The Great Santini
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Synopsis
As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated Marine pilot.
Letterboxd User Reviews
3.4
7.2K
5.0K
1.3K
- Mar 14, 2026
Absorbing and accessible and some first-rate performances. It doesn’t all work. The Toomer-Red storyline feels like everybody got distracted and started making a different movie for fifteen minutes. But Mr. Duvall’s performance is indelible — the basketball scene alone…
carrieandtracyApr 15, 2022This is what you watch when your dad’s in charge of movie night
cwembJun 24, 2023This story could have easily turned out to be predictable and ultimately forgettable, but thanks to attentive direction and sincere performances, an insightful character study and complex perspective on family connections was created. Each performer interacts with one…
Dylan - Mar 5, 2017
At first this movie seems like a nice family film, where a career military man has to balance a new post and taking care of his family. He's just this eccentric guy whose always playing pranks, and whose family is happy to see him when he returns from overseas. But, then…
FilmApeMay 12, 2021“How we doing Sports Fans?”
JabeJan 27, 2022Between this, Network, and Apocalypse Now, Duvall was really on a heater in the late 70s.
realrzn - Aug 20, 2026
“Hey, sports fans!”
TyFeb 17, 2026A film that feels that it was made in 1962, not just set then, with its traditional story arc and direction style and its Elmer Bernstein score. Excellent performances from Blythe Danner and Michael O'Keefe ... and from Robert Duvall, playing a tough love father who loses…
FintMar 5, 2025It is tough on any son to have a hot-headed father. The constant push and pull of emotion we feel toward him can be confusing. We love him so much at times, and yet at others wish he was dead. It is frustrating because in our hearts of hearts, we know he's doing it to…
legolas
Queue Community Reviews
69%
Community 115
Top Reviews
- Jacob Hall lovedThe Great Santini
Amazing story on military family life and also race relations in the South in the early 60's. Why that lady have to name her kid Toomer though. WAY too similar to Tumor. Robert Duvall proves once again why he's the best actor of all time and will always be my favorite, glazing ik
Jimmy Cricket likedThe Great SantiniOne of those films where it’s dependent on the performances for quality, and Duvall is great in this, elevating this multi-character study by quite a bit. Unfortunately though the film is predictable and has a surface (and at times hypocritical) understanding of race relations
mason williams likedThe Great SantiniDuvall is a powerful actor. A warrior without a war.
Atom Users Reviews
Metacritic
USER SCORE (1)
No score yet based on 1 Reviews
You have a literally commanding Duvall at the center of it, wearing that uniform like a second skin. He’s more than willing to play Meechum as a monster of a father, while also giving hints, in small moments, that this is a man who has had tenderness of any kind ground out of him by a macho, mercenary system.
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
Sentimental without being corny, a tearjerker with dignity. The Great Santini is a movie to seek out and to treasure.
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Great Santini family-friendly?
The movie has been rated as PG (Parental Guidance Suggested). It's generally considered a family-friendly movie.
How long is The Great Santini?
The movie is 1hr 55min long.
What's The Great Santini about?
As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated Marine pilot.
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