# The Great Santini (1979)

> A Marine family’s disciplined patriarch turns his son’s final high-school year into a painful struggle for independence, dignity, and love.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/13138

## Facts

- Runtime: 115 min
- Genres: Drama
- Director: Lewis John Carlino
- Cast: Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, Michael O'Keefe, Lisa Jane Persky, Julie Anne Haddock, Brian Andrews, Stan Shaw, Theresa Merritt
- TMDB rating: 6.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079239/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Mood: tense, intimate, melancholic, reflective viewing, classic drama night

## Synopsis

A family's struggle for respect and identity under the shadow of a domineering patriarch.

## Movies like The Great Santini

- [The Last Picture Show (1971)](https://ember.film/movie/14930)
- [The War (1994)](https://ember.film/movie/11983)
- [Coming Home (1978)](https://ember.film/movie/19839)
- [The River (1984)](https://ember.film/movie/24323)
- [An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)](https://ember.film/movie/1770)
- [Urban Cowboy (1980)](https://ember.film/movie/10514)
- [Tender Mercies (1983)](https://ember.film/movie/27133)
- [The Man Without a Face (1993)](https://ember.film/movie/5579)
- [Ordinary People (1980)](https://ember.film/movie/10041)
- [The Evening Star (1996)](https://ember.film/movie/18767)

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