Ordinary People (1980)
The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father, and the guilt-ridden younger son. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Robert Redford
Written By: Alvin Sargent, Nancy Dowd, Judith Guest
Starring: Donald Sutherland, M. Emmet Walsh, Adam Baldwin, Timothy Hutton, James Sikking, Elizabeth McGovern, Judd Hirsch, Fredric Lehne, Mary Tyler Moore, Basil Hoffman
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
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Ordinary People belongs to 47 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 239 stars)
2. Oscar: Best Picture (collaborative: moderated by Quicky - 83 stars)
3. Academy Award - Oscar - Best Picture and Nominees (collaborative: moderated by smviper00 - 46 stars)
4. New York Times' The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (collaborative: moderated by theficionado - 32 stars)
5. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)
6. Netflix Instant (collaborative: moderated by somnivore - 29 stars)
7. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)
8. Oscar: Best Director (collaborative: moderated by kangadoodoo - 22 stars)
9. Academy Award - Oscar - ALL Best Picture, Directing, Acting & Screenplay Nominees (collaborative - 22 stars)
10. Directorial debut (collaborative: moderated by djross - 16 stars)
11. Mental Illness (collaborative: moderated by djross - 15 stars)
12. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)
13. Doubling The Canon (collaborative - 13 stars)
14. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 12 stars)
15. films101.com's 5 star films (collaborative: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)
16. Oscar: Best Writing (adapted/original) (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 10 stars)
17. Cinema Discusso Yearly Consensus (2008) (public: PeaceAnarchy - 10 stars)
18. Suicide (collaborative: moderated by mpowell - 9 stars)
19. Psychoanalysis and psychiatry (collaborative: moderated by djross - 9 stars)
20. Teen Angst (collaborative - 7 stars)
21. List: Taschen (public: KasperL - 6 stars)
22. Best by different standards (public: sesito71 - 6 stars)
23. Oscar: Best Supporting Actor (collaborative: moderated by Bojangles - 5 stars)
24. Golden Globes: Best Picture - Drama (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA - 5 stars)
25. Terrific 'Dialogue-Heavy' Films (public: nicolino - 4 stars)
26. New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA - 3 stars)
27. Tearjerkers (collaborative: moderated by cambel - 3 stars)
28. Dysfunctional Family (collaborative: moderated by iceblox - 2 stars)
29. National Board of Review: Best Film (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA - 2 stars)
30. Golden Globes: Best Director (collaborative - 2 stars)
31. "Seasons: Autumn" (collaborative - 1 star)
32. NBR Top 10 Films (collaborative: moderated by xacviant - 1 star)
33. Personality disorders and rebellion during adolescence. (collaborative: moderated by hellbike - 1 star)
34. Academy Award Winners for Best Picture (collaborative: moderated by gdfthr337 - 1 star)
35. Autumn (public: saudade - 1 star)
36. Roger Ebert's Top 10 Films of 1980 (collaborative)
37. Ratings (collaborative: moderated by cheapthrills)
38. Orson Scott Card's Perfect Movie List (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub)
39. Available on Divicast (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
40. Kyles DVDs (public: Dorkovsky)
41. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 1 (public: PeaceAnarchy)
42. Movies to See: Drama (public: Lady Moe)
43. KENDELL'S MASSIVE LIST (public: kendell)
44. 90+ (public: Daria)
45. DoObejrzenia (public: peeroog)
46. 1980's (public: Jason212)
47. 2023 (public: sproost)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 6 |  |
Tripwyre | 87 88th |
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The recipient of a lot of undue hate for having the gall to best Raging Bull at the Oscars. If that boils your blood, blame the voters, not this film. Though Redford's use of music is a touch too manipulative, the performances he draws from all his actors hit a level of honesty seldom seen in cinema. Hutton and Hirsch are particularly brilliant but the acting on the whole is just damn excellent. Its portrait of a broken family feigning social happiness remains relevant thirty years later.
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| 4 |  |
jstry | 93 96th |
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Loved it. There are some absolutely heartbreaking scenes to be found in this one -- one of which for me was simply a defeat-stricken expression on Sutherland's face. I found myself completely wrapped up in this family's drama, rooting for them every step of the way.
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| 3 |  |
DavidKahane | 95 92nd |
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Redford finds a shrewdly plainspoken approach to the material, letting the potency of the emotions infecting the familial relations carry the film without undue cinematic prompting. As might be expected, Redford is especially effective with the actors, coaching Timothy Hutton to that Oscar win that led him to become the official Hollywood definition of of unfulfilled promise and getting performances out of the likes of Judd Hirsch and Mary Tyler Moore that were previously inconceivable.
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| 3 |  |
hellsditch | 92 96th |
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The story of a "normal", upper-middle class family dealing with the effects of losing one of their own. Sutherland never seems to give a bad performance, and he is great here as the affable peacemaker of the family. Moore plays way against type as the ice queen beholden to social mores and uninterested in expressing how she really feels about her remaining family. Hutton is outstanding as the guilt-ridden brother who has lost his way in the world. The Christmas tree scene is as real as it gets.
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| 3 |  |
wetwillies | 100 98th |
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Wonderfully acted. Timothy Hutton perfectly nails that confused, depressed teenager vibe. EDIT: Revisiting it, I was surprised by some the beauty of this film, its best scenes being harsh and uncomfortable, but most of all, rooted in reality. A gem of a film. (two times)
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| 2 | AddisondeWit | 95 97th |
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A great, powerful drama who should have been the one for which Sutherland got finally a Oscar nomination. The job made by the cast is amazing, makes my personal top 10 for ensemble cast. Sadly, this masterpiece is remembered as that damn film that robbed Raging Bull's Oscar. Timothy Hutton got the Oscar fairly but Mary Tyler Moore is awesome.
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| 2 |  |
gtown1479 | 84 81st |
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I thought that the main three (Sutherland, Moore and Hutton) all had great performances in this film which really helped me buy into the story, and in turn have some emotions for the characters. It was weird seeing Moore play the exact opposite of her fun loving TV role, but she did a stellar job. Suther;and was great at trying to play a confused and helpless mediator. The scene near the end when he came to his conclusions about Moore, were heart-wrenching.
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| 2 |  |
TonythePony | 85 84th |
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Intimate family drama that perfectly captures the silence, numbness and disconnection of grief. Redfords direction is simple and efficient allowing you to focus on the powerful performances of Sutherland, Hutton and Tyler Moore. The emotionally cathartic scenes payoff nicely for the restrained intensity present throughout.
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| 1 |  |
MartinTeller | 97 99th |
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Wonderful casting, every actor does an absolutely outstanding job. Sure, the film is kind of sappy (the overuse of Pachebel's "Canon in D" is especially responsible for this) and the psychology is a bit oversimplified (it comes off at times like a promotion for psychotherapy), but it's so emotionally intense and cathartic.
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| 1 |  |
Filligan | 94 90th |
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According to IMDb, one of this film's tag lines is "Some films you watch, others you feel." I'd have called that a pretentious tag line before I actually saw the film, but I like it; it's surprisingly fitting. This is mostly thanks to Hutton's powerful performance. The others around him do terrific work too, and it's clear thanks to Redford's restrained direction, but Hutton is the heart and center of the film, and when he finally experiences catharsis it really packs a punch.
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| 1 | djfntstque | 79 69th |
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Earnest and believable. Still shouldn't have beaten Raging Bull for Best Picture though.
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| 1 |  |
twincinema | 85 85th |
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I watched Philadelphia last week, so I guess I was in the mood for more heavy dramas. Not sure I understand how Hutton was nominated as a Best Supporting Actor. What does it take to become nominated as Best Actor? My hottest take? This deserved Best Picture over Raging Bull.
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| 1 | meerkat | 100 96th |
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Robert Redford's directorial debut and one of the most solemnly moving films made in its decade. A very stark view of a family that is seething with tension and anger while trying to present a perfect face to the world. An amazing film.
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| 1 |  |
TreyAtwood | 70 44th |
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There's a stupid mise-en-scene going on in here, but damn, great story. I would like the film to have gone in a much more cold approach to it's subjects, but won't hold that against it.
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| 1 |  |
rthornhill | 94 89th |
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Extraordinary!
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| 1 |  |
Ocelot | 75 81st |
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Three fantastic performances and one decent one (Moore) make it very watchable, especially the therapy sessions. That said, the technical elements are shockingly bad. The direction is clumsy, and the editing in particular is abysmal. I can understand the Best Picture win, but the Best Director award is as baffling as what happened in 2010. Yeesh.
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| 1 |  |
SirStuckey | 95 97th |
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One of the things I hate about many movies about mental illness is that the endings are generally too happy. Either the mental illness is cured by finding love or some other random bullshit or the person realizes the problem is within themselves and just gets over it in some abrupt way like it isn't a struggle after making the revelation. This movie does not have that. Not that the ending is sad, it's just not unrealistically happy. It's hopeful. The acting was also great.
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| 1 |  |
jeff_v | 78 88th |
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"Ordinary fucking people, I hate 'em."
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| 1 |  |
sproost | 90 97th |
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Amazing standout performances by Hutton and especially Sutherland who is just laughably good. By the end i felt i had had therapy myself.
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| 1 |  |
Groovy_Souls | 85 82nd |
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Like others say, this isn't one of the best movie ever made, but it is still quite fantastic. Sutherland, Baldwin, Hutton, and Moore deliver mind-blowing performances while Robert Redford does magic behind the camera. Though some of the twists are predictable, it really does a good job with the psychology and sociology of it all. Really fantastic film.
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| 1 |  |
doyler29 | 90 86th |
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Redford gets beautiful performances out of his entire cast, particularly Mary Tyler Moore who is a revelation (although Sutherland is so good here he nearly dominates the film). The film's reserved, autumnal look creates an atmosphere of severe repression and forced perfection that embodies the feeling of the story. It's a quiet, thoughtful film for adults ... a very rare thing to encounter these days.
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| Average Percentile 65.12% from 1258 Ratings |  |