One of The Hobbledehoy’s favorite films from the 1990’s was “Household Saints.” The Nancy Savoca film has just had a beautiful 4K restoration and we’re very much anticipating rewatching. Household Saints stars Tracey Ulman and 90’s Indie Queen Lili Taylor. There’s a memorable scene where Jesus Christ is preparing to do laundry. A Must see!
By Alex Billington
“Please keep me from giving birth to a chicken.” Kino Lorber has revealed a new trailer for a 4K restoration of this 1990s indie film called Household Saints, made by NYC-native filmmaker Nancy Savoca. This originally premiered at the 1993 Toronto Film Festival, and it screened again at this year’s New York Film Festival for its 30th anniversary. Adapted from Francine Prose’s novel of the same name, it’s an unsettling drama about three generations of Italian-American women struggling to get by in post-WWII New York’s Little Italy. Kino Lorber and Milestone Films are proud to present a new 4K restoration of Nancy Savoca’s Household Saints, featuring a cast inclduing Tracey Ullman, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lili Taylor, Judith Malina, and Michael Imperioli. The film has been digitally restored and remastered by Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts (Philadelphia) in collaboration with Milestone Films with support from Ron and Suzanne Naples. Described as a “a unique voice in 1990s NYC independent filmmaking” – have a look.
Based on Francine Prose’s fifth novel, Nancy Savoca’s comic chronicle of a spirited Italian-American New York family perfectly balances humor, tragedy, and pathos. D’Onofrio’s Joseph Santangelo is a butcher with a wicked sense of humor who ‘wins’ his wife Catherine (an uncharacteristically reserved Tracey Ullman) in a pinochle game. Together they experience the ups, downs, and wacky in-betweens of city life until teenage daughter Teresa slowly overtakes with her yearning to join a convent. Perfectly embodying a modern-day Bernadette, Lili Taylor imbues Teresa with a mix of dedicated innocence and naïveté. Exec produced by Jonathan Demme, with notable appearances by Michael Imperioli & Judith Malina among others, Household Saints announced a unique voice within 1990s New York City independent filmmaking.
Household Saints is directed by Bronx-native filmmaker Nancy Savoca, her third film at the time after True Love and Dogfight previously. The screenplay is written by Nancy Savoca and her husband Richard Guay, based on the novel of the same name written by Francine Prose. Produced by Richard Guay & Peter Newman, and executive produced by Jonathan Demme. This initially premiered at the 1993 Toronto Film Festival and Cinefest Sudbury Film Festival. The 4K restoration premiered at the 2023 New York Film Fest this fall. Kino Lorber will re-release Savoca’s Household Saints in theaters in New York on January 12th, 2024 at the IFC Center, then in Los Angeles on January 26th at American Cinematheque.