Hoffa (1992)

Director:

Danny DeVito

Writer (WGA):

David Mamet (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

He didn't want law. He wanted justice.

Plot:

A film based on the story of legendary union figure Jimmy Hoffa.

Plot Keywords:

Labor Relations | 1930s | 1940s | Docudrama | One Word Title

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	James R. 'Jimmy' Hoffa
Danny DeVito	...	Bobby Ciaro
Armand Assante	...	Carol D'Allesandro
J.T. Walsh	...	Frank Fitzsimmons
John C. Reilly	...	Pete Connelly
Frank Whaley	...	Young Kid
Kevin Anderson	...	Robert Kennedy
John P. Ryan	...	Red Bennett
Robert Prosky	...	Billy Flynn
Natalia Nogulich	...	Jo Hoffa
Nicholas Pryor	...	Hoffa's Attorney
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Ted Harmon
Karen Young	...	Young Woman at RTA
Cliff Gorman	...	Solly Stein
Joanne Neer	...	Soignee Woman

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #32066) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Carnegie Mellon University - 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

The Courtroom scenes were filmed in the Wayne County Commission (Detroit) meeting room and most of the extras were Commissioners, their staffs, and County workers.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bobby holds a knife to Hoffa's throat in the alley, they are approached by Billy Flynn. Flynn pulls a revolver from his coat and cocks it, but it is uncocked/cocked in subsequent shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bobby Ciaro: Want me to go call him up?
Jimmy Hoffa: Uh-unh.
Bobby Ciaro: Want a cup of coffee?
Jimmy Hoffa: No.
Bobby Ciaro: Want to go?
[Hoffa gives him a scornful glance]
Bobby Ciaro: You OK?
Jimmy Hoffa: Yeah.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kicking and Screaming (1995)

Soundtrack:

When You're Smiling

The real Hoffa and the reel Hoffa

James Riddle Hoffa was probably one of the most enigmatic union leaders in this history of our country. As an important labor organizer during the over the road trucker strikes in the 1930s, he accomplished many things that made possible the emergence of the Teamsters Union as a major political force for several decades afterward. At the same time, he fell into a trap that bedevils many a fighter who perceives her/himself as a "people's champion"- he convinced himself that he had to fight fire with fire, and in the end, it devoured him. Secondly, Hoffa did not have the money, the support or the political sophistication of a Robert Kennedy. This'll finish you in the United States. Despite all our bombast about law and order, the country loves its shady political characters charming and slick, or the medicine show man, witness: Clinton, Reagan, Bush. The awkward and openly coarse need not apply, witness Nixon, Hoffa, Lott. David Mamet understands that, and that's why his version of Hoffa's life works.

Mamet's Hoffa knows the Kennedy family built their fortune out of rum running to a large extent, and he sees no difference between their corruption and his own compromises. At least, Hoffa tells himself, his own deals with the devil serve something larger then his immediate family, they serve the membership of the union. And this was very true, which is why a fair number of Teamsters still swear by the name Jimmy Hoffa. Nicholson's snide asides to his "betters" completely captures the class war basis that motivated the actual man's actions. Anyone who has been through an actual labor dispute and has been witness to the patronizing communications that come through a company eager to crush a union effort knows full well what fired up Jimmy Hoffa, even as we turn aside from the path he took.

The film succeeds because De Vito, Nicholson and Mamet understand what pushed the labor movement forward, and they understand its contradictions. Most important, they understand why those contradictions overwhelmed a man as gifted as Jimmy Hoffa, and this is what makes it better then your average Hollywood drama about labor. Hoffa is a film about working class attitude that gets beneath the usual dismissals of working class concerns, and as such, deserves respect. The powers that be have every legend about their leadership. It's time the working class was allowed legends about its own once again, provided we understand that they are legends, and therefore laden with much myth. The very real larger then life qualities of Jimmy Hoffa, however, make this a film worth more then one critical glance.