The Great Santini
1979 · Movie · 115 min. · United States
The four Meechum kids and their mother move from Marine post to Marine post, following their father, a pilot, in the peaceful years before the Vietnam war. Bull Meechum, the self-described "great Santini," is manic: a martinet at once enthusiastic and abusive of his family. In Beaufort, South Carolina, Bull is assigned to whip into shape a squadron of pilots, and Ben makes friends with Toomer, a slow-talking Black youth. Racial and family tensions explode in violence, and Ben must find a way to make peace with his father.
Direction Lewis John Carlino
Cast Robert Duvall · Blythe Danner · Michael O'Keefe · Stan Shaw · Lisa Jane Persky · Julie Anne Haddock
Soundtrack Elmer Bernstein
Screenplay Pat Conroy · Lewis John Carlino
Cinematography Ralph Woolsey
Original title The Great Santini
6.1
150 votes (FilmAffinity)
Add to lists
Share