MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Down 379 this week

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)

 -  Comedy | Drama  -  21 December 1990 (USA)
5.3
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 5.3/10 from 13,532 users  
Reviews: 105 user | 28 critic

Financial "Master of the Universe" Sherman McCoy sees his life unravel when his mistress Maria Ruskin hits a black boy with his car. When yellow journalist Peter Fallow enflames public ... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(screenplay), (novel)
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

Related News

Looking back at Hudson Hawk
| Den of Geek
Radioman – review
| The Guardian - Film News

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 1228 titles created 02 May 2012
 
a list of 624 titles created 25 Apr 2011
 
a list of 1451 titles created 3 months ago
 
a list of 225 titles created 15 Apr 2011
 
a list of 110 titles created 21 Jul 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) on IMDb 5.3/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Bonfire of the Vanities.
5 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Tillsammans (2000)
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

Elisabeth leaves her abusive and drunken husband Rolf, she packs her bags, takes the kids and goes to her brother Göran. The year is 1975 and Göran lives in a commune called Together. ... See full summary »

Director: Lukas Moodysson
Stars: Lisa Lindgren, Michael Nyqvist, Emma Samuelsson
Smoke Signals (1998)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Young Indian man Thomas is a nerd in his reservation, wearing oversize glasses and telling everyone stories no-one wants to hear. His parents died in a fire in 1976, and Thomas was saved by... See full summary »

Director: Chris Eyre
Stars: Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard
Smoke (1995)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A Brooklyn smoke shop is the center of neighborhood activity, and the stories of its customers.

Director: Wayne Wang
Stars: Giancarlo Esposito, José Zúñiga, Harvey Keitel
East Is East (1999)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

In 1971 Salford fish-and-chip shop owner George Khan expects his family to follow his strict Pakistani Muslim ways. But his children, with an English mother and having been born and brought... See full summary »

Director: Damien O'Donnell
Stars: Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jordan Routledge
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.5/10 X  

Two girls, Carla and Lou meet on the street outside a loft waiting for their boyfriends. In a short time, they find out that they're waiting for the same guy - young actor Blake, who said ... See full summary »

Director: James Toback
Stars: Natasha Gregson Wagner, Heather Graham, Angel David
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Francie and Joe live the usual playful, fantasy filled childhoods of normal boys. However, with a violent, alcoholic father and a manic depressive, suicidal mother the pressure on Francie ... See full summary »

Director: Neil Jordan
Stars: Eamonn Owens, Alan Boyle, Fiona Shaw
Ghost World (2001)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

Enid and Rebecca are social outsiders who, after graduating from high school, play a mean prank on a middle-aged geek.

Director: Terry Zwigoff
Stars: Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi
Celebrity (1998)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

The fortunes of a husband and wife differ drastically after they divorce.

Director: Woody Allen
Stars: Greg Mottola, Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

Successful black woman traces her birth mother to a lower-class white woman, who denies it; emotions run high as everyone's secrets are exposed.

Director: Mike Leigh
Stars: Timothy Spall, Phyllis Logan, Brenda Blethyn
About Schmidt (2002)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A man upon retirement embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

Director: Alexander Payne
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Kathy Bates, Hope Davis
Being There (1979)
Drama | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

Chance, a simple gardener, has never left the estate until his employer dies. His simple TV-informed utterances are mistaken for profundity.

Director: Hal Ashby
Stars: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.4/10 X  

Lavinia and Suzette, former rock groupies and best friends, reconnect after 20 years; one is still as wild as ever, while the other has adopted a more conservative lifestyle.

Director: Bob Dolman
Stars: Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon, Geoffrey Rush
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
Jed Kramer
...
John Hancock ...
Reverend Bacon
...
Tom Killian
...
Albert Fox
Louis Giambalvo ...
Ray Andruitti
Barton Heyman ...
Det. Martin
Norman Parker ...
Det. Goldberg
...
Mr. McCoy
...
Arthur Ruskin
...
Edit

Storyline

Financial "Master of the Universe" Sherman McCoy sees his life unravel when his mistress Maria Ruskin hits a black boy with his car. When yellow journalist Peter Fallow enflames public opinion with a series of distorted tabloid articles on the accident, the case is seized upon by opportunists like Reverend Bacon and mayoral candidate D.A. Abe Weiss. Written by Jon Reeves <jreeves@imdb.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

An Outrageous Story of Greed, Lust and Vanity in America See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

21 December 1990 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

La hoguera de las vanidades  »

Box Office

Budget:

$47,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$15,691,192 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(70 mm prints)| (35 mm prints)

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kristin Scott Thomas personally tested for Brian De Palma for the role of Judy McCoy, but when invited to L.A. to test with Tom Hanks, she happened to be on vacation with her children and couldn't make it. De Palma didn't forget her when casting Mission: Impossible a few years later. See more »

Goofs

While Reverend Bacon is accusing District Attorney Abe Weiss, the TV remote control that Weiss is using switches hands between shots. See more »

Quotes

Maria Ruskin: [when she and Sherman end up in Bronx] Sherman... where are all the white people?
See more »

Connections

Featured in Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters (2006) See more »

Soundtracks

"Pennies From Heaven"
Written by Johnny Burke and Arthur Johnston
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
sheer De Palma's brilliance!
1 July 2005 | by (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – See all my reviews

Its a pity people don't get this film, but its a real shame most of the critics do not, either! This is the finest film I've ever seen, De Palma's best by far.

What you need to realize about this film is its complex ironical code. If you cant get the irony, the "movie" will seem pointless to you.

Stylistically, this is De Palma's most remarkable film, built on theatrical acting, pulling the limits of conventional movie acting to the very edge. The whole cast is just brilliant! Follow the camera, its angles and plans; the twisted camera perspective is the most significant technical instrument to produce ironical effect in this film. Everything which is said and done in this film can be observed not only in virtual, but also in metaphorical manner, and that is where rich political symbolics come from.

This is the film which successfully unites political and aesthetic aspect in a lovely and inspired interplay, and it is highly recommended to anyone trying to cultivate his taste.


39 of 52 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
racist movie ap1704
Bruce Willis ashamed of 'Bonfire of the Vanities' chrish2
Worst adaptation of a book I have ever seen. deadlyledley
One of the three most underrated films of all time prognathous
This movie is SO underrated fbeato
What is your favorite scene? seilcho7
Discuss The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?