to prison and possibly even died for his actual crimes.

    So dying for a cause he believed in, for people who respected him, made more sense than dying without any honor or legacy whatsoever.
    helpful•12
    0
    • Wuchakk
    • Dec 13, 2016

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 5, 1993 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • A Stranger Within
    • Filming locations
      • Lexington, Virginia, USA
    • Production companies
      • Canal+
      • New Regency Productions
      • Alcor Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $50,081,992
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $8,104,624
      • Feb 7, 1993
    • Gross worldwide
      • $140,081,992
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 54 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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