Ishtar (1987)

Director:

Elaine May

Writer:

Elaine May (written by)

Release Date:

15 May 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Music

Plot:

Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the CIA...

Plot Keywords:

Emir | Morocco | CIA | Map | Hotel

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Warren Beatty	...	Lyle Rogers
Dustin Hoffman	...	Chuck Clarke
Isabelle Adjani	...	Shirra Assel
Charles Grodin	...	Jim Harrison
Jack Weston	...	Marty Freed
Tess Harper	...	Willa
Carol Kane	...	Carol
Aharon Ipalé	...	Emir Yousef
Fijad Hageb	...	Abdul (as Fuad Hageb)
David Margulies	...	Mr. Clarke
Rose Arrick	...	Mrs.Clarke
Julie Garfield	...	Dorothy
Cristine Rose	...	Siri Darma (as Christine Rose)
Robert V. Girolami	...	Bartender (as Bob Girolami)
Abe Kroll	...	Mr. Thomopoulos
Hannah Kroll	...	Mrs. Thomopoulos
Herb Gardner	...	Rabbi Pierce
Bill Moor	...	U.S. Consul
Edgar Smith	...	Prof. Barnes
J.C. Cutler	...	Omar
Bill Bailey	...	Gen. Westlake
Ian Gray	...	Manager Chez Casablanca
Maati Zaari	...	Porter
Larbi Bouhaddane	...	Taxi Driver (as Bouhaddane Larbi)
Fred Melamed	...	Caid of Assari
Ron Berglas	...	CIA Agent (as Ron Berglass)
Neil Zevnik	...	CIA Agent
Matt Frewer	...	CIA Agent
Alex Hyde-White	...	CIA Agent (as Alex Hyde White)
Stefan Gryff	...	KGB Agent
Alexei Jawdokimov	...	KGB Agent (as Alexei Jawdocimov)
Phillip Schopper	...	Waiter
Aziz Ben Driss	...	Waiter Chez Casablanca
Kamarr	...	Maitre D'Chez Casablanca
Eddy Nedari	...	Mohamad. the Camel Seller
Nayef Rashed	...	Mohamad. the Camel Seller (as Adam Hussein)
George Masri	...	Mohamad. the Camel Seller
Warren Clarke	...	English Gunrunner
Arthur Brauss	...	German Gunrunner
Sumar Khan	...	Ishtari Gunrunner
Jon Paul Morgan	...	Djellabah Seller
Nadim Sawalha	...	Rug Shop Owner / Camel Seller
Haluk Bilginer	...	Guerrilla leader (as Haluk Belginer)
Mark Ryan	...	Screamin' Honkers
Stuart Abramson	...	Screamin' Honkers
John Freudenheim	...	Screamin' Honkers
Bruce Gordon	...	Screamin' Honkers
Paul Standig	...	The Swing
Joseph Gmerek	...	The Swing
John Trumpbour	...	The Swing
Marie Jean-Charles	...	Teacher's Daughters
Patrice Jean-Charles	...	Teacher's Daughters
Danielle Jean-Charles	...	Teacher's Daughters
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Head	...	Street Person (uncredited)
Frank Patton	...	Rescue Cop (uncredited)

Directed by
Elaine May

Writing credits
Elaine May		(written by)

Produced by
Warren Beatty	....	producer
David Leigh MacLeod	....	associate producer (as David L. MacLeod)
Nigel Wooll	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Dave Grusin

Cinematography by
Vittorio Storaro

Film Editing by
Richard P. Cirincione
William Reynolds
Stephen A. Rotter

Casting by
Noel Davis

Production Design by
Paul Sylbert

Art Direction by
Peter Childs

Set Decoration by
Jim Erickson

Costume Design by
Anthony Powell

Makeup Department
Zineb Bendoula	....	hair stylist
Alan Boyle	....	makeup artist
Robert Jiras	....	makeup artist (as Bob Jiras)
Barry Richardson	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Mohamed Abbazi	....	production manager
G. Mac Brown	....	unit production manager
Denise O'Dell	....	production supervisor
Kerry Orent	....	post-production supervisor
Stefan Zürcher	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lee Cleary	....	third assistant director
Louis D'Esposito	....	second assistant director (as Louis Desposito)
Don French	....	first assistant director
Marcia Gay	....	second assistant director: Morocco
Danny Irom	....	trainee assistant director
Michael D. Moore	....	second unit director (as Michael Moore)
Ken Rudnick	....	assistant director: second unit, New York
James W. Skotchdopole	....	second assistant director
Stefan Zürcher	....	first assistant director: second unit
Ahmed Boulane	....	second assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Adil Abdelwahab	....	set dresser
Joseph Alfieri	....	carpenter
Bill J. Coggon	....	property master (as Bill Coggon)
Jeanette D'Ambrosio-Sylbert	....	assistant: Mr. Sylbert
Bill Groom	....	art director: New York
Alan Hicks	....	set decorator: New York
Steven J. Jordan	....	set decorator: New York (as Steve Jordan)
Elaine O'Donnell	....	art department coordinator/shopper
Victoria Paul	....	art director: New York
Brian Read	....	prop buyer
Bruno Robotti	....	charge scenic artist
Manny Sanchez	....	carpenter
Phillip Schopper	....	artistic consultant
Dave Midson	....	supervising dressing prop (uncredited)

Sound Department
Don Banks	....	boom operator: Morocco
Lois A. Bellucci	....	apprentice sound editor (as Lois Bellucci)
Louis Bertini	....	sound editor
Anthony J. Ciccolini III	....	sound editor (as Anthony Ciccolini III)
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brad Fuller	....	adr editor
Brian Katkin	....	apprentice sound editor
Neil L. Kaufman	....	sound editor (as Neil Kaufman)
Michael Kirchberger	....	supervising sound editor
Bruce Kitzmeyer	....	sound editor
Dan Korintus	....	assistant sound editor
George A. Lara	....	foley mixer
Ivan Sharrock	....	sound mixer
Ira Spiegel	....	sound editor
John Strauss	....	sound coordinator
Susan M. Wagner	....	assistant sound editor (as Susan Wagner)

Special Effects by
Terence J. Cox	....	special effects technician
George Gibbs	....	special effects supervisor
Garth Inns	....	special effects
Brian Lince	....	special effects
Tim Willis	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
George Muhs	....	visual effects
Mark Wolf	....	visual effects
Christopher Francis Woods	....	title/optical producer: R/Greenberg Assoc. (uncredited)

Stunts
Denise Amirante	....	stunts
Peter Bucossi	....	stunts
John Hayden	....	stunts
Victor Magnotta	....	stunt coordinator
George Marshall Ruge	....	stunts
Konrad Sheehan	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Giuseppe Alberti	....	first assistant camera
Paul Beeson	....	additional photographer
Fabio Cafolla	....	dimmer operator
Filippo Cafolla	....	gaffer
Marco Carosi	....	video operator
Adam Dale	....	assistant camera
Keith Hamshere	....	still photographer
Kerry Hayes	....	still photographer
Stefano Marino	....	electrician
Sal Martorano	....	gaffer: second unit
Steve Parker	....	camera operator: second unit
Mauro Pezzotti	....	grip
Tom Prate	....	key grip: New York (as Thomas Prate Jr)
Lance Shepherd	....	electrician
Enrico Umetelli	....	camera operator
Riccardo Umetelli	....	assistant camera
Fabio Zamarion	....	second assistant camera

Casting Department
Howard Feuer	....	casting: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Abdelkrim Akallach	....	crowd wardrobe supervisor
Rosemary Burrows	....	wardrobe supervisor
Hassan Taghriti	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Richard Friedlander	....	assistant film editor
J. Kathleen Gibson	....	assistant editor
Joseph Gutowski	....	assistant editor
William Kruzykowski	....	assistant film editor (as William Joseph Kruzykowski)
William S. Scharf	....	associate film editor

Music Department
Bahjawa	....	original Moroccan music
Michael Berenbaum	....	assistant music editor
Michael James Jackson	....	music consultant & music producer
Elaine May	....	original songs
John Strauss	....	music coordinator
Paul Williams	....	original songs

Other crew
Khadija Alami	....	production assistant
Zakaria Alaoui	....	production liaison morocco
George Bamber	....	production assistant
Mohamed Benhmamane	....	location manager
Rick Dallago	....	first location manager
David Forbes	....	marketing consultant
Karen Hale Wookey	....	script supervisor (as Karen Wookey)
Beverly Irby	....	administrative assistant: Ms. May
Jak King	....	production accountant
Maggie Kusik	....	assistant: Mr. McLeod
Sue Leibman	....	assistant to Mr. Beatty
John Thomas Lenox	....	production representative: Columbia Pictures
David Perez	....	helicopter pilot
Corky Randall	....	camel trainer: Morocco (as Buford Randall)
Paul 'Sled' Reynolds	....	camel trainer: Morocco (as Paul Reynolds)
Ken Ryan	....	accountant: Columbia
Lucille Smith	....	production auditor
Caroline Stevens	....	assistant: Mr. Beatty
Jeff Stolow	....	location manager
Andrew Von Preussen	....	helicopter pilot
Marc Wolff	....	helicopter pilot (as Marc Wolfe)

Thanks
His Majesty King Hassan II of Morocco	....	grateful acknowledgment (as His Majesty Hassan II King of Morocco)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Delphi V Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1987) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film (1987) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1987) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Columbia (1987) (France) (theatrical) (as Les Films Columbia)
• Sony Pictures International (1987) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Flying Pictures  aerial filming services provided by
• Pacific Studios Inc.  chromatrans background

Also Known As:

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:15 (uncut DVD version) (2004) | UK:PG (theatrical release, cut) (1987) | Sweden:11 | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/6 | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The film's reception was so awful it helped coin a new Hollywood term in relation to director Elaine May: "movie jail". The term referred to someone whose perceived failure as a director was so profound, they would not be allowed to helm a movie again for a very long time, if ever again. In fact, May has not directed a single new movie since Ishtar.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: By the chandelier when Jim talks to the Emir.

Quotes:

Lyle Rogers, Chuck Clarke:[singing] Telling the truth can be dangerous business; / Honest and popular don't go hand in hand. / If you admit that you play the accordion, / No one will hire you in a rock 'n' roll band. / But we can sing out hearts out. / And if we're lucky, then no neighbors complain. / Because life is the way we audition for God; / Let us pray that we all get the job.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (#9.22)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

SOFTWARE

A truly under-rated film.

I have never understood the seemingly universal disapproval of this fine film. Is it "Reds"?...No. Is it "Rain Man"?...No. Was it intended to be?...Of course not.

Ishtar is a comedy of the first measure. Start with two struggling musicians trying to make it big, who find themselves trapped in a circle of espionage and intrigue in a far away land. Include some of the funniest text ever written for the big screen. Add two of the greatest actors of our day, Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty, (both of whom are playing characters that could not be farther from the traditional roles that these actors have played, which was, I'm sure, a challenge in and of itself) and throw in a blind camel for good measure, and you have the recipe for a cinema classic. If this film had managed to avoid the negative press that it received early on, it would have gone done in history as one of the great comedies of the 1980's. Now, everyone wants to be on the "I hate Ishtar" bandwagon. It is truly unfortunate that this film has not received the credit that it deserves.

"Ishtar" is not the most under-rated film ever, but it may be close.