Raising Arizona (1987)

Director:

Joel Coen

Writers:

Ethan Coen (written by) &
Joel Coen (written by)

Release Date:

13 March 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Tagline:

A comedy beyond belief.

Plot:

When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintupelets, their lives get more complicated than they anticipated.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Arizona | Quintuplets | Love | Police

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Nicolas Cage	...	H.I. McDunnough
Holly Hunter	...	Edwina 'Ed' McDunnough
Trey Wilson	...	Nathan Arizona
John Goodman	...	Gale Snoats
William Forsythe	...	Evelle Snoats
Sam McMurray	...	Glen
Frances McDormand	...	Dot
Randall 'Tex' Cobb	...	Leonard Smalls
T.J. Kuhn	...	Nathan Arizona Jr. (as T.J. Kuhn Jr.)
Lynne Kitei	...	Florence Arizona (as Lynne Dumin Kitei)
Peter Benedek	...	Prison Counselor
Charles 'Lew' Smith	...	Nice Old Grocery Man
Warren Keith	...	Younger FBI Agent
Henry Kendrick	...	Older FBI Agent
Sidney Dawson	...	Moses, Ear-Bending Cellmate

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 (Violence) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (video rating: 2001) | UK:15 (original rating) | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Company:

Circle Films

Trivia:

The alarm button the clerk presses in the convenience store reads "Odegaard-Trend Security." This is the name of the security company in Sam Raimi's Crimewave (1985).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During several shots of various front seat conversations, the vehicles do not have any windshields, both of Edwina and H. I., and Evelle and Gale.

Quotes:

[first lines]
H.I.: [voiceover] My name is H.I. McDonnaugh. Call me Hi.

Movie Connections:

References Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Soundtrack:

Girls, Do Not Wink

Perhaps the funniest film ever made

The Coen Brothers are genius !! That's not an opinion, that's a fact. I can appreciate and respect all kind of different opinions on all sort of matters, but not on this one. If anyone says the Coen brothers are bad, overrated or not funny, they are just plain wrong. Raising Arizona is the funniest story I've ever seen. It can go over the top as much as it wants and still it doesn't become bad. That's a great achievement only the Coen Brothers can do. Jim Carrey can't do it and neither can Mike Myers. At the same time, this story is emotional and warming. How often do you see a combination like that. Joel and Ethan Coen often use the same actors and actresses. And they're right cause those who play in their films belong to Hollywoods very best. John Goodman, Holly Hunter...and in this film Nicolas Cage !! Nic plays one of his best roles so far. Perhaps even THE best. Holly Hunter is great as always and this role fits her perfectly. I believe it was also written especially for her. No need to say John Goodman and William Forsythe give away flawless performances as well. Try also to pay attention to the rather small part played by Frances McDormand. Raising Arizona is about a criminal falling in love with a police woman. They wanna celebrate their love with a baby but they are unable to have one themselves. Than the news breaks! A rich couple in the area received quintets. 5 healthy young babies. Hi and Ed (our couple) think it's unfair and they decide to steal one of them so they could raise their own little family. Now, the few lines I've wrote appear already in the intro of the movie. I can hear you think : with what else are the going to fill the movie. Well, go and see. If you haven't seen this film yet it's a real shame. It's a must see for everyone!!! Some scenes are so hilarious you'll have trouble breathing, I assure you. This film doesn't need stupid faces or teenager sex jokes to be funny.