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children can keep the place, but not before the
Lipnickis throw the key onto the rotted roof of the water-tower, saying that if Stu wants it, he can get it back himself. Stephen is later taken off life-support, and dies. When the kids flee from home to the treehouse, they discover that the Lipnickis have returned. In the fight that erupts between them, the treehouse is destroyed. Meanwhile, Billy Lipnicki protests against all the fighting, asking why they cannot share the fort, but is ignored. He takes it on himself to go to the water tower to retrieve the key, but the roof caves in just as Stu and the others find him, and he almost drowns in the water tower. Stu rescues and resuscitates him together with Lidia, and Billy tells them he saw an angel, one who "looked like only bigger," (implied to be Stephen) who said that he had to stay on Earth and take care of his daddy.
298:- Stu, Chet and Marsh - want it all to themselves, while the girls - Lidia, Elvadine and Amber - want them to work on it and share it afterwards. After several deals, they agree to build the house together. The girls get everything they need from a garbage dump being squatted on by the Lipnickis, a neighboring family with a reputation for bullying, who have a grudge against the Simmons and their friends. Billy, the youngest of the Lipnicki kids, discovers Lidia, Elvadine and Amber at the dump, so the girls must pay him to keep quiet. With his earnings, he purchases many popsicles and goes into a candy coma, which then bring suspicion and anger from his family. He is then forced to give away Lidia's secret.
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again within a few days because of a law forbidding people who spent time in a mental hospital to work within the vicinity of children. However, the
Simmons family needs money, so Stephen continues looking for work, and finds a job picking potatoes. There he makes friends with a man called Moe Henry, with whose help he succeeds in obtaining a better job working in a mine.
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While the children are busy building the house, Stephen and Moe are caught in a collapse as they drain water out of a cavern. Moe is caught under falling rubble, but
Stephen, who in Vietnam had to leave his best friend to die in order to be rescued himself, is determined to save him, even if it costs
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Meanwhile, Stephen's children, twins Lidia and Stu, try to escape from the dreary reality of their lives. They find a tree in a forest close to their house and decide to build a tree house. At first, they and their friends argue over who must construct it and who is allowed to use it; the three boys
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Stephen
Simmons returns from a mental hospital. He entered it voluntarily because he was suffering from nightmares about the war and had in consequence lost three jobs in a row. After having been treated and coming home again, he gets a new job as custodial engineer at a grammar school, but loses it
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gave the film a C+, but gave commendations to
Costner, writing, "He's nicely weighted (figuratively and literally, with an attractive hint of middle-aged bulk — hey, the guy looks great). And in a plot heavy with sentimentality, he maintains a light touch." Schwarzbaum also gave praise to Wood, but
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From that time on the
Lipnickis stop fighting with the others and stay out of their way, except for Billy, who becomes a good friend to them. The twins and their friends start to rebuild the treehouse, but give up days later due to lack of interest. Also, they learn that their father bought them a
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praised
Costner and Wood's performances, saying the father-son bond was the film's strongest element. However, Maslin felt that the film "contends with too many minor plot threads and a too-wrenching switch of gears late in the story. As written atmospherically but sometimes preachily by Kathy
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While Stu and Lidia fear for
Simmons's life, the Lipnickis find the treehouse and take it over, stealing the lock and key, which belonged to Stephen. However, they agree to return them if Stu can win a bet - swimming a lap around the inside of a water-tower while it drains - which he does. The
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gave the film two stars out of four, criticizing the fusion of war trauma and intimate family drama. However, he did praise Wood, saying "Elijah Wood has emerged, I believe, as the most talented actor in his age group, in
Hollywood history."
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Wood earned praise for his role, as did
Costner, but the film itself received mostly negative reviews from critics who criticized the script and Avnet's directing. It currently holds a 25% rating on
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him his own life. He frees Moe, but is hit by falling rocks himself, and though the two men are both rescued, Stephen is badly hurt and comatose, being put on life-support in the hospital.
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in the 1970s. Despite a weak box-office opening and negative reviews, the film gained praise from critics for Wood’s performance.
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in the category of Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Drama Film while Lexi Randall was nominated for a
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by Kathy McWorter. Kevin Costner joined the film in June 1993. Principal photography wrapped in April 1994.
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complained that Avnet and screenwriter Kathy McWorter were too-heavy-handed in their storytelling choices.
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called the film "earnest but over-cooked", criticizing its use of the Vietnam War as "heavy-handed".
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McWorter, it incorporates a wider array of lessons than it can comfortably handle." Brian Lowry of
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in the category of Best Performance by a Young Actress Co-Starring in a Motion Picture.
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This article is about the 1994 drama. For the 2007 World War II documentary, see
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new house before he died and are happy to have a proper home again at last.
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661:"FILM REVIEW; Family Values and Love in Vietnam Aftermath"
774:"Sixteenth Annual Youth in Film Awards (1993-1994)"
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388:The film was purchased in February 1993 by
1044:Films about post-traumatic stress disorder
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746:"YoungStar Awards to honor young actors"
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346:Christopher Fennell as Billy Lipnicki
1049:Films about father–son relationships
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1059:American coming-of-age drama films
1014:Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state)
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349:Donald Sellers as Arliss Lipnicki
678:Lowry, Brian (26 October 1994).
463:Elijah Wood was nominated for a
392:who paid $ 500,000 cash for the
989:1990s coming-of-age drama films
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364:Jennifer Tyler as Ula Lipnicki
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1029:Films scored by Thomas Newman
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1019:Films shot in South Carolina
994:1990s English-language films
516:"'War' breaks out at island"
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999:Films directed by Jon Avnet
645:– via RogerEbert.com.
358:Bruce A. Young as Moe Henry
343:LaToya Chisholm as Elvadine
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361:Brennan Gallagher as Marsh
355:Will West as Lester Lucket
352:Leon Sills as Leo Lipnicki
188:November 4, 1994
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705:"Movie Review: 'The War'"
379:Charlette Julius as Amber
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164:Avnet/Kerner Productions
908:Up Close & Personal
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1009:Films set in the 1970s
778:YoungArtistAwards.org
408:based on 16 reviews.
1064:1990s American films
1054:Films about siblings
1039:Films about veterans
892:Fried Green Tomatoes
710:Entertainment Weekly
703:(November 4, 1994).
628:(November 4, 1994).
445:Entertainment Weekly
29:The War (miniseries)
948:Have a Little Faith
659:(4 November 1994).
251:is a 1994 American
18:The War (1994 film)
870:Films directed by
784:on August 20, 2010
665:The New York Times
524:. February 8, 1993
469:Young Artist Award
459:Awards nominations
428:The New York Times
374:Christine Baranski
338:Lexi Faith Randall
328:as Stephen Simmons
174:Universal Pictures
34:1994 American film
984:Vietnam War films
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884:Between Two Women
701:Schwarzbaum, Lisa
635:Chicago Sun-Times
415:Chicago Sun-Times
400:Critical response
376:as Miss Strapford
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137:Debra Neil-Fisher
16:(Redirected from
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580:. April 19, 1994
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489:"The War (1994)"
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370:as Ebb Lipnicki
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801:External links
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552:. June 9, 1993
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572:"Short Takes"
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288:Shell-shocked
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782:the original
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626:Ebert, Roger
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423:Janet Maslin
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390:Island World
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275:tale set in
255:directed by
247:
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240:$ 16 million
232:$ 34 million
204:Running time
181:Release date
161:Island World
115:Lexi Randall
410:Roger Ebert
394:spec script
368:Lucas Black
320:Elijah Wood
277:Mississippi
261:Elijah Wood
208:126 minutes
100:Elijah Wood
85:Eric Eisner
75:Produced by
57:Directed by
979:1994 films
973:Categories
932:88 Minutes
916:Red Corner
642:2006-10-29
638:. Suntimes
611:2021-07-06
384:Production
271:. It is a
253:drama film
237:Box office
192:1994-11-04
153:Production
88:Todd Baker
67:Written by
872:Jon Avnet
726:"The War"
680:"The War"
630:"The War"
257:Jon Avnet
155:companies
134:Edited by
78:Jon Avnet
61:Jon Avnet
924:Uprising
788:July 24,
758:July 24,
584:July 20,
556:July 20,
528:July 20,
221:Language
142:Music by
93:Starring
900:The War
830:The War
819:The War
808:The War
684:Variety
577:Variety
549:Variety
521:Variety
435:Variety
412:of the
248:The War
224:English
213:Country
190: (
40:The War
959:(2017)
951:(2011)
943:(2008)
935:(2007)
927:(2001)
919:(1997)
911:(1996)
903:(1994)
895:(1991)
887:(1986)
731:Empire
500:8 July
452:Empire
267:, and
229:Budget
475:Notes
813:IMDb
790:2022
760:2022
586:2021
558:2021
530:2021
502:2024
314:Cast
283:Plot
833:at
822:at
811:at
751:UPI
442:of
425:of
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