Miller's Crossing (1990)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Joel Coen
(more)

Writers:

Joel Coen (written by) and
Ethan Coen (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

October 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

What's the rumpus?

Plot:

Tom Regan, an advisor to a Prohibition-era crime boss, tries to keep the peace between warring mobs but gets caught in divided loyalties.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Loyalty | Irish Mob | Prohibition | Police

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Gabriel Byrne	...	Tom Reagan
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Verna
John Turturro	...	Bernie Bernbaum
Jon Polito	...	Johnny Caspar
J.E. Freeman	...	Eddie Dane
Albert Finney	...	Leo
Mike Starr	...	Frankie
Al Mancini	...	Tic-Tac
Richard Woods	...	Mayor Dale Levander
Thomas Toner	...	O'Doole
Steve Buscemi	...	Mink
Mario Todisco	...	Clarence "Drop" Johnson
Olek Krupa	...	Tad
Michael Jeter	...	Adolph
Lanny Flaherty	...	Terry
Jeanette Kontomitras	...	Mrs. Caspar
Louis Charles Mounicou III	...	Johnny Caspar, Jr.
John McConnell	...	Cop - Brian
Danny Aiello III	...	Cop - Delahanty
Helen Jolly	...	Screaming Lady
Hilda McLean	...	Landlady
Monte Starr	...	Gunman in Leo's House
Don Picard	...	Gunman in Leo's House
Salvatore H. Tornabene	...	Rug Daniels
Kevin Dearie	...	Street Urchin
Michael Badalucco	...	Caspar's Driver
Charles Ferrara	...	Caspar's Butler
Esteban Fernández	...	Caspar's Cousin (as Esteban Fernandez)
George Fernandez	...	Caspar's Cousin
Charles Gunning	...	Hitman at Verna's
Dave Drinkx	...	Hitman #2
David Darlow	...	Lazarre's Messenger
Robert LaBrosse	...	Lazarre's Tough
Carl Rooney	...	Lazarre's Tough
Jack Harris	...	Man with Pipe Bomb (as Jack David Harris)
Jery Hewitt	...	Son of Erin
Sam Raimi	...	Snickering Gunman
John Schnauder Jr.	...	Cop with Bullhorn
Zolly Levin	...	Rabbi
Joey Ancona	...	Boxer
Bill Raye	...	Boxer
William Preston Robertson	...	Voice (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael P. Cahill	...	Casino Patron (uncredited)
Frances McDormand	...	Mayor's Secretary (uncredited)

Directed by
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Joel Coen		(written by) and
Ethan Coen		(written by)
Dashiell Hammett		novels "Red Harvest" and "Glass Key" (uncredited)

Produced by
Ben Barenholtz	....	executive producer
Ethan Coen	....	producer
Graham Place	....	line producer
Mark Silverman	....	co-producer
Joel Coen	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Carter Burwell

Cinematography by
Barry Sonnenfeld		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Michael R. Miller

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

Production Design by
Dennis Gassner

Art Direction by
Leslie McDonald

Set Decoration by
Nancy Haigh

Costume Design by
Richard Hornung

Makeup Department
Lynn E. Champagne	....	assistant hair stylist (as Lynn Champagne)
Lynn E. Champagne	....	assistant makeup artist (as Lynn Champagne)
Cydney Cornell	....	hair stylist
Peggy Hannaman	....	assistant hair stylist
Peggy Hannaman	....	assistant makeup artist
Katherine James	....	makeup artist (as Kathrine James)

Production Management
James DeMeaux	....	post-production supervisor
Alma Kuttruff	....	production manager
Ron Neter	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
C.C. Barnes	....	second assistant director
Gregory Jacobs	....	second assistant director (as Greg Jacobs)
Gary Marcus	....	first assistant director

Art Department
J. Todd Anderson	....	storyboard artist
Paige Augustine	....	assistant decorator
Alice Baker	....	set dresser
John Bankson	....	assistant property master (as John P. Bankson III)
Rick Bernos	....	set painter (as Richard Bernos)
Mark D. Berrend	....	carpenter (as Mark Berrend)
Randall S. Coe	....	carpenter (as Randy Coe)
Michael T. Daigle	....	lead scenic artist (as Michael Daigle)
Frank Darlington	....	set painter (as Peter Darlington)
Tom Dreesen	....	construction coordinator
Matt Flynn	....	scenic artist
Douglas Fox	....	property master (as Doug Fox)
Neil Gahm	....	carpenter
Claire Gaul	....	key set dresser
Robert C. Goldstein	....	design consultant (as Bob Goldstein)
Donald Gross	....	carpenter (as Don Gross)
William Hickey	....	carpenter
Brian Kasch	....	leadman
Terry Kempf	....	construction foreman
Chris Kuttruff	....	shop assistant
Kirby Kuttruff	....	carpenter
Thomas Lemman	....	lead carpenter
Karen Luzius	....	set painter
Tom Marron	....	carpenter
Michael S. Martin	....	swing crew (as Michael Martin)
Kathleen M. McKernin	....	set designer (as Kathleen McKernin)
Louis Medrano	....	art department assistant
James P. Meehan	....	second assistant props (as Jim Meehan)
David Menefee	....	carpenter
Huey Mitchell	....	carpenter
John Patterson	....	lead carpenter
Scott Plauche	....	art department coordinator
Patricia Post	....	props assistant
Elizabeth Prejean	....	set painter (as Liz Prejean)
Nick Rippon	....	carpenter (as Nick Rippon Jr.)
Tad Smalley	....	carpenter (as Tad Allen Smalley)
Amy Vuckovich	....	swing crew (as Amy Botefuhr)
Eileen Winterkorn	....	stand-by scenic
Wallace W. Wright	....	set painter (as Wallace Wright)
Doug DuRose	....	props (uncredited)
Michael Hendrick	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Patrick McGuire	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Chris L. Spellman	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Chuck Stringer	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ron Bochar	....	foley supervisor
Allan Byer	....	production sound mixer
Jean Marie Carroll	....	sound recordist
Nzingha Clarke	....	apprentice sound editor
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael DiCosimo	....	consultant: Dolby
William Docker	....	assistant sound editor
Peter F. Kurland	....	boom operator
Stuart Levy	....	apprentice sound editor
Skip Lievsay	....	supervising sound editor
Marissa Littlefield	....	dialogue editor
Bruce Pross	....	foley editor
Nic Ratner	....	adr editor
Anne Sawyer	....	assistant sound editor
Gail Showalter	....	adr editor
Philip Stockton	....	dialogue supervisor

Special Effects by
Bob Ahmanson	....	special effects assistant
Peter Chesney	....	special effects coordinator
Tom Chesney	....	special effects assistant
Lenny Dalrymple	....	special effects assistant
David-Michael Goddard	....	special effects production assistant
Emmet Kane	....	special effects assistant (as Emmett Kane)
Dean W. Miller	....	special effects assistant (as Dean Miller)
David Schlesinger	....	special effects production assistant

Stunts
Bill Anagnos	....	stunt player
Kurt Bryant	....	stunt player
Norman Douglass	....	stunt player
Roy Farfel	....	stunt player
Nicholas J. Giangiulio	....	stunt player (as Nick Giangiulio)
Jery Hewitt	....	stunt coordinator
Gary Tacon	....	stunt player

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Burke	....	rigging gaffer
Michael Charbonnet	....	second assistant camera
Ken Connors	....	best boy (as Kenneth R. Conners)
Tricia Cooke	....	camera department assistant
Angelo Di Giacomo	....	first assistant camera (as Angelo DiGiacomo)
Russell Engels	....	gaffer (as Russell W. Engels)
Brian Fitzsimons	....	best boy grip
Dennis Gamiello	....	dolly grip
Dennis Gamiello	....	key grip
Alvin Henry	....	electrician
Toulouse Holliday	....	grip
Larry Huston	....	Steadicam assistant
Colin Kell	....	electrician
John Lowry	....	rigging grip (as John B. Lowry)
Larry McConkey	....	Steadicam operator
Mike 'Chewie' Pappas	....	electrician
Patti Perret	....	production still photographer
Noland Roger	....	electrician
Michael L. Smith	....	grip (as Michael Smith)
Barry Sonnenfeld	....	camera operator
J.D. Streett	....	grip (as J.D.Streett)
Keith Talley	....	grip

Casting Department
Sandra Dawes	....	casting: New Orleans (as Sandra D. Dawes)
Lynn Ross	....	extras casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Barbara B. Baker	....	set costumer
Mark Bridges	....	costume assistant
Lorraine Calvert	....	assistant costume designer
Mae Easterling	....	seamstress
Carol Squadra Fawcett	....	costume assistant
Ghretta Hynd	....	seamstress
Bonney Langfitt	....	wardrobe supervisor
Marina Marit	....	costume shop assistant
Heather Pennington	....	seamstress
Ellen Ryba	....	assistant costume designer
Jacque St. James	....	costume construction supervisor

Editorial Department
Michael Berenbaum	....	first assistant editor
Tricia Cooke	....	apprentice editor
Tony Grocki	....	assistant editor (as Anthony Grocki)
Tom Salvatore	....	color timer

Music Department
Emile Charlap	....	musicians contractor
Paul Lustig Dunkel	....	conductor
Todd Kasow	....	music editor
Sonny Kompanek	....	orchestrator
Barbara Minor	....	assistant music editor
Larry Wilcox	....	orchestrator
Vince Caro	....	assistant scoring engineer (uncredited)
Fletcher Henderson	....	music arranger (uncredited)
John Moses	....	musician: clarinetist (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Michael Cain	....	driver: production van
Frank Culotta	....	picture car mechanic
William 'Fleet' Eakland	....	transportation coordinator
Tutt Esquerre	....	picture car coordinator (as Tutt Esquerré)
Dallas Foles	....	picture car mechanic
Thomas O. Hawkins	....	picture car mechanic
Earl R. Hurst Sr.	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Terri Clemens	....	production coordinator
Kenny Creed	....	production assistant
Kelly Curley	....	office assistant
Paul Ecke	....	location projectionist
Todd Fellman	....	dailies runner
Jaffrey Gatto	....	craft service (as Jerry Gatto)
Michael Johnson	....	craft service
Thomas Johnston	....	script supervisor
Sidney J. Lambert	....	craft service (as Sid Lambert)
Margaret Lancaster	....	production secretary
Edith Leblanc	....	assistant production coordinator (as Edith LeBlanc)
Eileen McCahill	....	assistant location manager
Margaret Ann Mccourt	....	assistant auditor (as Margaret McCourt)
Karl Lewis Miller	....	animal trainer: Animal Action (as Karl Miller)
Amy Ness	....	location manager
Jimmy Otis	....	assistant location manager
David K. Riebel	....	key production assistant (as David Riebel)
Paul Sanchez	....	production assistant
Andrew Schuth	....	location intern
Ruth Turman	....	nurse
Amelia Villero	....	key production assistant
Rosanne Vogel	....	production auditor
Richard Wentz	....	production assistant
Randall Balsmeyer	....	title designer (uncredited)

Thanks
Alex Albanese	....	special thanks
Butch Chaney	....	acknowledgment: livestock and equipment furnished by (as Chaney Brothers, Butch and John)
John Chaney	....	acknowledgment: livestock and equipment furnished by (as Chaney Brothers, Butch and John)
Stephanie Dupuy	....	special thanks (as Stephanie Samuel)
Senor Greazer	....	special thanks (as Señor Greaser)
Tesa La Violette	....	special thanks
Sue Ney	....	special thanks
Hilary Nye	....	special thanks (as Hilary Ney)
Frank Toye	....	special thanks
Kurt Woolner	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Circle Films
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1990) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1991) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1990) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (1991) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1991) (Finland) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Arcade Movie Company (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• FS Film Oy (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Fox Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Fox Video (1997) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Gativideo (199?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2001) (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• Oy Europa Vision AB (1991) (Finland) (VHS)
• SubTV (2005) (Finland) (TV)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (Nepal) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (Canada) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1996) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)

Special Effects

• Image Engineering (special effects)

Other Companies

• AT&T  special thanks
• Animal Action  animal trainer
• Balsmeyer and Everett  main and end titles designed and produced by (as Balsmeyer & Everett Inc.)
• Bon Bon  payroll services (as Bon Bon Entertainment)
• C5  post-production sound services
• Duart  color by
• Filmtrucks  locations equipped by
• Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing  special thanks (as Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing - New York)
• J.G. Films  negative cutting
• Locations Catering - New Orleans  catering (as Locations Catering, New Orleans)
• New Orleans "A's" Club  vintage automobiles furnished by
• Panavision  filmed with (as Panavision® Cameras & Lenses)
• R/Greenberg Associates  opticals
• Sound One Corporation  post-production services (as Sound One Corp.)
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack available on (as Varèse Sarabande CDs)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Irish Gaelic | Yiddish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | Dolby Digital (DVD version)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | France:-12 | Brazil:16 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | South Korea:18 | Norway:11 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Germany:18 (nf) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:18 (video rating) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (re-rating) | UK:18 | USA:R (Approved No. 30173) | Canada:R (Canadian Home Video rating)

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Circle Films

Trivia:

Body count: 14

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tom is picked up by TicTac and The Dane before they go looking for the body in the woods the street changes between shots - a black car appears beneath the High & Sons sign in one shot then disappears when TicTac swerves his car onto the pavement

Quotes:

Leo O'Bannion: If I never see him again, it would be soon enough.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Shooting 'Miller's Crossing': A Conversation with Barry Sonnenfeld (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Come Back To Erin

The Intellectual's Gangster Film

"I'm talkin' about friendship. I'm talkin' about character. I'm talkin' about--hell Leo, I ain't embarrassed to use the word--ethics." So Jon Polito, as crime-boss Johnny "Caspar," describes to his overlord, Albert Finney as "Leo," his point of view while seeking permission to kill a double-crossing underling (played by John Turturro) in the opening lines of __Miller's Crossing__. Had the script sought only to explore the power relationship between the two chief mobsters (one the rising Italian, the other the diminishing Irishman), this would have been a very good gangster film. It portrays an earlier era in the nation's history of organized crime (perhaps Chicago in the late '20s), and one can imagine Leo as the Irish predecessor of __The Godfather__'s Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando).

Just as __The Godfather__ was really about family relationships and the ethical complexities arising when familial loyalty collides with the business of violence, however, __Miller's Crossing__ is actually about, as Caspar tells us, friendship and character put under the enormous strain of that same business of violence. The film, therefore, centers on Leo's trusted adviser Tom (played flawlessly by the Irish actor Gabriel Byrne). Tom is not a gunsel, but the brain behind Leo's muscle. His decisions carry life and death consequences, however, and we watch him try to live with himself, to preserve his character, as he works out a code that will help him and his friends survive brutally violent upheavals. Critics of the film have cited its graphic cruelty and the seeming coldness of its characters, yet these are essential features in developing the film's theme.

Sentimentality might get any of the major characters killed, and one notes the pathos and dark humor that underline an ironic distance that each character, especially Tom, cultivates as a tool for survival.

Clues abound as we wonder what Tom will do next. Follow, for example, the men's hats over the course of the film. Who "keeps his lid on," so to speak, and who loses his? Note the number of times characters exclaim "Jesus!" or "Damn!" when saying the name "Tom." What has he sacrificed? Has he damned himself?

Spectacular action sequences, beautiful production values, top-notch camera work by Barry Sonnenfeld, a haunting musical score, and the best dialogue ever written by the Coen brothers make this a great gangster film. The fascinating and complex theme of friendship, character, and ethics make it one of the great films from any genre.