- Director
- Writers
- Edwin Blum(story)
- Lowell Ganz(story)
- Babaloo Mandel(story)
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- Edwin Blum(story)
- Lowell Ganz(story)
- Babaloo Mandel(story)
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Videos1
- Mr. Sakamoto
- (as Soh Yamamura)
- Umeki Kazihiro
- (as Patti Yasuiake)
- Director
- Writers
- Edwin Blum(story)
- Lowell Ganz(story) (screenplay)
- Babaloo Mandel(story) (screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Bloomberg Businessweek, Toyota later used the film as an example of how not to manage Americans.
- GoofsWhen Hunt Stevenson meets the Japanese managers for the first time, they hand their business cards over with one hand. Japanese business protocol requires formally presenting business cards, holding them with both hands.
- Quotes
Hunt Stevenson: If you walk out that door, you're going to miss a great comeback. We're ready to roll here, Jack.
Mr. Sakamoto: This will never be like a Japanese factory... *Jack.*
Hunt Stevenson: Oh, yeah? You're right. You know what else? So what?
Mr. Sakamoto: You failed.
Hunt Stevenson: Really? Wanna know something? I got one of the first cars ever made here. I got *the* first car ever - I don't think I want it anymore. As a matter of fact, here
[hands keys to Mr. Sakamoto]
Hunt Stevenson: . Why don't you take the keys, ok? I'd rather have one of those cars
[points to cars in assembly line]
Hunt Stevenson: . I'd rather have one of these cars that *we* made *together,* by hand. Your guys and my guys, together. You know why? Because those cars stand for something. Those cars stand for something pretty great. I'm proud of those cars. I'm taking one.
[Turns to workers]
Hunt Stevenson: Gentlemen, I'm going home in my new car!
Hunt Stevenson: [All workers cheer and applaud, then silently pray that Hunt's new car has a working engine. Hunt starts the car, and the workers cheer. However, the car literally falls apart after about 2 yards, and the workers start to moan. Hunter gets out of the car] I tell ya, I thought it handled great!
- Alternate versionsSome international editions distributed by Paramount on DVD, reduced the aspect ratio from original 2.39:1 to 2.09:1.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Generation X: The Power of Disruption (2016)
- SoundtracksDon't Get Me Wrong
By Chrissie Hynde
Performed by The Pretenders
Produced by Jimmy Lavine and Bob Clearmountain
Courtesy of Sire Records Company
"Gung Ho" does a better job of capturing the mood of the American industrial workforce than just about any other popular movie made during that period. Certainly the movie has its flaws -- some loose plot threads and mediocre acting jobs by everyone except Michael Keaton and Gedde Watanabe. But the story really is about the meeting of East and West: Keaton's Hunt Stevenson personifies America, brash and confident on the outside yet insecure underneath. Watanabe's Kazuhiro personifies Japan, on top of the heap with a successful system, but wondering if there is more to be learned from their Western rivals. The movie's plot, flawed as it is, simply provides a framework for the conflict, and eventually synthesis, of their two personalities.
Keaton's acting overshadows everyone else's, and practically makes the movie by itself. I've always admired Keaton for his ability to deliver lines that feel improvised, no matter what script he's following. His character, Hunt Stevenson, is a likable, affable everyman, a natural leader with a wise-ass streak. But he has a fatal flaw common to many of us: he doesn't want to disappoint anyone. He'll distract the crowd with inspirational anecdotes, and even lie, rather than point out the ugly truth.
Kazuhiro is the mirror image of Stevenson: shy and introspective, but also, because of his Japanese upbringing, reluctant to be the bearer of bad news. The scene in which Stevenson first comes to Kazuhiro with the employees' grievances captures perfectly the Japanese approach to workplace conflict. Kazuhiro replies to Stevenson's complaints with "I understand what you are saying," but won't refuse his requests out loud. Stevenson misinterprets this as agreement, and goes away saying, "Okay, we've got that settled." (This is still a problem in Japanese-American business relations in the 21st century!)
Ultimately, Kazuhiro and Stevenson have the same problem: get the factory working smoothly, meet production goals, and fulfill their responsibility to the workers under them. In working towards this goal, they each have to take a page from the others' book. Kazuhiro's family becoming more "Americanized" is an obvious example. Also note that Stevenson thinks it's odd when Kazuhiro explains how he had to make a public apology to his workers for failing them -- and yet, later in the movie, Stevenson does exactly that himself.
The plot and its resolution are a little cornball, but hey, this is a comedy. If you can overlook the movie's flaws, there is a great story about self-realization and open-mindedness here.
- NJ_jimcat
- Oct 22, 2002
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $18,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $36,611,610
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,170,830
- Mar 16, 1986
- Gross worldwide
- $36,611,610
- Runtime1 hour 51 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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