Raising Arizona (1987)

Director:

Joel Coen
(more)

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 | Bounty Hunter | Quintuplets | Police

Awards:

1 win & 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
Richard Blake	...	Parole Board Chairman
Troy Nabors	...	Parole Board Member
Mary Seibel	...	Parole Board Member
John O'Donnal	...	Hayseed in Pickup
Keith Jandacek	...	Whitey
Warren Forsythe	...	Minister
Ruben Young	...	'Trapped' Convict
Dennis Sullivan	...	Policeman in Arizona House
Richard Alexander	...	Policeman in Arizona House (as Dick Alexander)
Rusty Lee	...	Feisty Hayseed
James Yeater	...	Fingerprint Technician
Bill Andres	...	Reporter
Carver Barns	...	Reporter
Margaret H. McCormack	...	Unpainted Arizona Secretary
Bill Rocz	...	Newscaster
Mary F. Glenn	...	Payroll Cashier
Jeremy Babendure	...	Scamp with Squirt Gun
Bill Dobbins	...	Adoption Agent
Ralph Norton	...	Gynecologist
Henry Tank	...	Mopping Convict
Frank Outlaw	...	Supermarket Manager
Todd Michael Bogers	...	Varsity Nathan, Jr.
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Machine Shop Ear-Bender
Robert Gray	...	Glen and Dot's Kid
Katie Thrasher	...	Glen and Dot's Kid
Derek Russell	...	Glen and Dot's Kid
Nicole Russell	...	Glen and Dot's Kid
Zachary Sanders	...	Glen and Dot's Kid
Noell Sanders	...	Glen and Dot's Kid
Cody Ranger	...	Arizona Quint
Jeremy Arendt	...	Arizona Quint
Ashley Hammon	...	Arizona Quint
Crystal Hiller	...	Arizona Quint
Olivia Hughes	...	Arizona Quint
Emily Malin	...	Arizona Quint
Melanie Malin	...	Arizona Quint
Craig McLaughlin	...	Arizona Quint
Adam Savageau	...	Arizona Quint
Benjamin Savageau	...	Arizona Quint
David Schneider	...	Arizona Quint
Michael Stewart	...	Arizona Quint
William Preston Robertson	...	Amazing Voice (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ron Cobert	...	Reporter #1 (uncredited)

Directed by
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen		(uncredited)

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

Produced by
Ethan Coen	....	producer
James Jacks	....	executive producer
Deborah Reinisch	....	associate producer
Mark Silverman	....	co-producer
Joel Coen	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Carter Burwell

Cinematography by
Barry Sonnenfeld

Film Editing by
Michael R. Miller

Casting by
Donna Isaacson
John S. Lyons		(as John Lyons)

Production Design by
Jane Musky

Art Direction by
Harold Thrasher

Set Decoration by
Robert Kracik

Costume Design by
Richard Hornung

Makeup Department
Dan Frey	....	hair stylist
Camille Henderson	....	assistant hair stylist
Camille Henderson	....	assistant makeup artist
Katherine James	....	makeup artist (as Katherine James-Cosburn)

Production Management
Kevin Dowd	....	production manager
Alma Kuttruff	....	production supervisor
Andrew Sears	....	post-production manager
Andrew Sears	....	second unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Patricia Anne Doherty	....	second assistant director (as Patricia Doherty)
Jon Kilik	....	second assistant director
Chitra F. Mojtabai	....	second assistant director (as Chitra Mojtabai)
Deborah Reinisch	....	first assistant director
Kelly Van Horn	....	first assistant director

Art Department
J. Todd Anderson	....	storyboard artist
John Anderson	....	art department assistant
Roger Belk	....	set dresser
Marcia Calosio	....	key set dresser (as Marcia Calosio-Foeldi)
Pasco Di Carlo	....	carpenter
Mark Donnelly	....	scenic artist
Flint Esquerra	....	art department assistant
Jan Fead	....	assistant property master
Star Fields	....	carpenter
Todd Hatfield	....	scenic artist
Bill Holmquist	....	carpenter
Terry Kempf	....	lead carpenter
Robert Kracik	....	draftsperson
Roger Pancake	....	property master
Robb Roetman	....	art department assistant
Steve Roll	....	construction coordinator (as Stephen Roll)
Christian W. Russhon	....	set dresser (as Chris Russhon)
Bill Seifried	....	carpenter
Charles Seinfried	....	carpenter (as Chuck Seifried)
Linette Forbes Shorr	....	set dresser
Katie Tansley	....	art department assistant
Jerri Thrasher	....	art department assistant (as Gerry Thrasher)
Britt Torney	....	property man
Eduardo H. Esparza	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Bill Holmquist	....	propmaker (uncredited)

Sound Department
Michael Barry	....	foley engineer
Ron Bochar	....	sound editor
Allan Byer	....	production sound mixer
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Michael DiCosimo	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Randy Gable	....	additional boom operator
Greg Horn	....	sound recordist
Peter F. Kurland	....	boom operator
Skip Lievsay	....	supervising sound editor
Marissa Littlefield	....	assistant sound editor
Carl Mandelbaum	....	special electronic sound effects
Jun Mizumachi	....	special electronic sound effects
Bruce Pross	....	assistant sound editor
Philip Stockton	....	sound editor
Frederick Szymanski	....	special electronic sound effects
Steven Visscher	....	assistant sound editor
Magdaline Volaitis	....	sound editor
Christopher Weir	....	assistant sound editor
Mel Zelniker	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Peter Chesney	....	special effects coordinator
Guy J. Louthan	....	special effects lead (as Guy Louthan)
David J. Barker	....	special effects welder (uncredited)
Tom Chesney	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Stunts
Bill Anagnos	....	stunts
Curt Bortel	....	stunts
Shane Dixon	....	stunts
Allan Graf	....	stunts
Gene Hartline	....	stunts
Jery Hewitt	....	stunt coordinator
Jery Hewitt	....	stunts
Jeff Jensen	....	stunts
Edgard Mourino	....	stunts
Ron Nix	....	stunts
Spanky Spangler	....	stunts
Cindy Wills	....	stunts (as Cindy Wills Hartline)
Stuart Brent	....	car stunts coordinator (uncredited)
Gene Hartline	....	stunt double: Randall 'Tex' Cobb (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mitchell Amundsen	....	assistant camera (as C. Mitchell Amundsen)
George Ball	....	electrician
Michael Burke	....	first electrician
Ken Connors	....	best boy (as Kenneth R. Conners)
Richard Crudo	....	assistant camera (as Richard P. Crudo)
Tom Dreesen	....	grip
David M. Dunlap	....	camera operator
Russell Engels	....	gaffer
Bob Field	....	electrician
Brian Fitzsimons	....	best boy grip (as Brian Fitzsimmons)
Dennis Gamiello	....	dolly grip
Dennis Gamiello	....	key grip
Melinda Sue Gordon	....	still photographer: production stills
Michael Hall	....	electrician
Cindy Lagerstrom	....	grip
John Lowry	....	rigging grip (as John 'Earl' Lowry)
Danny McCallum	....	electrician (as Dan MacCallum)
Marty Miller	....	grip
Brad S. Mudgett	....	camera department assistant
Robert A. Preston	....	grip (as Bob Preston)
Stephen St. John	....	Steadicam operator
Craig Woodruff	....	electrician
Kyle T. MacDowell	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Becca Korby-Sullivan	....	extras casting
Sunny Seibel	....	casting: Arizona
Yvonne Van Orden	....	baby casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mary Ann Ahern	....	costume constructor
Ada Akaji	....	wardrobe assistant
Stephen M. Chudej	....	wardrobe supervisor
Wendy Cracchiolo	....	wardrobe assistant
Brian Kirk	....	wardrobe assistant
Ellen Ryba	....	assistant to costume designer (as Ellen M. Ryba)

Editorial Department
Michael Berenbaum	....	first assistant editor
Arnold Glassman	....	associate editor
Brian Johnson	....	apprentice editor
Kathie Weaver	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Dan Conte	....	digital score assistant
Ben Freed	....	musician: banjo
Mieczyslaw Litwinski	....	musician: Jews harp, guitar
Sebastian Niessen	....	music engineer
D. Stanton Miranda	....	musician (uncredited)

Other crew
Julie Adams	....	dialect coach
Julie Asch	....	baby wrangler
Rick Ashman	....	location production assistant
Elizabeth Boyd	....	craft service
Valerie Susan Brown	....	production secretary
Christopher Buchanan	....	production office coordinator
Matt Cartsonis	....	location production assistant
Bob Childers	....	craft service
John R. Crowder	....	yodeler
Adam Grad	....	location assistant
Blake Hocevar	....	office assistant
Maureen Hymers	....	production assistant
Thomas Johnston	....	script supervisor
L.R. Kelly	....	location production assistant
Karl Lewis Miller	....	animal action
Dan Perri	....	title designer
David Pomier	....	location manager
Sharon Roesler	....	production office coordinator
Kim Seeger	....	location production assistant
Barbara-Ann Stein	....	production auditor
Erin Stewart	....	production assistant
Eric Tignini	....	production assistant
Laura Cartwright	....	assistant auditor (uncredited)
Rob Harris	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Constance L. Hoy	....	location production assistant (uncredited)
James M. McEwen	....	consultant (uncredited)
Bryan Reinhart	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Andrew Sears	....	second assistant accountant (uncredited)

Thanks
Kurt Woolner	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Circle Films

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1987) (USA) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1987) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1987) (Finland) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (????) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (The Nicholas Cage Celebrity Pack)
• Abril Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox Video (1988) (Belgium) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• De Volkskrant (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Complete Coen Brother Collection)
• FS Film Oy (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• Fox Network (1990) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Fox Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1996) (Finland) (TV)
• Oy Europa Vision AB (1988) (Finland) (VHS)
• SubTV (2005) (Finland) (TV)
• TV3 (1990) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Image Engineering

Other Companies

• J.G. Films  negative cutting
• Optical House, The  opticals
• Phoenix Film Office  special thanks
• Sound One Corporation  post-production services
• Spera Corporation  post-production services
• Temptu  tattoo design

Also Known As:

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 | Portugal:M/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:

When Nathan Arizona is being interviewed one of the microphones has "KOIN" written on it. This is a reference to the filmmakers, the Coen brothers.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the taking of the first "family photo" on the couch, H.I. frames up the shot with a Canon camera, as it snaps the picture it is a Nikon.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Shoot 'Em Up (2007)

Soundtrack:

Down In The Willow Garden

Raising Arizona: Devoid of Humour

In the run up to the release of the eagerly anticipated True Grit, I thought it time to catch up with those Coen Brothers films I had yet to see. Made in their formative years, Raising Arizona is the second Coen film, following up the largely decent Blood Simple.

In and out of prison for armed robbery a number of times over a period of some years, repeat offender "Hi" McDunnough begins to gradually fall for police photographer "Ed". After Hi vows to reform, they marry and decide to have children. Upon discovering the infertility of Ed, they opt to steal one of five babies born to local furniture salesman Nathan Arizona.

Any film which numbers Nicolas Cage among its cast is a big risk for me. The man is one of those actors whose presence almost always signifies a terrible film to come. The combination of this bearing the Coen stamp and being the first Cage film I'd seen since Adaptation—in which he is, dare I say it, bearable—assuaged my fears and allowed me to sit back with hope intact. The film's opening is rapid in pace, though not too much of a fault: it's a little distracting, and feels a tad rushed, but it's no serious problem. The humour—for this is a comedy, in case you're unaware—starts relatively strong, an extended scene in which Hi attempts to control the quintuplets whilst choosing which to steal particularly humorous. Had the credits rolled immediately thereafter, I would've been happy. But they don't, alas. What follows is just over an hour of completely misguided humour, bare caricatures, and that most hated of "comedy" clichés: the parody of deep-South life. To call it an uncomfortable viewing experience would be an understatement, my eyes trained on the DVD player "time elapsed" display as my fingers drummed on the chair, waiting for it all to end. Other than in the first half hour, I genuinely don't think as much as a brief chuckle escaped my mouth. The characters are irritating, underdeveloped, uninteresting, and uninvolving (the bounty hunter biker caused me no end of sighs and wails of despair). I now remember, if you'll permit me something of a tangential thought, that I did in fact laugh twice: once each for Frances McDormand and John Goodman, both of whom are amongst the painfully few good things the film has to offer. Though that said, the scene wherein Goodman emerges from mud vexed me with its silly shouting. As if I wasn't disappointed and disgusted enough with the film as a whole, to return to things, the ending is utterly revolting garbage which attempts, in a most upsetting way, to sanitise what has gone before with paint-by-numbers sentiment. Simply infuriating.

Raising Arizona, you may have noticed, was not quite for me. Almost entirely devoid of humour, characters, or any shred of likability, it is a welcome edition to the Nic Cage canon. I think it possible that I'd have hated this less were it not a Coen Brothers film—not, that is to say, that I'm the kind of person who decided that the brothers were the saviours of American cinema after seeing No Country for Old Men—simply that all I'd seen by them prior to this had been at least quite quite good. In summary, do try to avoid this.