|
Ragtime (1981) 7.2
Ratings:
7.2/10 from 4,971 users
Metascore: 57/100
Reviews: 48 user | 26 critic | 8 from Metacritic.com A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family set among the racial tensions, infidelity, violence, and other nostalgic events in early 1900s New York City. Director:Milos Forman |
| 0Share... |
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Ragtime (1981)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
The Hours
(2002)
Drama
Director:
Stephen Daldry
Stars:
Meryl Streep,
Julianne Moore,
Nicole Kidman
Awakenings
(1990)
Biography
|
Drama
Director:
Penny Marshall
Stars:
Robert De Niro,
Robin Williams,
Julie Kavner
Kramer vs. Kramer
(1979)
Drama
Director:
Robert Benton
Stars:
Dustin Hoffman,
Meryl Streep,
Jane Alexander
Midnight Cowboy
(1969)
Drama
Director:
John Schlesinger
Stars:
Dustin Hoffman,
Jon Voight,
Sylvia Miles
Rain Man
(1988)
Drama
Director:
Barry Levinson
Stars:
Dustin Hoffman,
Tom Cruise,
Valeria Golino
Philadelphia
(1993)
Drama
Director:
Jonathan Demme
Stars:
Tom Hanks,
Denzel Washington,
Roberta Maxwell
American Beauty
(1999)
Drama
Director:
Sam Mendes
Stars:
Kevin Spacey,
Annette Bening,
Thora Birch
On Golden Pond
(1981)
Drama
Director:
Mark Rydell
Stars:
Katharine Hepburn,
Henry Fonda,
Jane Fonda
Drama
Director:
Milos Forman
Stars:
Michael Berryman,
Peter Brocco,
Louise Fletcher
Dead Poets Society
(1989)
Drama
Director:
Peter Weir
Stars:
Robin Williams,
Robert Sean Leonard,
Ethan Hawke
Sex, Lies, and Videotape
(1989)
Drama
Director:
Steven Soderbergh
Stars:
James Spader,
Andie MacDowell,
Peter Gallagher
Ordinary People
(1980)
Drama
Director:
Robert Redford
Stars:
Donald Sutherland,
Mary Tyler Moore,
Judd Hirsch
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| James Cagney | ... |
New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo
|
|
| Brad Dourif | ... |
Younger Brother
|
|
| Moses Gunn | ... | ||
| Elizabeth McGovern | ... | ||
| Kenneth McMillan | ... |
Willie Conklin
|
|
| Pat O'Brien | ... |
Delphin
|
|
| Donald O'Connor | ... |
Evelyn's Dance Instructor
|
|
| James Olson | ... |
Father
|
|
| Mandy Patinkin | ... |
Tateh
|
|
| Howard E. Rollins Jr. | ... | ||
| Mary Steenburgen | ... |
Mother
|
|
| Debbie Allen | ... |
Sarah
|
|
| Jeffrey DeMunn | ... |
Houdini
(as Jeff Demunn)
|
|
| Robert Joy | ... |
Henry Thaw
|
|
| Norman Mailer | ... | ||
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
The story runs in the 1910's New York. Coalhouse Walker Jr. is a black piano player. He has won fame and fortune playing with a jazz band. Some white men do not like this situation, and one day they assault him and spoil his brand new car. Walker tries by all means to get justice, without an answer... Written by Michel Rudoy <mdrc@hp9000a1.uam.mx>
Taglines:
Good Time ... Bad Time ... Ragtime See more »Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See more »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
8 January 1982 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Bir Zamanlar See more »Box Office
Gross:
SEK 3,022,477 (Sweden)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
StereoColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
Father: [trepidatiously] Well, shouldn't we... uh... tell them... that we're... we're coming?
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: [calmly] Yeah. You go on ahead. Tell 'em I'll be right out.
Father: [hesitates] Well...
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: Just go on. I'll be with you.
Father: [still hesitates] Don't...?
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: [firmly] Go.
Father: [stammering] Don't you think it would be... a better idea if we...?
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: [exploding] GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! Don't you understand ANYTHING, white man?
Father: [terrified, rushes out of the library]
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz facilitated the filmmakers' use of Mount Kisco, New York's Mutual Fire Company's station in the filming of the firehouse sequences. Mankiewicz was a local resident. See more »Goofs
While negotiating with Coalhouse Walker Jr., the earpiece hook on the phone hangs in the off position while Conklin is talking. See more »Quotes
[Coalhouse has just learned that his friends have safely escaped]Father: [trepidatiously] Well, shouldn't we... uh... tell them... that we're... we're coming?
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: [calmly] Yeah. You go on ahead. Tell 'em I'll be right out.
Father: [hesitates] Well...
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: Just go on. I'll be with you.
Father: [still hesitates] Don't...?
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: [firmly] Go.
Father: [stammering] Don't you think it would be... a better idea if we...?
Coalhouse Walker Jr.: [exploding] GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! Don't you understand ANYTHING, white man?
Father: [terrified, rushes out of the library]
See more »
A short commentary: Having read through a few of the comments here, I note that there are several which express disappointment that the movie didn't do the book justice. Personally, having read the book some time after seeing the movie, I can understand their point, but realistically it's the type of book which would be nearly be impossible to do justice to, as there are so many broad interwoven threads in the book that it would require at least a 6 hour movie to even scratch the surface, and even then, putting it all together into a singular coherent whole which would hold the viewer's interest for that long would be quite a mean feat indeed. So instead of looking at it as an attempt to fully capture the book, it might be best to simply appreciate it for what it is, rather than what it isn't. And I believe that on its own terms it succeeds admirably, and remains one of my favorite movies of all time.
Another way of looking at this, as an introduction to the book, rather than vice versa it has some value on those terms. Perhaps if I hadn't seen the movie I might never have happened upon the book, and never known what I'd missed.