Synopsis
A drifter stranded in Kansas accepts a job offer from a wheat harvester who, in desperation over his cancer and financial woes, attempts suicide but becomes a father-figure to the young man.
Amber Waves
Cast
Dennis Weaver Kurt Russell Mare Winningham Fran Brill Wilford Brimley Rossie Harris Grainger Hines Penny Fuller Eloy Casados Bill Morey Michael Talbott Robert Weaver Ted Dykstra Jack Goth Kaye Grieve Lucetta Jenison Cathryn Johnston Les Kimber Don MacKay Margaret Martin Walter Massey Murray Ord Ted Stidder Dale Wilson
Director
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Writer
Editor
Cinematography
Executive Producer
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Releases by Date
TV
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USA
Releases by Country
USA
09 Mar 1980
- TV ABC
Popular reviews
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I didn’t expect to get emotional over wheat harvesters on a Wednesday night yet here I am.
A struggling wheat harvester who discovers he is in a serious stage of lung cancer and an unemployed model meet and unexpectedly influence each other’s lives. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t planning for this movie to be good so I was really surprised to find myself genuinely enjoying it so much. It discusses problems of generation gaps and stereotypes that, frankly, still exist and influence us today. It criticises American patriotism, which was even more surprising. The two leads both did excellent jobs and I really cared for their characters and wanted them to succeed. It’s the low quality of the filmmaking that…
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One of those deceptively simple films where nothing much happens on the surface but strong performances give the material an emotional weight. Dennis Weaver is great here as a man whose way of life and literal life is passing away. There's a phone call scene with him talking to his estranged son that will get to you. Russell and Winningham deliver solid portrayals as well.
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This was a pretty good tv movie. Great performances from Weaver and Russell.
1980 Ranked boxd.it/9D6zG
Kurt Russell Ranked boxd.it/bOMNA -
You come to expect a certain thing from network TV movies from the 70s and 80s, so it comes as quote a shock when a movie exceeds those expectations. A thoughtful, emotionally rich, and observant drama about a stoic wheat farmer and a pretentious male model who cross paths in Kansas during harvest season, Amber Waves is built on character moments and fantastic performances. It is sentimental only in that engages with genuine sentiment and emotion but it does so honestly and consistently.
Russell and Weaver are both fantastic as two men from different worlds and different generations who come to respect and admire each other as their inner character becomes more clear through their responses to their own misfortunes.…
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“Maybe it’s jist that I’m tired o’ people coppin’ out on me all the time. Bunch o’ crybabies who can’t stand up to pressure, face any kind o’ responsibility.”
“You’re gonna teach me all about it, right?”
“Nah, I wouldn’t claim that I could do that. That’s somethin’ you’re gonna have to learn yourself, son.”
Now *this* is my kind of TV movie: simple, well-acted, and filled with life lessons. AMBER WAVES is proof that you don’t need a massive budget to make a meaningful film. Kurt Russell stars as an unemployed male model who finds real purpose with a Kansas wheat harvester. The latter is played by Dennis Weaver, known to most of us classic TV fans as Chester…
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Enjoyable film about wheat farming (words I thought I'd never write).
It works because the themes are strong and the dialogue is well written and punchy (and hey, it's a feel good TV movie from the 80's). It helps that the score is surprisingly good making those scenes of the combine harvesters going back and forth seem rather heroic.
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Honestly not bad at all, but even though I know it's TV movie I would've loved to have more, it just cut off so quick. Other than that it was a sweet little movie :)
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Everything is competently done - nothing flash just solid in all its aspects.
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We don't make a big enough deal out of all of Kurt Russell's impressions, from Elvis to Eastwood to Stallone, but his Ray Bolger might be his most undersung of all.