Rain Man (1988)

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers (WGA):

Barry Morrow (story)
Ronald Bass (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 December 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country.

Plot Keywords:

Savant | Convertible | Autistic Savant | Inheritance | Desert

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 13 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 23	2:30 PM	AMC
Tue. Nov. 24	7:00 AM	AMC

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Raymond Babbitt
Tom Cruise	...	Charlie Babbitt
Valeria Golino	...	Susanna
Gerald R. Molen	...	Dr. Bruner (as Jerry Molen)
Jack Murdock	...	John Mooney
Michael D. Roberts	...	Vern
Ralph Seymour	...	Lenny
Lucinda Jenney	...	Iris
Bonnie Hunt	...	Sally Dibbs
Kim Robillard	...	Small Town Doctor
Beth Grant	...	Mother at Farm House
Dolan Dougherty	...	Farm House Kid
Marshall Dougherty	...	Farm House Kid
Patrick Dougherty	...	Farm House Kid
John-Michael Dougherty	...	Farm House Kid

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Iceland:L | Ireland:15 | Brazil:Livre | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | New Zealand:PG | Norway:10 (original rating) | Norway:11 (re-rating) | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Caesar's Palace - 3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

In the movie when Charlie removes Raymond from Walbrook, we see them walking down a long oak tree lined driveway. In 2007 many of these oak trees had become diseased, forcing their removal (replacements were to be planted). Before the trees were cut down, several people came to the grounds of the convent and recreated the scene where Raymond and Charlie walk down the drive

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Rain Man says that he buys his underwear at K-Mart on Oak & Burnet. There isn't a K-Mart located on Oak & Burnet. Oak & Burnet is the location of the Vernon Manor Hotel, where Tom Cruise and others in the cast stayed during the filming of the movie.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Charlie: [on telephone] Now it's five and a half weeks and I'm still sitting on four Lamborghinis that can't meet spot emissions standards. Now, how many times you wash out with EPA?
Lenny: [on a separate line] Uh, yes sir, they're finally, uh, clearing EPA; uh, just one or two more days.
Charlie: Three times? You're really on a roll here, my friend; four cars, three times each - that's zip for twelve. What are you, a... mechanic, or a NASA engineer? Now listen, now, I told you I've never dealt with these Lamborghinis before, and yet you assured me that you can deliver these cars within that time frame. Don't, don't tell me that, 'cause I - I'm not even listening.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Charles in Charge: Brain Man (#5.13)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Dry Bones

Shows the way forward for issue driven movies.

Tom Cruise stars as a used car salesman, who is angry when his father's inheritance is left to his older autistic brother (Dustin Hoffman), whose existence had not been revealed to him.

The film is built around its two assured central performances. Hoffman gives an excellent portrayal of a man with autism, totally unable to comprehend the real world around him. Cruise is no less impressive. While he is essentially playing to type, his character's attitude changes so gradually throughout the film that you barely notice, and without Cruise's subtle performance this transformation would be much less credible.

This is a highly commendable film, which, despite tackling a tricky subject, refuses to succumb to sentimentality. In giving autism such publicity, the film has hopefully helped to lessen the stigma brought on by ignorance of this condition.

Rain Man's great success is that it shows the way forward for issue driven movies in Hollywood. Its success at the box office demonstrates that taking a risk can pay off in spades, provided that the film is good enough.