American Buffalo (1996)

Long-repressed feelings of bitterness and betrayal explode when three inner-city losers plot the robbery of a valuable coin in a seedy second-hand junk shop.

Director:

Michael Corrente

Writers:

David Mamet (play), David Mamet (screenplay)

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz, Sean Nelson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Teach
Dennis Franz	...	Don
Sean Nelson	...	Bob

Storyline

AMERICAN BUFFALO is another story of men's interminable struggle toward the top of the heap, a goal which ultimately and inevitably eludes most of us. Don Dubro, the proprietor of a dusty dark inner-city junk shop, holds court there with his friends and makes plans probably on a daily basis for his ascendancy to the top. He does this more out of habit than hope because he's long ago surrendered his future to the daily repetition of his life as guardian of the discarded remnants of others' possessions. Disheveled Teach, on the other hand, is either too dumb or too stubborn to accept the lot life has dealt him. Instead, he bucks like a wild horse under the saddle and refuses to be broken. Most pitiable of the trio which populates the movie is teen-aged Bobby. Mistaking much of the palaver which passes between the older men as pearls of wisdom, Bobby is the only one of the trio who still has a chance to make a life for himself somewhere beyond this tired too-familiar neighborhood. Don ...

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Plot Keywords:

coin | junk shop | betrayal | robbery | loser | 

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Taglines:

They had a plan. It wasn't worth a nickel.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Buffalo - Das Glück liegt auf der Straße

Filming Locations:

Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$164,109 (USA) (13 September 1996)

Gross:

$540,364 (USA) (4 October 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Capitol Films, Channel Four Films, Prairie Oyster Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The play originally opened at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago on 23 November 1975. Bernard Erhard played Teach, J.J. Johnston played Don and William H. Macy played Bobby. Al Pacino also played Teach on Broadway from 1981-1984.

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Quotes

Don: [to Bobby] Get Teach an English muffin.
Teach: I don't want an English muffin.
Don: Get him and English muffin and make sure they give you the jelly.

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Crazy Credits

special thanks to Mr. B

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Connections

Referenced in Frogs for Snakes (1998)

User Reviews

A good movie if you're a fan of the stage play

Your average movie goer will not enjoy this film. With a small cast of three main characters, the majority of the film takes place in a single room. This alone may explain why the film never took off as the blockbuster it should have been with actors such as Dennis Franz and Dustin Hoffman. The direction of the film could have been much better that it turned out to be. Like other critics have said, the film was shot like it was being acted on stage. This is very true. The film has no unique directing style nor does it have any strong motif to add to the films creative look and style. The acting in the film, on the other hand, is wonderful. Franz and Hoffman are excellent together. With a stronger movie maker in the director's chair, the movie could have been much much better.