Meet Joe Black

Last updated

Meet Joe Black
Meet Joe Black- 1998.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Martin Brest
Screenplay by
Based onDeath Takes a Holiday
by Maxwell Anderson
Gladys Lehman
Death Takes a Holiday
by Walter Ferris
La morte in vacanza
by Alberto Casella
Produced byMartin Brest
Starring
Cinematography Emmanuel Lubezki
Edited by
Music by Thomas Newman
Production
company
City Light Films
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
Running time
181 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$90 million [1]
Box office$142.9 million [1]

Meet Joe Black is a 1998 American romantic fantasy drama film directed and produced by Martin Brest, starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani. Celebrating his 65th birthday, businessman and devoted family man Bill Parrish is visited by Death, who wants to know what it's like to be human in return for giving Bill extra days of his life. The screenplay was written by Bo Goldman, Kevin Wade, Ron Osborn, and Jeff Reno, and is loosely based on the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday , which is itself based on the 1929 play Death Takes a Holiday by Walter Ferris, which is in turn an English-language adaptation of the 1924 Italian play La morte in vacanza by Alberto Casella.

Contents

Plot

Media mogul Bill Parrish is contemplating a merger with another media giant. Meanwhile, his eldest daughter, Allison, is planning an elaborate 65th birthday party for him. His younger daughter Susan, a resident in internal medicine, has a relationship with Drew, a member of Bill's board. As Bill contemplates Susan's planned marriage to Drew and realizes that she is not deeply in love, he suggests that she wait to be swept off her feet.

After Bill's company helicopter lands at his office, he hears a voice that he tries to ignore. Arriving in his office, Bill has pains in his chest and hears the voice again, saying "yes".

While studying in a coffee shop near her hospital, Susan meets a young man and forms a connection. She departs without getting his name. Unbeknownst to her, directly afterward, he is struck fatally by multiple cars.

That evening, Bill hears the voice again that summons him to a room. Materializing, the voice identifies itself as "Death" and now inhabits the body of the young man Susan met at the coffee shop. Death explains that Bill's impassioned speech to his daughter piqued his interest. Given Bill's "competence, experience, and wisdom", Death says that for as long as Bill is his guide on Earth, Bill will not have to die. They both return to the dinner table and under pressure to make an introduction, Bill names the young man "Joe Black". Joe does not seem to know how to drink, eat, or use food and utensils.

Drew secretly conspires to sell Parrish Communications, despite Bill's strong objections. Capitalizing on Bill's strange behavior and reliance on Joe, he convinces the board of directors to vote Bill out as chairman and to approve the merger.

Intrigued by Joe's naivete, Susan realizes he is different from the young man she met in the coffee shop. She falls in love with him and he with her. Later, Bill sees them kissing.

Bill angrily confronts Joe about his relationship with Susan. He then suggests to Susan that Joe will not be around much longer. At Susan's hospital, Joe interacts with a terminally ill woman, who wishes to die to escape her constant physical pain. She realizes that Joe is part of her impending death. When Joe mentions that he loves Susan (whose care she is under), they discuss the meaning of life and she tells him the danger of meshing two worlds. When Joe asks if she is ready to go, she nods her head and dies.

As Bill's birthday arrives, Joe declares his intention to take Susan with him. Bill pleads with Joe to recognize the meaning of true love and to not steal Susan's life.

At the party, knowing his death is imminent, Bill says goodbye to his daughters. Susan tells Joe she has loved him since the day in the coffee shop. Joe decides to allow her to live.

Quince apologizes to Bill for unwittingly undermining Bill's position, and Bill forgives him. Joe helps Bill regain control of his company, exposing Drew's underhanded business dealings to the board by claiming to be an agent of the Internal Revenue Service and threatening to put Drew in jail.

Susan and Bill later say goodbye. Fireworks begin, and on a hilltop above the party, Joe waits with tears in his eyes. Bill heads up to him, and they share their thoughts. Susan watches Joe and Bill cross a nearby bridge and descend out of sight on the other side. Joe reappears alone. He is again the young man from the coffee shop, uninjured and not comprehending where he is. Susan descends hand-in-hand with the young man toward the party with the fireworks bursting all around them.

Cast

Production

Filming

Most of William Parrish's country mansion scenes were shot at the Aldrich Mansion in Rhode Island.

The penthouse interiors and Parrish Communications offices were sets built at the 14th Regiment Armory in the South Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. [2]

The coffee shop where Susan meets the young man is Broadway Restaurant, at 2664 Broadway and West 101st Street in New York's Manhattan. Principal photography commenced on 11 June 1997 and concluded on 12 November 1997. [3] The restaurant closed permanently in June 2023. [4]

Versions

A two-hour version was made to show on television and airline flights, by cutting most of the plotline involving Bill Parrish's business. Since Director Martin Brest derided this edit of his film and disowned it, the director's credit on this release used Hollywood pseudonym Alan Smithee. [5]

Release

The film premiered as the closing night film of the Tokyo International Film Festival on 8 November 1998. [6]

Reception

Box office

Meet Joe Black opened in the United States and Canada on the weekend of 13–15 November 1998, and had a weekend gross of $15,017,995 ranking #3, behind The Waterboy 's second weekend and the opening of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer . [7]

While the film had a disappointing box office gross in the United States and Canada of $44,619,100, it fared much better internationally. Taking in an additional $98,321,000, the movie grossed a worldwide total of $142,940,100. [1]

As Meet Joe Black was one of the few films showing the first trailer for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace , it was reported that Star Wars fans bought tickets just to see the trailer and then left right after it finished playing. [8]

Critical response

Meet Joe Black received mixed reviews from critics, with most complimenting the performances but criticizing the film's three-hour length, the slow pacing, and the screenplay. [9] Roger Ebert gave it three stars, but disliked the peripheral storylines and overly drawn-out ending. He concluded that despite its flaws, "there's so much that's fine in this movie". [10] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that most of the characters were one-dimensional. [11] Hopkins received uniform praise for his performance, with Travers opining that Hopkins' Bill Parrish was the only fully realized character in the film; Mick LaSalle wrote that "Hopkins' acting is so emotionally full that the tiniest moments...ring with complexities of thought and feeling." [12] Pitt, on the other hand, received a mixed response, with LaSalle calling his performance so bad "it hurts" [12] and James Berardinelli calling it "execrable". [9] Thomas Newman's score received critical acclaim; it is generally considered one of his best works. [13] [14]

Meet Joe Black earned a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Remake or Sequel, [15] being a takeoff from the film Death Takes a Holiday .

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 46% approval rating on 52 reviews, with an average score of 5.60/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Meet Joe Black is pretty to look at and benefits from an agreeable cast, but that isn't enough to offset this dawdling drama's punishing three-hour runtime." [16] On Metacritic, the film received a 43% score on 24 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [17] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore graded the film "A−" on a scale of A to F. [18] [19]

In retrospect, Pitt was critical of his performance on the film: "That was the pinnacle of my…loss of direction and compass." [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Pitt</span> American actor (born 1963)

William Bradley Pitt is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. One of the most influential celebrities, Pitt appeared on Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 list from 2006 to 2008, and the Time 100 list in 2007.

<i>Room at the Top</i> (1959 film) 1959 film by Jack Clayton

Room at the Top is a 1959 British drama film based on the 1957 novel by John Braine. It was adapted by Neil Paterson, directed by Jack Clayton, and produced by John and James Woolf. The film stars Laurence Harvey, Simone Signoret, Heather Sears, Donald Wolfit, Donald Houston, and Hermione Baddeley.

<i>Youve Got Mail</i> 1998 film by Nora Ephron

You've Got Mail is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron, and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan alongside Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, Dave Chappelle, Steve Zahn, and Greg Kinnear. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklós László, the screenplay was co-written by Nora and Delia Ephron. It tells the story of two people in an online romance who are unaware they are also business rivals. It marked the third pairing of Hanks and Ryan, who previously appeared together in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993), the latter directed by Ephron. The film takes its name from the greeting AOL users receive when they get a new email.

<i>Hud</i> (1963 film) American film directed by Martin Ritt

Hud is a 1963 American Western film starring Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Brandon deWilde, and Patricia Neal. Directed by Martin Ritt, it was produced by Ritt and Newman's recently founded company, Salem Productions, and was their first film for Paramount Pictures. Hud was filmed on location on the Texas Panhandle, including Claude, Texas. Its screenplay was by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. and was based on Larry McMurtry's 1961 novel, Horseman, Pass By. The film's title character, Hud Bannon, was a minor character in the original screenplay, but was reworked as the lead role. With its main character an antihero, Hud was later described as a revisionist Western.

<i>An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn</i> 1997 American mockumentary film

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn is a 1997 American mockumentary black comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller, written by Joe Eszterhas and starring Eric Idle as a director unfortunately named Alan Smithee, a traditional pseudonym used in Hollywood for directors disowning a project. The film follows Smithee as he steals the negatives to his latest film and goes on the run.

<i>Pleasantville</i> (film) 1998 film by Gary Ross

Pleasantville is a 1998 American teen fantasy comedy-drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Gary Ross. It stars Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, J. T. Walsh, and Reese Witherspoon, with Don Knotts, Paul Walker, Marley Shelton, and Jane Kaczmarek in supporting roles. The story centers on two siblings who wind up trapped in a 1950s TV show, set in a small Midwest town, where residents are seemingly perfect.

<i>Alfie</i> (2004 film) 2004 film by Charles Shyer

Alfie is a 2004 romantic comedy-drama film inspired by 1966 British film of the same name and its 1975 sequel, starring Jude Law as the title character, originally played by Michael Caine in the 1966 film and Alan Price in the 1975 sequel. The film was co-written, directed, and produced by Charles Shyer.

<i>Twilight Zone: The Movie</i> 1983 American science fiction horror anthology film

Twilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 American sci-fi horror anthology film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis. Based on Rod Serling's 1959–1964 television series of the same name, the film features four stories directed by Landis, Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller. Landis' segment is an original story created for the film, while the segments by Spielberg, Dante, and Miller are remakes of episodes from the original series. The film's cast includes Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Scatman Crothers, John Lithgow, Vic Morrow, and Kathleen Quinlan. Original series cast members Burgess Meredith, Patricia Barry, Peter Brocco, Murray Matheson, Kevin McCarthy, Bill Mumy, and William Schallert also appear in the film, with Meredith assuming Serling's role as narrator.

<i>Elizabethtown</i> (film) 2005 film by Cameron Crowe

Elizabethtown is a 2005 American romantic tragicomedy film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Its story follows a young shoe designer, Drew Baylor, who is fired from his job after costing his company an industry record of nearly one billion dollars. On the verge of suicide, Drew receives a call from his sister telling him that their father has died while visiting their former hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Deciding to postpone his suicide and bring their father's body back to Oregon, he then becomes involved in an unexpected romance with Claire Colburn, whom he meets near the start of his journey. Elizabethtown stars Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Alec Baldwin, and Susan Sarandon.

<i>Cookie</i> (film) 1989 film by Susan Seidelman

Cookie is a 1989 American crime comedy film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Peter Falk, Emily Lloyd, and Dianne Wiest, with Michael V. Gazzo, Brenda Vaccaro, Adrian Pasdar, and Jerry Lewis.

<i>The Young Girls of Rochefort</i> 1967 French film

The Young Girls of Rochefort is a 1967 French musical comedy film written and directed by Jacques Demy. The ensemble cast is headlined by real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac, and features George Chakiris, Michel Piccoli, Jacques Perrin, Grover Dale and Geneviève Thénier, along with Gene Kelly and Danielle Darrieux.

<i>Death Takes a Holiday</i> 1934 US pre-Code romantic drama film by Mitchell Leisen

Death Takes a Holiday is a 1934 American pre-Code romantic drama starring Fredric March, Evelyn Venable and Guy Standing. It is based on the 1924 Italian play La morte in vacanza by Alberto Casella (1891–1957), as adapted in English for Broadway in 1929 by Walter Ferris.

<i>Room at the Top</i> (novel) 1957 novel by John Braine

Room at the Top is a novel by John Braine, first published in the United Kingdom by Eyre & Spottiswoode in 1957, about an ambitious young working-class man who juggles sexual relationships with two middle-class women in a northern town in post-war England.

<i>A New Kind of Love</i> 1963 film by Melville Shavelson

A New Kind of Love is a 1963 American romantic comedy film written, directed, and produced by Melville Shavelson and starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Frank Sinatra sings "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" over the opening credits.

<i>Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street</i> (1936 film) 1936 British film

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1936 British drama film produced and directed by George King, and written by Frederick Hayward, H. F. Maltby, and George Dibdin-Pitt. The film features actor Tod Slaughter as the barber Sweeney Todd.

<i>Shukriya: Till Death Do Us Apart</i> 2004 film

Shukriya: Till Death Do Us Apart is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Anupam Sinha, starring Anupam Kher, Aftab Shivdasani, Shriya Saran and Indraneil Sengupta. The movie is an adaptation of the Hollywood film Meet Joe Black (1998).

<i>The Affairs of Susan</i> 1945 film by William A. Seiter

The Affairs of Susan is a 1945 American romantic comedy drama film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Joan Fontaine, Walter Abel, George Brent, Dennis O'Keefe and Don DeFore. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is also known by the alternative title of Chameleon.

<i>Oscar and Lucinda</i> (film) 1997 Australian film

Oscar and Lucinda is a 1997 romantic drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Cate Blanchett, Ralph Fiennes, Ciarán Hinds and Tom Wilkinson. The screenplay by Laura Jones is based on the 1988 Booker Prize-winning novel Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey. The film was nominated at the 70th Academy Awards for the Best Costume Design, and was also nominated for and won several AACTA and other awards.

<i>Mary Burns, Fugitive</i> 1935 film by William K. Howard

Mary Burns, Fugitive is a 1935 American drama film directed by William K. Howard.

<i>Murder Rock</i> 1984 Italian giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci

Murder Rock is a 1984 Italian giallo film starring Olga Karlatos, Ray Lovelock, Al Cliver and Claudio Cassinelli, and directed by Lucio Fulci.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Meet Joe Black (1998)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Film Crews Are Generating The Magic and the Backlash". The New York Times. 6 July 1997.
  3. ↑ "Meet Joe Black Filming Locations". Movie Locations. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "Upper West Side Diner Closes After 43 Years In The Neighborhood". Patch.
  5. ↑ Amy Wallace (15 January 2000). "Name of Director Smithee Isn't What It Used to Be" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Smithee's work, as was the airline version of Martin Brest's "Meet Joe Black."
  6. ↑ Herskovitz, Jon (1 November 1998). "'Armageddon' opens 11th Tokyo film fest". Variety . Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for 13-15 November 1998". Box Office Mojo. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  8. ↑ "What Happened When The Phantom Menace's Trailer Was Shown In Theaters". CinemaBlend. November 25, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Berardinelli, James (1998). "Meet Joe Black (United States, 1998)". reelviews.net (movie review). Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  10. ↑ Ebert, Roger (13 November 1998). "Meet Joe Black". Rogerebert.com (Movie Review). Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  11. ↑ Travers, Peter (11 March 1998). "Meet Joe Black". Rolling Stone (Movie Review). Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  12. 1 2 LaSalle, Mick (13 November 1998). "Colorless 'Joe Black' / Brad Pitt's "Death" is lethally dull, but Hopkins breathes life into overly long romance". San Francisco Chronicle (Movie Review). Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  13. ↑ Thomas Glorieux. "Meet Joe Black - Thomas Newman". Main Titles: Film. Retrieved 6 January 2024. William Parrish: I do think this is the lightning you're looking for
  14. ↑ "Newman: Meet Joe Black". Movie Wave. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "1999 Razzie Awards - nominations for worst remake". IMDb . Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  16. ↑ "Meet Joe Black". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  17. ↑ "Meet Joe Black". Metacritic.
  18. ↑ "Movie title search: BLACK". CinemaScore . Find Cinemascore. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019.
  19. ↑ "Meet Joe Black - soundtrack by Thomas Newman". MFiles. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  20. ↑ Jeff Giles (16 September 2011). "Brad Pitt - the EW Interview". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 6 January 2024.

[[Category:Films set in Rhode Island]]

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.