Ishtar (1987)

Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the C.I.A., the Emir of Ishtar, and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime.

Director:

Elaine May

Writer:

Elaine May

Stars:

Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warren Beatty	...	Lyle Rogers
Dustin Hoffman	...	Chuck Clarke
Isabelle Adjani	...	Shirra Assel
Charles Grodin	...	Jim Harrison
Jack Weston	...	Marty Freed
Tess Harper	...	Willa
Carol Kane	...	Carol
Aharon Ipalé	...	Emir Yousef
Fijad Hageb	...	Abdul (as Fuad Hageb)
David Margulies	...	Mr. Clarke
Rose Arrick	...	Mrs. Clarke
Julie Garfield	...	Dorothy
Cristine Rose	...	Siri Darma (as Christine Rose)
Robert V. Girolami	...	Bartender (as Bob Girolami)
Abe Kroll	...	Mr. Thomopoulos

Storyline

Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the CIA, the Emir of Ishtar, and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime.

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Plot Keywords:

cia | morocco | singer | cia agent | cold war | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Music | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite the film's reputation as one of the biggest box-office failures of all time, it was number one at the box office in its first week of release. The next week, with the release of Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), the film quickly dropped to fourth place.

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Goofs

AS the helicopter lowers to give the CIA agent a level shot at the duo, his wood stock, single shot, bolt action rifle turns into a black automatic weapon with a banana clip.

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Quotes

Caid of Assari: I am Ahmad bin Ali. I am the Caid of Assari. It was I that called out "Yellow Rose of Texas". Perhaps you would care to entertain at my worthless palace?

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Alternate Versions

UK cinema and video versions were cut by 8 secs by the BBFC to remove uses of the word 'fuck' in order for the film to receive a PG rating. The cuts were restored in 2004 to the 15-rated DVD release.

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Connections

Referenced in South Park: Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics (1999)

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Soundtracks

One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Music by Harold Arlen
Performed by Frank Sinatra
Courtesy of Capitol Records

User Reviews

Often misunderstood and truly funny...

I am just old enough to remember the two movies of the same approximate era (1980s, anyway) that became synonymous with big-budget box office bombs: "Ishtar" and "Heaven's Gate."

At the time, "Ishtar" was considered so bad as to be unwatchable. It was skewered and vilified so strongly that the critics rapidly drove it out of the theaters. Few--including me--ever had the nerve to rent the movie.

It wasn't until roughly 10 years after its release that my in-laws introduced me to the comedic greatness that is "Ishtar." To this day when I tell friends and family that I love Ishtar, it is somewhat like saying, enthusiastically, "Hey, I just contracted leprosy!" Such is the stigma that still lingers with this film.

To the credit of critics, this is by no means a work of pure comedic genius.

The movie has essentially one theme that works--the effortless cluelessness of Lyle and Chuck as the world's worst songwriters--and this is exhausted almost completely within the first 30 minutes. Still, it is a totally knee-slapping hilarious 30 minutes. The meandering remaining plot that takes them to Morocco for a singing gig and leads them to become CIA "agents" is what cemented the bad taste in the mouth of critics for time immemorial. This theme by the end of the movie is rather re-treaded and worn-out. We kind of want Warren and Dustin to just shut up by then.

This second act suffers from a kind of Hope-Crosby wannabee syndrome, and the writing isn't up to the slapstick pedigree the movie had begun revealing quite hilariously in the first act. Considering this film came from the pen of Elaine May--of "Nichols and May" comedy duet fame--I would have expected more, but perhaps this movie spiraled out of her hands because of the oft-misunderstood first act. I could easily see studio test audiences handily rejecting it and thus twisting the movie's priorities out of whack.

Still, "Ishtar" shouldn't be brushed aside as a mere footnote in movie history. It is worth watching for its true hilarity and the performances of both Hoffman and Beatty.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ishtar

Filming Locations:

100 Morningside Drive, Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,331,817, 17 May 1987

Gross USA:

$14,375,181

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,375,181

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Delphi V Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1