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The Pursuit of Happiness

1971 · 93 min

A restless, low-key study of a young man drifting through guilt and rebellion, more reflective than suspenseful.

Directed by
Robert Mulligan
Genres
Drama
Starring
Michael Sarrazin, Barbara Hershey, Arthur Hill
Overview
William Popper is the son of a stockbroker and is thoroughly disenchanted with "the system." So much so that even though he can prove that he ran over a woman in his car entirely by accident, he accepts a sentence for manslaughter.

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Rent or buy in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
  • Rakuten TV
  • Amazon Video
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Robert Mulligan
Genres
Drama
Starring
Michael Sarrazin, Barbara Hershey, Arthur Hill
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
  • earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • guilt
  • isolation
  • rebellion
  • justice
  • family
Places
  • big city
  • prison
  • single country house
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror1
Humour3
Realism8
Romance3
Tension5
Darkness6
Complexity6
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Rakuten TV
  • Amazon Video
  • Sky Store
  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama
Directed by
Robert Mulligan
Written by
George L. Sherman, Jon Boothe
Starring
Michael Sarrazin, Barbara Hershey, Arthur Hill, Ruth White, E.G. Marshall, Robert Klein, Sada Thompson, David Doyle
Music
Dave Grusin
Cinematography
Richard C. Kratina
Runtime
93 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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