March 25 at 8 pm | 4 Movies
Born in the Bronx in 1959, director, screenwriter and producer Nancy Savoca crafted some of the most endearing and vastly underrated films of the American independent cinema movement of the 1980s and 1990s. A hidden gem amongst the more well-known female filmmakers of the indie era such as Jane Campion and Amy Heckerling, it’s only in the past several years that Savoca seems to be finally getting her flowers, so to speak. The Criterion Collection recently released her second feature Dogfight (1991) on Blu-ray, delighting hardcore fans of the film who had wanted it included in the collection for years. An upgrade of True Love (1989) also arrived on home video in the past year thanks to Kino Lorber and a full-4K restoration of her classic Household Saints (1993) was revived in theaters across the country. And now, TCM honors the director with a night of programming on March 25 featuring two premieres on the network.
To those who have loved Savoca’s films since the beginning, they are often touching, nuanced portrayals of women who are shaped by the cultural and political forces surrounding them, a much-needed perspective inside of the world of traditionally male-dominant independent cinema. The daughter of Sicilian and Argentine immigrants to New York City, the subject matter of Savoca’s filmography seems to pull straight from her own life at times, from religion to cultural identity. However, it is the interpersonal relationships between characters that truly make a Nancy Savoca film, thanks to her uncanny ability to drill down into the intimate moments between people, be it in love or in family. Mixing humor and pathos, Savoca always creates a world that is deeply relatable and equally resonant.
Savoca’s love for film began early when she attended film school at the prestigious New York University Tisch School for the Arts, creating several short films during her time there and even winning the Haig P. Manoogian Award for Overall Excellence from the university. Soon after, Savoca began to work on-set, alongside directors whom many would consider indie cinema royalty, such as John Sayles (she worked on one of his best films, The Brother from Another Planet, 1984), and most notably, the late Jonathan Demme, who would eventually serve as Executive Producer on Household Saints. In fact, Savoca often credits Demme with serving as a mentor figure and “first boss.” She lent her young, budding talents to the Demme-directed classics Something Wild (1986) and Married to the Mob (1988).
Savoca and her long-time husband (the American film producer Richard Guay) eventually gathered the money to make her first feature film in 1988, the romantic comedy True Love. The movie is a touching and humanistic story focusing on Donna (Annabella Sciorra), a young woman preparing to marry her fiancé Michael (Ron Eldard) despite the constant swirl of influence from her tight-knit Italian American community. Adding to the turmoil is Donna’s fear about Michael’s immaturity and long-term potential, which are coupled with Michael’s own fears of staying committed to the marriage. The couple dances with their individual feelings of cold feet throughout the feature, culminating in an ending that is both surprising and unflinchingly honest. In film critic Roger Ebert’s review of the film when it was released, he likened Savoca’s filmmaking style on True Love to that of the legendary independent filmmaker John Cassavetes, noting that Savoca recreates “the feeling of improvisation and spontaneity…where the events seem to be happening while we watch them, and the camera seems to be present by a lucky chance.” True Love went on to win the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival that year, even beating out Steven Soderbergh’s sex, lies, and videotape (1989). Savoca was also nominated for Best Director at the Independent Spirit Awards in 1990 for the film.
Her next feature, Dogfight (1991), would eventually become one of her most beloved by fans. Written by screenwriter, producer and ex-Marine Bob Comfort, the film is a heartfelt coming-of-age drama set in 1960s San Francisco against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. The focus rests on Eddie Birdlace (River Phoenix), a young Marine, who, along with his fellow soldiers, participates in a cruel and immature "dogfight" contest where they compete to see who can bring the ugliest date to a party. Rose (Lili Taylor), a shy diner waitress/folk music fan, is initiated by Eddie, but over the course of the film slowly begins to surprise him with her depth and kindness. As they spend more time together, Eddie eventually develops genuine feelings for Rose and realizes the hurtful nature of the game and how it serves as a metaphor for the nature of war itself.
According to a 2024 interview with the Academy and Savoca about the film, Phoenix was on the hunt for his first “grown-up film” by the time Dogfight came around and found a kindred spirit in the director. Both in agreeance over the ways to treat the contest aspect of the film, they decided on a more thoughtful angle which didn’t give the viewer a real foothold to judge Eddie for his participation, going instead with the idea of how social dynamics and groupthink influence ultimately good people into doing unsavory things. Unsurprisingly, Phoenix gives Eddie a heartbreaking sensitivity throughout the film, as was his special talent during his all-too-brief acting career. Meanwhile, Taylor’s knack for getting the viewer to feel empathetic towards her movie characters is on full display, as she gives Rose a deep earnestness in the film. Rounding out the film was the folk music-tinged soundtrack that included Joan Baez and Bob Dylan and helped Dogfight place itself as a beautiful and emotional addition to the slate of movie releases that year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, the film did not do well at the box office, making a little under $400,000 in gross receipts. However, over recent years, the film has been rediscovered by a new generation of fans who appreciate its tender storytelling and love story between two unlikely individuals.
Savoca’s third feature, Household Saints (1993), is yet another female-fronted drama that spans three generations of working-class, Italian American women living in what may be the center of Italian life in New York City, Mulberry Street. Based on the novel by Francine Prose, the film describes the life of family matriarch Catherine (Tracey Ullman), a passionate woman longing to find her own spirit while also being married to traditionalist Joseph (Vincent D'Onofrio). Catherine simultaneously must navigate the ongoing relationship with Joseph’s staunchly old-world Italian mother, Carmela (Judith Malina), who essentially hates her. The film also focuses on Catherine's daughter, the devoutly Catholic Teresa (Lili Taylor), unusually pious for a young woman her age. She is obsessed with Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, serves penance by doing household work and is desperate to become a nun and a canonized saint despite her growing relationship with Leonard (a Coke-bottle-spectacled Michael Imperioli).
Through its rich character development and authentic portrayal of family dynamics, the film offers a tender and insightful look into the complexities of heritage, self-identity and the complexities of close bonds. Household Saints was classified as a “missing movie” for many years. It was eventually found by the non-profit organization Missing Movies, which strives to find out-of-circulation films, of which Savoca and her husband are on the Board of Directors. Recently restored in 4K by Milestone Films, Household Saints looks gorgeous and rich in its new iteration and will be a treat for both old and new fans of the movie.
Also included in the night’s lineup is a new documentary about the film, directed by Savoca’s daughter Martina Savoca-Guay. The Many Miracles of Household Saints (2024) is an insightful companion piece that includes on-set footage, vintage interviews with Lili Taylor and the film’s producer, Jonathan Demme, and newly recorded interviews with her father Richard Guay, source material author Francine Prose and Nancy Savoca herself. Daughter Martina was being carried in the womb by her mother Nancy as she was shooting Household Saints, giving this documentary an even more personal, endearing touch.
Savoca would continue her career throughout the years directing and writing for both film and television, gaining much attention for her work on the HBO anthology series “If These Walls Could Talk” (1996) starring Cher, Demi Moore and Sissy Spacek. She also directed the much-loved comedy/drama Union Square (2011) starring Mira Sorvino, Patti LuPone and Tammy Blanchard. Still married to Guay, the couple continues to work in both production and film heritage and preservation, championing Savoca’s back catalog as it is rolled out and rediscovered by a new batch of film fans across the world.
