Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

In 1920s New York, a struggling playwright is forced to cast a mobster's talentless girlfriend in his latest drama in order to get it produced.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writers:

Woody Allen, Douglas McGrath

Stars:

John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Tilly

Won 1 Oscar. Another 20 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	David Shayne
Dianne Wiest	...	Helen Sinclair
Jennifer Tilly	...	Olive Neal
Chazz Palminteri	...	Cheech
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Ellen
Jack Warden	...	Julian Marx
Joe Viterelli	...	Nick Valenti
Rob Reiner	...	Sheldon Flender
Tracey Ullman	...	Eden Brent
Jim Broadbent	...	Warner Purcell
Harvey Fierstein	...	Sid Loomis
Stacey Nelkin	...	Rita
Malgorzata Zajaczkowska	...	Lili (as Margaret Sophie Stein)
Charles Cragin	...	Rifkin
Nina von Arx	...	Josette (as Nina Sonya Peterson)

Storyline

Set in 1920's New York City, this movie tells the story of idealistic young playwright David Shayne. Producer Julian Marx finally finds funding for the project from gangster Nick Valenti. The catch is that Nick's girl friend Olive Neal gets the part of a psychiatrist, and Olive is a bimbo who could never pass for a psychiatrist as well as being a dreadful actress. Agreeing to this first compromise is the first step to Broadway's complete seduction of David, who neglects longtime girl friend Ellen. Meanwhile David puts up with Warner Purcell, the leading man who is a compulsive eater, Helen Sinclair, the grand dame who wants her part jazzed up, and Cheech, Olive's interfering hitman / bodyguard. Eventually, the playwright must decide whether art or life is more important.

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Plot Keywords:

actress | playwright | play | bodyguard | new york city | 

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Taglines:

The New Comedy From Woody Allen!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Disparos sobre Broadway

Filming Locations:

110th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$13,383,737 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax Films, Sweetland Films, Magnolia Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dianne Wiest said she really struggled with Helen Sinclair's signature line. She finally decided to lower her voice when she said "Don't speak!" The lower she said it, the funnier it became.

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Goofs

When David stands in the street and argues with Sheldon Flender in the apartment above, a powerful floodlight on a technical-looking stand is reflected in the open window.

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Quotes

David Shayne: You thought my first draft was c-cerebral and tepid?
Helen Sinclair: Only the plot and the dialogue. But this...
David Shayne: Was-was-was there nothing in the original draft that you feel was worth saving?
Helen Sinclair: The stage directions were lucid. Best I've ever seen... and the color of the binder. Good choice.
David Shayne: Thank you. I've always had a flair for stage directions.

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Connections

Spoofed in Blood Over Broadway (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' Bye!)"
Written by Dan Russo, Ernie Erdman and Gus Kahn
Performed by Al Jolson with the Vitaphone Orchestra
Courtesy of Academy Sound and Vision Ltd.

User Reviews

Intelligence and humour

Woody Allen is a genius indeed. Once more in this movie he presents us with a mixture of intelligence and humour conveyed by his famous witty dialogues where the characters seem to play with serious things but are indeed giving us through humour an image of what people think and feel about life nowadays and about the relationships that spring among them. This story mix up with considerable success two ingredients that "a priori" seem not to combine very well: the world of theatre with the world of mafia and gangsterism in the crazy twenties of last century. All the characters are very typical and greatly performed: the young playwright looking for a place in the sun, the ham actress who overacts a lot even in real life, the mafia boss who imposes his girlfriend on the playwright as an actress, the Greenwich Village intellectuals and so on. In my opinion however the feeblest character is the one of the gangster who becomes also playwright from a certain moment on. Some of his interventions lack authenticity. But this is only a minor flaw in the whole. Like all the other Woody Allen's movies this one seems superficial at first sight but it's well made and deep enough to amuse us and simultaneously make us think and feel life in it.