Meet Joe Black

Last updated
Meet Joe Black
Meet Joe Black- 1998.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Martin Brest
Screenplay by
Based onLa 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 , an 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 she wait to be swept off of her feet. When the company helicopter lands, he hears a mysterious voice, which 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, Susan meets a vibrant young man, and they form a connection. Stunned, 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 and it summons him to a room. Materializing, the voice identifies itself as "Death" and now inhabits the young man's body. 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 will be 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 creates an impromptu name for the young man, introducing him to the family as "Joe Black." Joe Black does not seem to know how to drink or eat, or how to use food and utensils. He, however, learns to adapt.

Bill fails to keep events from going out of his control. Drew secretly conspires with Parrish Communications, capitalizing on Bill's strange behavior and reliance on Joe to convince the board of directors to vote Bill out as chairman. Using information from Bill's son-in-law, Quince, Drew pushes for merger approval which Bill now opposes.

Intrigued by Joe's naivete, Susan realizes he is different from the young man she met in the coffee shop. She falls deeply in love, while Joe is now under the influence of human desires and an attraction to her, and they have sex. 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 helps him understand the danger of meshing two worlds. When Joe asks if she is ready to go, she accedes 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 makes peace with his daughters. Susan tells Joe she has loved him since the day in the coffee shop. Joe, realizing Susan loves the man in the coffee shop and not him, decides to allow her to live.

Quince apologizes to Bill for undermining the company, 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. As the fireworks explode in the distance, Susan watches Joe and Bill cross a nearby bridge and descend out of sight on the other side.

Susan stands stunned as "Joe" reappears alone and bewildered. He is again the young man from the coffee shop, uninjured and not comprehending where he is. Susan realizes that Bill is gone, and descends hand-in-hand with the young man toward the party.

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 began on 11 June 1997, and concluded on 12 November 1997. [3]

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. [4]

Release

The film premiered as the closing night film of the Tokyo International Film Festival on 8 November 1998. [5]

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 . [6]

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 for the film, only to leave after the trailer showed. [7]

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. [8] Roger Ebert gave it three stars, but disliked the peripheral story lines and overly drawn-out ending. He concluded that despite its flaws, "there's so much that's fine in this movie". [9] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that most of the characters were one-dimensional. [10] Anthony 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." [11] Brad Pitt, on the other hand, received a mixed response, with LaSalle calling his performance so bad "it hurts" [11] and James Berardinelli calling it "execrable". [8] Thomas Newman's score received critical acclaim; it is generally considered one of his best works. [12] [13]

Meet Joe Black earned a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Remake or Sequel. [14]

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." [15] On Metacritic, the film received a 43% score on 24 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [16] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore graded the film "A−" on scale of A to F. [17] [18]

In retrospect, Brad Pitt was critical of his performance on the film: "That was the pinnacle of my…loss of direction and compass." [19]

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>The Mexican</i> 2001 film by Gore Verbinski

The Mexican is a 2001 American dark comedy adventure crime film directed by Gore Verbinski, starring Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt.

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

You've Got Mail is a 1998 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nora Ephron, and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. 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>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>Troy</i> (film) 2004 epic historical war film directed by Wolfgang Petersen

Troy is a 2004 epic historical war film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by David Benioff. Produced by units in Malta, Mexico and Britain's Shepperton Studios, the film features an ensemble cast led by Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Sean Bean, Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson and Orlando Bloom. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad in its narration of the entire story of the decade-long Trojan War—condensed into little more than a couple of weeks, rather than just the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon in the ninth year. Achilles leads his Myrmidons along with the rest of the Greek army invading the historical city of Troy, defended by Hector's Trojan army. The end of the film is not taken from the Iliad, but rather from Quintus Smyrnaeus's Posthomerica, as the Iliad concludes with Hector's death and funeral.

<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>Legends of the Fall</i> 1994 American epic Western film by Edward Zwick

Legends of the Fall is a 1994 American epic Western drama film directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas Based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison, the film is about three brothers and their father living in the wilderness and plains of Montana in the early 20th century and how their lives are affected by nature, history, war, and love. The film's time frame spans nearly 50 years from the early 20th century; World War I, through the Prohibition era, and ending with a brief scene set in 1963. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards and won for Best Cinematography. Both the film and book contain occasional Cornish language terms, the Ludlows being a Cornish immigrant family.

Martin Brest is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. After his feature debut, Going in Style (1979), he directed the action comedies Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Midnight Run (1988), which were critical and commercial hits.

<i>No Way Out</i> (1987 film) 1987 thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson

No Way Out is a 1987 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Will Patton, and Sean Young. Howard Duff, George Dzundza, Jason Bernard, Fred Thompson, and Iman appear in supporting roles. The film is based on the 1946 novel The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing, previously filmed as The Big Clock (1948) and Police Python 357 (1976).

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

Alfie is a 2004 romantic comedy-drama film inspired by the 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 anthology film

Twilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 American science fiction 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>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>Cutting Class</i> 1989 American dark comedy slasher film by Rospo Pallenberg

Cutting Class is a 1989 American black comedy slasher film directed by Rospo Pallenberg in his directorial debut, written by Steve Slavkin, and starring Donovan Leitch, Jill Schoelen, Brad Pitt, Roddy McDowall, and Martin Mull. It was Pitt's second major role, after The Dark Side of the Sun.

<i>Burn After Reading</i> 2008 film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Burn After Reading is a 2008 black comedy film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It follows a recently jobless CIA analyst, Osborne Cox, whose misplaced memoirs are found by a pair of dimwitted gym employees. When they mistake the memoirs for classified government documents, they undergo a series of misadventures in an attempt to profit from their find. The film also stars George Clooney as a womanizing U.S. Marshal; Tilda Swinton as Katie Cox, the wife of Osborne Cox; Richard Jenkins as the gym manager; and J. K. Simmons as a CIA supervisor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bo Goldman</span> American screenwriter (1932–2023)

Bo Goldman was an American screenwriter and playwright. He received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Writers Guild of America Awards as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. He also received two BAFTA Award nominations.

<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>Moneyball</i> (film) 2011 film by Bennett Miller

Moneyball is a 2011 American biographical sports drama film that was directed by Bennett Miller with a script by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin from a story by Stan Chervin. The film is based on the 2003 nonfiction book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis. The book is an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to assemble a competitive team. In the film, Beane and assistant general manager Peter Brand, faced with the franchise's limited budget for players, build a team of undervalued talent by taking a sophisticated sabermetric approach to scouting and analyzing players. Philip Seymour Hoffman also stars as Art Howe.

<i>True Story</i> (film) 2015 American mystery drama film

True Story is a 2015 American mystery thriller film that was directed by Rupert Goold in his directorial debut. It is based on a screenplay by Goold and David Kajganich. Based on the memoir of the same name by Michael Finkel, it stars Jonah Hill, James Franco and Felicity Jones, with Gretchen Mol, Betty Gilpin and John Sharian in supporting roles.

<i>Fear, Inc.</i> 2016 film

Fear, Inc. is a 2016 American comedy horror film directed by Vincent Masciale and written by Luke Barnett. The film stars Lucas Neff, Caitlin Stasey, Chris Marquette and Stephanie Drake.

<i>Bullet Train</i> (film) 2022 film by David Leitch

Bullet Train is a 2022 American action comedy film directed by David Leitch. It is based on the 2010 novel Maria Beetle, written by Kōtarō Isaka and translated by Sam Malissa, the second novel in Isaka's Hitman trilogy, of which the first novel was previously adapted as the 2015 Japanese film Grasshopper. Centered around a group of assassins on the JR Central Shinkansen that end up in conflict with each other, the film features an ensemble cast consisting of Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A. Martínez Ocasio, and Sandra Bullock.

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. ↑ 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."
  5. ↑ Herskovitz, Jon (1 November 1998). "'Armageddon' opens 11th Tokyo film fest". Variety . Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for 13-15 November 1998". Box Office Mojo. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  7. ↑ "What Happened When The Phantom Menace's Trailer Was Shown In Theaters". CinemaBlend. November 25, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Berardinelli, James (1998). "Meet Joe Black (United States, 1998)". reelviews.net (movie review). Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Ebert, Roger (13 November 1998). "Meet Joe Black". Rogerebert.com (Movie Review). Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  10. ↑ Travers, Peter (11 March 1998). "Meet Joe Black". Rolling Stone (Movie Review). Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  11. 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.
  12. ↑ 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
  13. ↑ "Newman: Meet Joe Black". Movie Wave. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "1999 Razzie Awards - nominations for worst remake". IMDb . Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "Meet Joe Black". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  16. ↑ "Meet Joe Black". Metacritic.
  17. ↑ "Movie title search: BLACK". CinemaScore . Find Cinemascore. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019.
  18. ↑ "Meet Joe Black - soundtrack by Thomas Newman". MFiles. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  19. ↑ Jeff Giles (16 September 2011). "Brad Pitt - the EW Interview". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
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.