Five Corners (1987)

Young psychotic man returns to neighborhood after release from prison. He seeks young lady he previously tried to rape and young man who protected her, with twisted ideas of love for her ... See full summary »

Director:

Tony Bill

Writer:

John Patrick Shanley

Stars:

Jodie Foster, Tim Robbins, Todd Graff

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jodie Foster	...	Linda
Tim Robbins	...	Harry
Todd Graff	...	Jamie
John Turturro	...	Heinz
Michael R. Howard	...	Murray
Pierre Epstein	...	George
Jery Hewitt	...	Mr. Glascow
Rodney Harvey	...	Castro
Daniel Jenkins	...	Willie
Elizabeth Berridge	...	Melanie
Cathryn de Prume	...	Brita
Carl Capotorto	...	Sal
Jose Soto Jr.	...	Boy in Pet Store
Kathleen Chalfant	...	Mrs. Fitzgerald
John Seitz	...	Sullivan

Storyline

Young psychotic man returns to neighborhood after release from prison. He seeks young lady he previously tried to rape and young man who protected her, with twisted ideas of love for her and hate for him.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | psychotic | mirror | attempted rape | equality | 

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Taglines:

Friends last forever. Goodness is its own reward. ...And there ain't no Indians in the Bronx.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1988 (UK)

Also Known As:

5 Corners

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$969,205 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineplex-Odeon Films, HandMade Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 95 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Tony Bill got involved with this project after some actors he was auditioning for another film began using scenes from the plays of John Patrick Shanley. Bill liked the dialog, so he contacted Shanley and asked him for a film script.

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Goofs

In the scene where Linda is abducted in the subway station, one of the advertisement posters in the background is for the 1986 film Soul Man.

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Quotes

Harry: And when I was sittin' home with my mother, watchin' the news about it on TV, the next thing they showed after that was Dr. Martin Luther King speaking. He was talking about the power of love in the face of senseless cruelty and violence. And I heard him, Mr. Kemp. I guess something had knocked the wax outta my ears. ' Cause I heard him loud and clear.

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Crazy Credits

Nearly at the end of the credits there is the following paragraph: 'Many thanks to the Penguins in this film. They were treated most respectfully and no harm ever came to them in their work.'

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Soundtracks

"In My Life"
Words and Music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
(C) 1965 Northern Songs - used by permission
Performed by The Beatles
(P) 1965 original sound recording made by EMI Records Inc.

User Reviews

Satisfying slice-of-life melodrama.

I was persuaded to watch this film on late-night TV by the cast: Tim Robbins, Jodie Foster and John Turturro, and lots of familiar faces who you're glad to see, even if you don't know their names. Turturro is better in this than in most of his later work. Psycho? or just a stupid, unhappy bully, whose violence seems almost normal in the tough, white, working class neighbourhood which gives the film its title. He is genuinely threatening, mean, short fuse, unpredictable, but a believable rounded character who excites our pity as well as our disgust. Foster and Robbins fit their roles like fingers fit gloves, the period setting - 1964 - is nicely realised, and the script sets up and resolves a series of classic conflicts with some originality and some appealing off-the-wall subplots. Of course, the good end happily and the bad unhappily, but that is fiction, my dear, and that is why I call it a melodrama. If it comes up on the late-night schedules, or you see it in your local video-store, watch it.