Homicide (1991 film)

Last updated
Homicide
Homicideposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by David Mamet
Written byDavid Mamet
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Roger Deakins
Edited byBarbara Tulliver
Music by Alaric Jans
Production
companies
  • Edward R. Pressman Film Corporation
  • Cinehaus Inc.
Distributed by Triumph Films
Release date
  • October 9, 1991 (1991-10-09)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$11 million [1]
Box office$2.9 million [2]

Homicide is a 1991 American crime drama film written and directed by David Mamet. The film's cast includes Joe Mantegna, William H. Macy, and Ving Rhames. It was entered in the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. [3]

Contents

Plot

Bobby Gold is a homicide detective on the trail of Robert Randolph, a drug-dealer and cop-killer on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. En route to nab an accomplice of Randolph, Gold and his partner Tim Sullivan happen upon a murder scene: the elderly Jewish owner of a candy store in a ghetto has been gunned down, reportedly for a fortune hidden in her basement. The deceased woman's son, a doctor, uses his clout to have Gold assigned to the case in the belief that Gold, himself Jewish, might be empathetic to his plight. Gold, however, seems to disregard his ethnicity and is irritated about being pulled off a much higher-profile case. Ultimately, though, this is offset by interactions with members of the Jewish community that play on Gold's feelings of inadequacy and inability to fit in.

A nighttime survey of the crime scene uncovers an important piece of the woman's past, and Gold's reluctance turns to curiosity, leading to the discovery of a Zionist organization operating in the city. The apparent power and sense of pride these people have is appealing to Gold, and he attempts to become a part of their group. Gold is thrust into a series of circumstances that test not only his loyalty to the badge, but also his newfound Jewish consciousness.

Gold finds the old woman at one time was running guns for a Jewish liberation group. The group is attempting to protect their people from threats within the community. When asked to steal a list of group member names from police evidence to protect the group, Gold objects and is rejected by the Jewish group leaders for denying his faith.

Asking the help of a Jewish woman in the group, Gold is led to a toy shop in the city that is a secret stronghold of Nazi sympathizers, filled with anti-Jewish propaganda - proving the Jewish group's fears of danger and antisemitism were true. Gold erupts in anger, setting off the bomb given to him by the woman, destroying the stronghold/toy shop.

He is again approached by the Jewish group to retrieve the list from police evidence. When he refuses, the group shows him photographs of his acts at the toy shop, attempting to blackmail him into assisting.

During a raid to apprehend Randolph, where Gold is late to arrive due to the meeting with the Jewish group, Sullivan dies in Gold's arms, killed by gunshot. Gold, filled with rage, charges through the building and loses his gun. He wraps a rusty chain around his arm and catches up to Randolph who is attempting to escape through the basement. Randolph shoots him and talks through his last moments. Gold informs him that it was Randolph's mother that turned him in, earning him another gunshot to the arm. Gold gives him a phony passport arranged by his mother, as a police officer turns the corner and shoots Randolph in the chest, killing him.

Gold returns to the precinct to apologetic words from his fellow police officers. He comes to find the old woman was killed by a pair of young black kids, attempting to get the “fortune” hidden in her basement.

Cast

Reception

As of January 2023, the film holds an approval rating of 88% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Guided by David Mamet's searing dialogue and assured direction, Homicide tells its morally complex story with an immersive mood and a crackling zeal." [4] Roger Ebert praised it, giving it four out of four stars. [5]

Home media

The film was released on VHS in 1992 by Columbia TriStar Home Video and on DVD on October 13, 2003 by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. [6]

On September 8, 2009, the film was given a DVD release by The Criterion Collection. [7] This director-approved release included an audio commentary with Mamet and Macy, as well as cast interviews and a gag reel.

Related Research Articles

<i>Baby Boy</i> (film) 2001 film directed by John Singleton

Baby Boy is a 2001 American coming-of-age hood drama film directed, written, and produced by John Singleton and starring Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg, Ving Rhames, Omar Gooding, A.J. Johnson and Taraji P. Henson. The film follows Joseph "Jody" Summers (Gibson), a 20-year-old bike mechanic as he lives and learns in his everyday life in the hood of Los Angeles.

<i>Entrapment</i> (film) 1999 film by Jon Amiel

Entrapment is a 1999 caper film directed by Jon Amiel and written by Ronald Bass. It stars Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones and includes Will Patton, Ving Rhames and Maury Chaykin. The film focuses on the relationship between investigator Virginia "Gin" Baker and professional thief Robert "Mac" MacDougal as they attempt a heist at the turn of the New Millennium. Simon West and Antoine Fuqua were both in talks to direct before Amiel was hired. The film was released theatrically in the United States on 30 April 1999 and in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Mantegna</span> American actor (born 1947)

Joseph Anthony Mantegna is an American actor. He has starred in the CBS television series Criminal Minds since 2007 as FBI Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi. He has voiced the recurring role of mob boss Fat Tony on the animated series The Simpsons, beginning with the 1991 episode "Bart the Murderer", as well as The Simpsons Movie (2007).

<i>Kiss of Death</i> (1995 film) 1995 film by Barbet Schroeder

Kiss of Death is a 1995 American crime thriller film directed and produced by Barbet Schroeder, and starring David Caruso, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicolas Cage, Helen Hunt, Ving Rhames and Stanley Tucci.

<i>Woman in the Dunes</i> 1964 Japanese film by Hiroshi Teshigahara

Woman in the Dunes or Woman of the Dunes is a 1964 Japanese New Wave avant-garde psychological thriller and drama film directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara, starring Eiji Okada as an entomologist searching for insects and Kyōko Kishida as the titular woman. It received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for two Academy Awards. The screenplay for the film was adapted by Kōbō Abe from his 1962 novel. The movie is now considered to be Teshigahara's masterpiece, one of the best movies of 1964, of the 1960s and of the 20th century, as well as one of the best and greatest Japanese movies of all time.

<i>The Spanish Prisoner</i> 1997 film by David Mamet

The Spanish Prisoner is a 1997 American neo-noir suspense film, written and directed by David Mamet and starring Campbell Scott, Steve Martin, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ben Gazzara, Felicity Huffman and Ricky Jay. It tells a story of corporate espionage conducted through an elaborate confidence game.

<i>Oleanna</i> (play) Play written by David Mamet

Oleanna is a 1992 two-character play by David Mamet, about the power struggle between a university professor and one of his female students, who accuses him of sexual harassment and, by doing so, spoils his chances of being accorded tenure. The play's title, taken from a folk song, refers to a 19th-century escapist vision of utopia. Mamet adapted his play into a 1994 film of the same name.

<i>House of Games</i> 1987 American neo-noir heist-thriller film by David Mamet

House of Games is a 1987 American neo-noir heist thriller film directed by David Mamet, his directorial debut. He also wrote the screenplay, based on a story he co-wrote with Jonathan Katz. The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, and J. T. Walsh.

<i>Sins of the Father</i> (2002 film) 2002 American TV series or program

Sins of the Father is a 2002 American crime drama television film directed by Robert Dornhelm and written by John Pielmeier. It is based on an article by Pamela Colloff published in the April 2000 issue of Texas Monthly, chronicling the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, in which four young African-American girls were killed while attending Sunday school. The victims were Addie Mae Collins, 14 yrs old; Denise McNair, 11 yrs old; Carole Robertson, 14 yrs old; and Cynthia Welsley, 14 yrs old. It was believed that there were 5 girls together in the church basement on that fateful day, but only one survived: young Sarah Collins, Addie Mae's younger sister. The bombing was racially motivated and carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan. The film was first aired on January 6, 2002 on FX.

<i>Patty Hearst</i> (film) 1988 biographical film directed by Paul Schrader

Patty Hearst is a 1988 American biographical film crime drama directed by Paul Schrader and stars Natasha Richardson as Hearst Corporation heiress Patricia Hearst and Ving Rhames as Symbionese Liberation Army leader Cinque. It is based on Hearst's 1982 autobiography Every Secret Thing, which was later rereleased as Patty Hearst – Her Own Story.

<i>The Comfort of Strangers</i> (film) 1990 Italian film

The Comfort of Strangers is a 1990 psychological thriller film directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett, Natasha Richardson, and Helen Mirren. The screenplay by Harold Pinter was adapted from the 1981 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan.

<i>Things Change</i> (film) 1988 American drama film by David Mamet

Things Change is a 1988 American comedy-drama film directed by David Mamet and starring Joe Mantegna and Don Ameche. It was co-written by Mamet and Shel Silverstein.

<i>Monsieur Klein</i> 1976 French film

Monsieur Klein is a 1976 mystery drama film directed by Joseph Losey, produced by and starring Alain Delon in the title role. Set in Vichy France, the Kafkaesque narrative follows an apparently Gentile Parisian art dealer who is seemingly mistaken for a Jewish man of the same name and targeted in the Holocaust, unable to prove his identity.

<i>Edmond</i> (film) 2005 American drama film

Edmond is a 2005 American thriller film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring William H. Macy, based on the 1982 play Edmond by David Mamet. Mamet also wrote the screenplay for the film. Edmond features Julia Stiles, Rebecca Pidgeon, Denise Richards, Mena Suvari, Joe Mantegna, Bai Ling, Jeffrey Combs, Dylan Walsh and George Wendt in supporting roles. It was screened at several film festivals from September 2005 to May 2006, and had a limited release on July 14, 2006.

<i>The Tin Drum</i> (film) 1979 film by Volker Schlöndorff

The Tin Drum is a 1979 film adaptation of Günter Grass' novel of the same title, directed by Volker Schlöndorff from a screenplay co-written with Jean-Claude Carrière and Franz Seitz. It stars Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler, Katharina Thalbach, Daniel Olbrychski, and Charles Aznavour, with David Bennent in the lead role of Oskar Matzerath, a young boy who willfully arrests his own physical development and remains in the body of a child even as he enters adulthood.

<i>Focus</i> (2001 film) 2001 American drama film by Neal Slavin

Focus is a 2001 American drama film starring William H. Macy, Laura Dern, David Paymer and Meat Loaf based on a 1945 novel by playwright Arthur Miller. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was given a limited release on October 19, 2001.

<i>Lakeboat</i> (film) 2000 Canadian film

Lakeboat is a 2000 American drama film, adapted by David Mamet from his 1970 play of the same name, directed by Joe Mantegna and starring Charles Durning, Peter Falk, Denis Leary and Andy García.

<i>Oleanna</i> (film) 1994 film

Oleanna is a 1994 drama film written and directed by David Mamet based on his 1992 play and starring William H. Macy and Debra Eisenstadt. The plot concerns a contentious meeting between a student and a college professor. Macy reprised his role from the original stage production. The film was nominated for a Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.

The River Murders is a 2011 American psychological crime drama film directed by Rich Cowan and starring Ray Liotta, Ving Rhames, and Christian Slater.

<i>Jamesy Boy</i> 2014 American film

Jamesy Boy is a 2014 American biographical crime drama film directed by Trevor White and written by White and Lane Shadgett. The film stars Spencer Lofranco, Mary-Louise Parker, Taissa Farmiga, Ving Rhames, and James Woods. It tells the true story of ex-convict James Burns. The film was released in North America on January 3, 2014 through video on demand, and in a limited release on January 17, 2014 by Phase 4 Films.

References

  1. "Fox Pushing 'Hard' Bow Back 2 Weeks". Daily Variety . May 14, 1990. p. 1.
  2. "Homicide". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  3. "Festival de Cannes: Homicide". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-04. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  4. "Homicide". Rotten Tomatoes .
  5. Ebert, Roger (October 18, 1991). "Homicide". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  6. "Homicide - Releases". AllMovie . Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  7. "Homicide (1991)". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved May 12, 2023.