Insignificance (1985)

Four 1950s icons meet in the same hotel room and two of them discover more in common between them than they ever anticipated.

Director:

Nicolas Roeg

Writer:

Terry Johnson (screenplay)

Stars:

Gary Busey, Tony Curtis, Theresa Russell

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Emil	...	Professor
Theresa Russell	...	Actress
Tony Curtis	...	Senator
Gary Busey	...	The Ballplayer
Will Sampson	...	Elevator Attendant
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Driver
Ian O'Connell	...	Assistant Director
George Holmes	...	Actor
Richard M. Davidson	...	Director of Photography (as Richard Davidson)
Mitchell Greenberg	...	Technician
Raynor Scheine	...	Autograph Hunter
Jude Ciccolella	...	Gaffer
Lou Hirsch	...	Charlie
Ray Charleson	...	Bud
Joel Cutrara	...	Bar Drunk

Storyline

Four 1950's cultural icons (Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio and Senator Joseph MacCarthy) who conceivably could have met and probably didn't, fictionally do in this modern fable of post-WWII America. Visually intriguing, the film has a fluid progression of flash-backs and flash-forwards centering on the fictional Einstein's current observations, childhood memories and apprehensions for the future.

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Plot Keywords:

1950s | new york city | based on play | hotel room | baseball player | 

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Taglines:

The object of every man's fantasy and the greatest mind of the century are about to meet.

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 August 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Insignificancia

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Zenith Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was entered into competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1985 where it was nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or Award but won instead the Technical Grand Prize.

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Goofs

The movie takes place in 1954. In one scene, a man is in a bar watching the World Series. The TV announcer for the game starts talking about "Campanella, Hodges, and Berra" being involved in a play. In 1954 those 3 players played for Brooklyn Dodgers and NY Yankees, however the 1954 World Series was between the Cleveland Indians and NY Giants, therefore none of those 3 even played.

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Quotes

The Ballplayer: You think I'm stupid, right? Well, lemme let you in on a little secret. I am NOT stupid. Heh, heh. I just enjoy giving the appearance of being stupid. You see, from an early age I've reveled in the appearance of stupidity which is given me a great deal of time to think. So I been thinking... No more TV. No more TV dinners. If you like, no more baseball.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Gary Busey/Roseanne Barr/Steve Trotter (1985)

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Soundtracks

Wild Hearts
Words & Music by Will Jennings, Roy Orbison
Sung by Roy Orbison
Produced by David Briggs, Roy Orbison

User Reviews

Insignificance

Joe DiMaggio, Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe and Senator McCarthy (or rather, unnamed facsimiles of them) converge in a hotel room. The result is a thematically sprawling work, covering topics like celebrity, guilt, the plight of the Native American, the shape of the universe, Communism, and nuclear destruction. I haven't been a fan of Roeg at all, but there is something that draws you in to this film, asking you to sort it out and piece it together. The problem is, I don't think it can be pieced together. It's messy... perhaps uniquely messy or intriguingly messy, but messy nonetheless. The story (based on a stage play) flits from one idea to another, too busy trying to cram them all in to make them resonate. And I had big problems with the performances. I can't stand Theresa Russell. Partly it's her vacant, husky voice but I also just don't think she's a good actress. Tony Curtis does what he can, but the characterization of McCarthy is too cartoonish and savage to take seriously. Michael Emil is annoyingly nebbishy as Einstein, as if he'd been plucked out of a Woody Allen film. Amazingly, that leaves Gary Busey as the best member of the cast, but all he really has to do is be a dumb lout. Honestly, if the performances were just a little bit better I'd probably rank this film higher. There are at least two fantastic scenes: one where Monroe explains the theory of relativity to Einstein, and the horrifying but gorgeously surreal finale where Einstein envisions the room being ravaged by nuclear carnage. But taking the film as a whole, it's just too all over the place.