''Ice Castles'' is a 1978 American

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by Donald Wrye and starring Lynn-Holly Johnson and

Robby Benson Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956) is an American actor, director, and musician. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the films ''Ode to Billy Joe (film), Ode to Billy Joe'' (1976), ''One on ...

. It is the story of Lexie Winston, a young figure skater, and her rise and fall from super stardom. Tragedy strikes when, following a freak accident, Lexie loses her

sight Visual perception is the ability to detect light and use it to form an image of the surrounding Biophysical environment, environment. Photodetection without image formation is classified as ''light sensing''. In most vertebrates, visual percept ...

, leaving her to hide away in the privacy of her own despair. She eventually perseveres and begins competing in figure skating again. The work was filmed on location in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Its theme song " Through the Eyes of Love", performed by

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

, was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

at the 52nd Academy Awards. A

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

, also directed by Wrye, was released direct to video in 2010.

Plot

Alexis "Lexie" Winston is a sixteen-year-old girl from Waverly,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, who dreams of becoming a champion figure skater. Her boyfriend, Nick Peterson, dreams of being a hockey player. Coached by a family friend and former skater Beulah Smith, Lexie enters a regional championship over her father's protests. There she is discovered by an elite coach Deborah Mackland, who sees her potential despite her lack of training and her relatively advanced age. Over her father Marcus Winston's objections, Lexie moves from Waverly to Colorado Springs to train at the legendary

Broadmoor World Arena The Broadmoor World Arena was a ice skating, skating rink and ice hockey, hockey arena located at The Broadmoor Resort & Spa in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Originally an outdoor equestrian center and riding academy, the building was enclosed and ...

. She becomes unpopular among her fellow trainees because of the attention lavished on her natural talent and the publicity she receives. Lexie qualifies for the senior championship level, her life changing drastically in the process. She becomes a star, alienates Nick, and begins dating a grown man, television broadcaster Brian Dockett. Becoming uncomfortable with the direction her life is taking, she leaves a sponsorship party and heads to a nearby outdoor skating rink. Deborah and the partygoers watch through the windows as she skates. She attempts a difficult triple jump but lands off the ice onto a set of tables and chairs chained together near the edge of the rink. Lexie suffers a serious head injury, a blood clot in her brain robbing her of her eyesight and leaving her able to see only light and blurry shapes. The doctor is uncertain if her injury will be permanent. Lexie returns home and becomes a recluse. Nick, who still resents her affair with Brian, demands that she get out of the house and back onto the ice. Despite their mutual resentment and Lexie's depression, they work through their estrangement and rediscover their love for each other. With help from Nick, Marcus, and Beulah, Lexie begins to believe she can still fulfill her dreams. Though virtually blind, she can still see the boards at the edge of the rink, and so learns how to compensate for her disability. She enrolls in the sectional championship and presents a flawless program that provokes a standing ovation from the audience. Her disability, however, is revealed when she trips over roses thrown onto the ice by adoring fans. Nick rushes to her side and says, "We forgot about the flowers," as the crowd realizes that Lexie has not recovered from her injuries but rather risen above them.

Cast

* Lynn-Holly Johnson as Alexis "Lexie" Winston *

as Nick Peterson * Colleen Dewhurst as Beulah Smith * Tom Skerritt as Marcus Winston * Jennifer Warren as Deborah Mackland * David Huffman as Brian Dockett * Sydney Blake as Sandy * Craig T. McMullen as Doctor * Kelsey Ufford as Ceciel Monchet * Leonard Lilyholm as Hockey Coach * Brian Foley as Choreographer * John-Claude Bleuze as French Coach * Theresa Willmus as Annette Brashlout * Diana Holden as X-Ray Technician * Michelle McLean as Skater * Carol Williams as Television Producer

Reception

The 1978 film "Ice Castles" earned approximately $18 million at the worldwide box office. It also holds the distinction of being a top-performing film from 1978, ranking among the top movies released that year. The film holds a 44% "Rotten" rating on aggregate review site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 9 reviews, with an average score of 5.3/10. A movie reviewer for '' Variety'' wrote, "''Ice Castles'' combines a touching love story with the excitement and intense pressure of Olympic competition skating" and praised the performances of Colleen Dewhurst and Tom Skerritt.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

disliked the sentimentality of the movie, writing: Reviewer Austin Kennedy also gave a lukewarm review, though praised the acting as "the better part of this movie. Real life skater Lynn-Holly Johnson is charming and does a fine job as the innocent starlet."

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

called the film a "schmaltzy classic skating movie for romantics."

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

, in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', complained that she found the movie "amazingly hard to follow", "confusing", and "baffling"; she writes, "Wrye's bungling renders the story sob-proof."

Accolades

Remake

Director Donald Wrye remade ''Ice Castles'' in 2009. The namesake film, starring Taylor Firth and Rob Mayes, was released as a direct-to-DVD title on February 9, 2010, shortly before the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1978 films 1978 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Columbia Pictures films Figure skating films Films about Olympic figure skating Films about the Winter Olympics Films scored by Marvin Hamlisch Films about blind people in the United States Films about father–daughter relationships Films about women's sports Films directed by Donald Wrye Films set in Colorado Films set in Iowa Films shot in Colorado Films shot in Minnesota Films produced by John Kemeny 1970s English-language films 1970s American films 1978 directorial debut films English-language romantic drama films