SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Contents
hide
Six Degrees of Separation (film)
Appearancehide
Text
- SmallStandardLarge
Width
- StandardWide
Color
- AutomaticLightDark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sorry to interrupt, but only a fraction of readers will see this.This Wednesday, we ask you to join the 2% of readers who give. If everyone reading this right now gave just $2.75, we’d reach our goal quickly. $2.75 is all we ask.Give $2.75 Maybe later
July 29: Wikipedia still can’t be sold
We’re sorry we’ve made several attempts to reach you. It’s Wednesday, July 29, and Wikipedia is seeing fewer readers this year so your visit means a lot. If everyone reading this gave $2.75 today, we’d hit our goal quickly. Most readers don’t donate; only 2% do. Wikipedia is run by a nonprofit, not by a billionaire. So if Wikipedia has given you $2.75 worth of knowledge, please give. Any contribution helps, whether it’s $2.75 or $25.Give $2.75Give a different amountMaybe later I already donatedClose
For other uses, see Six degrees (disambiguation).
| Six Degrees of Separation | |
|---|---|
| Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Fred Schepisi |
| Screenplay by | John Guare |
| Based on | Six Degrees of Separation 1990 play by John Guare |
| Produced by | Fred Schepisi Arnon Milchan |
| Starring | Stockard ChanningWill SmithDonald SutherlandMary Beth HurtBruce DavisonIan McKellen |
| Cinematography | Ian Baker |
| Edited by | Peter Honess |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Production companies | Maiden MoviesNew Regency |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date | December 8, 1993 |
| Running time | 112 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15 million[2] |
| Box office | $6.4 million[3] |
Six Degrees of Separation is a 1993 American comedy-drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Fred Schepisi, adapted from John Guare‘s Pulitzer Prize-nominated[4] 1990 play of the same name.
The plot of the film was inspired by the real-life story of David Hampton, a con man and robber who convinced a number of people in the 1980s that he was the son of actor Sidney Poitier. In October 1983, Hampton came to the New York apartment of Inger McCabe Elliott and her husband Osborn Elliott, who allowed him to spend the night in the apartment. The next morning, Inger found Hampton in bed with another man and later called the police. The Elliotts told their friend, writer John Guare, the story, which inspired him to write the play years later.[5][6]
Plot
Fifth Avenue socialite Ouisa Kittredge and her art dealer husband Flan are parents of “two at Harvard and a girl at Groton.” However, the narrow world inhabited by the Kittredges and their public status as people interested in the arts make them easy prey for Paul. A skillful con-artist, Paul mysteriously appears at their door one night, injured and bleeding, claiming to be a close college friend of their Ivy League kids, as well as the son of Sidney Poitier.
Ouisa and Flan are much impressed by Paul’s fine taste, keen wit, articulate literary expositions and surprising culinary skill. His appealing facade fades as soon as the Kittredges put him up, lending him money and taking satisfaction in his praise for their posh lifestyle. Paul’s scheme continues until, after he brings home a hustler, his actual indigence is revealed. The shocked Kittredges kick him out when it is revealed that they are but the most recent victims of the duplicity with which Paul has charmed his way into many upper-crust homes along the Upper East Side.
Paul’s schemes become anecdotes which are bantered about at their cocktail parties. In the end, Paul has a profound effect on the many individuals who encounter him, linking them in their shared experience.
Cast
- Stockard Channing as Louisa “Ouisa” Kittredge
- Will Smith as Paul
- Donald Sutherland as Flanders “Flan” Kittredge
- Ian McKellen as Geoffrey Miller
- Mary Beth Hurt as Kitty
- Heather Graham as Elizabeth
- Bruce Davison as Larkin
- Richard Masur as Dr. Fine
- Anthony Michael Hall as Trent Conway
- Daniel von Bargen as Detective
- Eric Thal as Rick
- Kelly Bishop as Adele
- Anthony Rapp as Ben
- Oz Perkins as Woodrow “Woody” Kittredge (as Osgood Perkins II)
- Catherine Kellner as Talbot “Tess” Kittredge
- J. J. Abrams as Doug (as Jeffrey Abrams)
- Kitty Carlisle as Mrs. Bannister
- Cleo King as Lieutenant Price
Production
During the scene where Trent and Paul kissed, Smith refused to do it as he did not know what his friends would think, so a stand-in actor was used instead.[7]
Reception
‹ The template below (Rotten Tomatoes prose) is being considered for deletion. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. ›
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 34 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website’s consensus reads: “Though it betrays its theatrical roots, Six Degrees of Separation largely succeeds thanks to astute direction and fine performances — particularly from an against-type Will Smith.”[8]
Accolades
- 1994 Academy Award for Best Actress Nomination – Stockard Channing[9]
- 1994 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nomination – Stockard Channing[9]
See also
References
- “Six Degrees of Separation (1993)”. BBFC. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- Plunka, Gene A. (2002). The Black Comedy of John Guare. University of Delaware Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780874137637.
- “Six Degrees of Separation”. Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- “The Pulitzer Prizes”. Pulitzer.org. Archived from the original on August 13, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
- New York Mag The Story of David Hampton Archived 2024-06-22 at the Wayback Machine accessed 7-27-2015
- Gerston, Jill (March 6, 1994). “Stockard Channing Goes West”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
- “Can Will Smith Play on Park Avenue?”. Entertainment Weekly.
- “Six Degrees of Separation“. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- “THE 66th ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS : Best Actress”. Los Angeles Times. February 10, 1994. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
External links
- Six Degrees of Separation at IMDb
- Six Degrees of Separation at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
- Six Degrees of Separation at Rotten Tomatoes
- Six Degrees of Separation at Box Office Mojo
- Six Degrees of Separation at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
| vteWorks directed by Fred Schepisi | |
|---|---|
| Films | Libido (1973) The Devil’s Playground (1976)The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978)Barbarosa (1982)Iceman (1984)Plenty (1985)Roxanne (1987)Evil Angels (1988)The Russia House (1990)Mr. Baseball (1992)Six Degrees of Separation (1993)I.Q. (1994)Fierce Creatures (1997)Last Orders (2001)It Runs in the Family (2003)The Eye of the Storm (2011)Words and Pictures (2013) |
| Miniseries | Empire Falls (2005) |
- 1993 films
- 1990s mystery comedy-drama films
- 1993 American films
- 1993 comedy-drama films
- 1993 English-language films
- 1993 LGBTQ-related films
- American films based on plays
- American LGBTQ-related films
- American mystery comedy-drama films
- American satirical films
- English-language mystery comedy-drama films
- Films about con artists
- Films about social class
- Films directed by Fred Schepisi
- Films produced by Arnon Milchan
- Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith
- Films set in apartment buildings
- Films set in New York City
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- Regency Enterprises films
- English-language satirical films