Product Description

Seen on PBS

Written By: Horton Foote (Academy Award winning screenwriter)

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Diane Kagan

Directed By: Peter Werner Description: Abe Snopes (Tommy Lee Jones) is a Southern tenant farmer whose unrelenting and violent nature proves to be his undoing in William Faulkner's Barn Burning.

Snopes sets his employer's barn on fire when he thinks he's been treated unfairly. His son, Sarty, is horrified. Snope escapes justice for lack of proof, but he and his family are told to move on. No sooner do they move than Snopes is offended by his new rich employer. Torn between trying to win his father's acceptance and his aversion to what his father will do, Sarty must make a decision and act quickly.

Adpated by Academy Award winning screenwriter Horton Foote, Faulkner's complex world of class divisions and hostile family relationships comes to life through a boy's attempt to liberate himself from hatred and poverty.

DVD Extras: About the Author, Actors’ Bios, About the American Short Story Collection, Henry Fonda Intro, Printable Study Guide

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35757 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-11-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 41 minutes

Customer Reviews

Helps visualize the story, but kids may fall asleep
The film is approx. 40 minutes and does a decent job of putting Faulkner's work on screen. Some of the stream-of-consciousness is conveyed through voice-overs, which may provide a good talking point with students.

Tommy Lee Jones is a perfect Abner Snipes, in fact, I don't think I could picture him any other way.

The downside is that it is rather boring, though I truly don't know how it could be spiced up, since it does stay true to the story.

I plan to show it intermittently as we read the text, as students really struggle with it. I do believe it will be helpful.

JUST READ THE STORY
My opinion:
My class agreed that this didn't capture the power of the actual short story. That may be impossible to do, actually. Somehow the film lacks the depth and charged darkness of the text.

Nicely done yet somewhat bleak story
A cruel man (Tommy Lee Jones) has a habit of furtively seeking "vengeance" on those he considers to have treated him unfairly, often burns their barns to conclude the feuds. His son Sarty (Shawn Whittington), roughly fifteen, is morally opposed to such actions but also desires his dad's acceptance. In the end, the lad must pick between his conscience and family. Which will it be? A nicely done yet somewhat bleak story based on the William Faulkner short.