Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a 1973 American drama film directed by Hall Bartlett, adapted from the 1970 novella of the same name by Richard Bach. The film tells the story of a young seabird who, after being cast out by his stern flock, goes on an odyssey to discover how to break the limits of his own flying speed. The film was produced by filming actual seagulls, then superimposing human dialogue over it. The film's voice actors included James Franciscus in the title role, and Philip Ahn as his mentor, Chang.
Whereas the original novella was a commercial success, the film version was poorly received by critics, though it was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. The soundtrack album, written and recorded by Neil Diamond, was a critical and commercial success, earning Diamond a Grammy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Plot
As the film begins, Jonathan Livingston Seagull is soaring through the sky hoping to travel at a speed more than 60 miles per hour (100 km/h). Eventually, with luck he is able to break that barrier, but when Jonathan returns to his own flock he is greeted with anything but applause. The Elders of the flock shame Jonathan for doing things the other seagulls never dare to do. Jonathan pleads to stay and claims that he wants to share his newfound discovery with everybody, but the Elders dismiss him as an outcast, and he is banished from the flock. Jonathan goes off on his own, believing that all hope is lost. However, he is soon greeted by mysterious seagulls from other lands who assure him that his talent is a unique one, and with them Jonathan is trained to become independent and proud of his beliefs. Eventually, Jonathan himself ends up becoming a mentor for other seagulls who are suffering the same fates in their own flocks as he once did.
Cast
James Franciscus as Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is bored with daily squabbles for food. Juliet Mills as Maureen, Jonathan's love interest. Hal Holbrook as The Elder, who banished Jonathan out of the seagull flock. Dorothy McGuire as Jonathan's mother. Richard Crenna as Jonathan's father. Philip Ahn as Chiang, Jonathan's mentor. Kelly Harmon as Kimmy David Ladd as Fletcher Lynd Seagull
Production
Director Hall Bartlett first read the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull in a San Fernando Valley barbershop when he impulsively decided to call the publisher, Macmillan, and then author Richard Bach, to buy the film rights. Bartlett suggested that the story needed to be told simply, without animation or actors, and acquired the property for $100,000 and fifty percent of the profits. He granted Bach final approval rights on the film and all advertising and merchandising "gimmickry.” During production, Bartlett declared, "I was born to make this movie."
Leslie Parrish was hired by Bartlett to be the film's Associate Producer. She played a role in hiring cinematographer Jack Couffer (who was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work) as well as aerial cameraman Jim Freeman. Parrish also chose several of the film's locations, and she helped to take care of the film's seagulls, many of whom were corralled in a suite at a local Holiday Inn in Carmel, CA. However, Bartlett ultimately demoted Parrish's credit from Associate Producer to "Researcher".
Lawsuits
The film was the subject of three lawsuits that were filed around the time of the film's release. Author Richard Bach sued Paramount Pictures before the film's release for having too many discrepancies between the film and Bach's adapted screenplay. Director Bartlett had allegedly violated a term in his contract with Bach which stated that no changes could be made to the film's adaptation without Bach's approval. Associate Producer Leslie Parrish was appointed to be a mediator between Bach and Bartlett, but the mediation failed. Bach eventually had his name removed from the screenwriting credits.
The judge ordered the studio to make some re-edits before it was released. Bach's attorney claimed, "It took tremendous courage to say this motion picture had to come out of theaters unless it was changed. Paramount was stunned."
Neil Diamond sued Bartlett for cutting much of his music from the film. Diamond was also upset when music composer Lee Holdridge wanted to share credit with him. Bartlett was ordered to reinstate the five minutes of Diamond's music score and three of his songs, "Anthem", "Prologue" and "Dear Father", and that the onscreen credits were to state "Music and songs by Neil Diamond", "Background score composed and adapted by Neil Diamond and Lee Holdridge" and "Music supervision by Tom Catalano".