| Duration | 1h 38m |
| Ratings | UK: 15, USA: R, Denmark: 15 |
| Source of story | An original screenplay in the Woody Allen style |
| Director | Woody Allen |
| Writers/Script | Woody Allen, Douglas McGrath |
| Starring | John Cusack, Jack Warden, Chazz Palminteri, Joe Viterelli, Jennifer Tilly, Dianne Wiest, Edie Falco, Jim Broadbent, Tracey Ullman, |
| Ratings | IMDb: 7.4/10 by 44k people. Rotten Tomatoes: 7.9/10 by 60 reviewers. Review2view: 7/10. |
Plot of Bullets Over Broadway: It is 1928, during prohibition. David Shayne is looking for a producer for his third play, hampered by the fact that he intends to direct himself, because no-one understands his scripts. Eventually they find a backer, actually Nick a mob boss who wants a part for his talentless girlfriend, Olive. The cast is assembled and rehearsals take place. All the actors have their own agendas and influence David as much as they can. He is attracted to leading lady Helen Sinclair. Leading man Warner Purcell is always eating and puts on a lot of weight. Additionally he and Olive get involved, although Olive has a minder Cheech, who warns Warner off. There are, in the background quite a lot of killings as Nick establishes his criminal supremacy. Cheech, begins to advise David on dialogue in the script which he thinks will work better – and it will. As rehearsals are completed and off Broadway try outs take place, tensions increase.
Content: No sex or nudity, although they all talk about it quite a bit. Constant drinking mainly of martinis. A lot of scenes take place in a club where hoofers are providing the entertainment, often visible behind the main action, dressed in a variety of costumes, doing their stuff. Out in the town machine guns are used in criminal conflict and Cheech is seen disposing of small time crooks, shooting them. Olive is often in Nick’s company as he hopes to persuade her to have sex with him, but she holds off, to persuade him to get her a part as an actress. Once in the theatre the cast rehearse and exhibit their individual problems and likes and dislikes. David struggles sometimes supported by his girlfriend. Cheech offers improvement to the script, turning the play into a hit.
A View: Well, this film was nominated in six categories of the Oscars, and won the Best Supporting Actress for Dianne Wiest. At times it was laugh out loud funny. Even though Woody Allen was not on screen John Cusack did a good job with his words. But bearing in mind that this film is set during a period of serious mafia influence we should not be surprised by the level of violence. Even so I still was. The critics loved it and so did I, one of Woody Allen’s better films.
Fun Fact: Jennifer Tilly developed her own campaign for an Oscar nomination.
Discussion
No comments yet.