Wise Blood (film)

Wise Blood
Original film poster
Directed byJohn Huston
Screenplay byBenedict Fitzgerald
Michael Fitzgerald
Based onWise Blood
(1952 novel
by )Flannery O'Connor
Produced byKathy Fitzgerald
Michael Fitzgerald
StarringBrad Dourif
Ned Beatty
Harry Dean Stanton
Dan Shor
Amy Wright
Mary Nell Santacroce
John Huston
CinematographyGerry Fisher
Edited byRoberto Silvi
Music byAlex North
Production
company
    • Ithaca Productions
    • Athena Film GmBH
Distributed byNew Line Cinema (US)
Release dates
  • May 23, 1979 (1979-05-23) (Cannes)
  • December 12, 1979 (1979-12-12) (Los Angeles)
Running time
108 minutes
CountriesUnited States
West Germany
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,000,000

Wise Blood is a 1979 black comedy drama film directed by John Huston, based on Flannery O'Connor's 1952 Southern Gothic novel of the same name. It stars Brad Dourif, Ned Beatty, Harry Dean Stanton, Dan Shor, Amy Wright and Mary Nell Santacroce. The film follows the lives of a war veteran preacher (Dourif) who preaches an atheistic "Church of Truth Without Christ."

The film premiered at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a mixed reception. The film has since been reevaluated as one of Huston’s best films and a masterful adaptation of O’Connor’s writing.