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Music Box

  • 19891989
  • K-10K-10
  • 2h 4m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
7.9K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
20,750
779
Music Box (1989)
A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.
Play trailer1:25
2 Videos
20 Photos
CrimeDramaThriller

A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.

IMDb RATING
7.3/10
7.9K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
20,750
779
  • Director
    • Costa-Gavras
  • Writer
    • Joe Eszterhas
  • Stars
    • Jessica Lange
    • Armin Mueller-Stahl
    • Frederic Forrest
Top credits
  • Director
    • Costa-Gavras
  • Writer
    • Joe Eszterhas
  • Stars
    • Jessica Lange
    • Armin Mueller-Stahl
    • Frederic Forrest
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 43User reviews
    • 32Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 3 nominations total

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:25
    Trailer
    Music Box
    Clip 1:18
    Music Box

    Photos20

    Jessica Lange and Michael Rooker in Music Box (1989)
    Armin Mueller-Stahl and Lukas Haas in Music Box (1989)
    Armin Mueller-Stahl and Jessica Lange in Music Box (1989)
    Jessica Lange in Music Box (1989)
    Frederic Forrest in Music Box (1989)
    Donald Moffat in Music Box (1989)
    Armin Mueller-Stahl, Lukas Haas, and Jessica Lange in Music Box (1989)
    Costa-Gavras in Music Box (1989)
    Armin Mueller-Stahl and Jessica Lange in Music Box (1989)
    Armin Mueller-Stahl in Music Box (1989)
    Irwin Winkler in Music Box (1989)
    Cheryl Lynn Bruce in Music Box (1989)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jessica Lange
    Jessica Lange
    • Ann Talbot
    Armin Mueller-Stahl
    Armin Mueller-Stahl
    • Mike Laszlo
    Frederic Forrest
    Frederic Forrest
    • Jack Burke
    Donald Moffat
    Donald Moffat
    • Harry Talbot
    Lukas Haas
    Lukas Haas
    • Mikey Talbot
    Cheryl Lynn Bruce
    Cheryl Lynn Bruce
    • Georgine Wheeler
    Mari Töröcsik
    Mari Töröcsik
    • Magda Zoldan
    J.S. Block
    • Judge Silver
    Sol Frieder
    • Istvan Boday
    Michael Rooker
    Michael Rooker
    • Karchy Laszlo
    Elzbieta Czyzewska
    Elzbieta Czyzewska
    • Melinda Kalman
    Magda Szekely Marburg
    • Judit Hollo
    Felix Shuman
    • James Nathanson
    Michael Shillo
    • Geza Vamos
    George Pusep
    • Vladimir Kostav
    Mitchell Litrofsky
    • Sandy Lehman
    Albert Hall
    Albert Hall
    • Mack Jones
    Ned Schmidtke
    Ned Schmidtke
    • Dean Talbot
    • Director
      • Costa-Gavras
    • Writer
      • Joe Eszterhas
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After the movie was released, screenwriter Joe Eszterhas' own father, Istvan Eszterhas, was accused of war crimes in Hungary for printing anti-Semitic editorials, and even organizing a book burning. When Istvan admitted the charges were accurate, Joe responded by publicly condemning his father, and disowning him as a parent, later writing that he never reconciled with Istvan, and refused to let him see his grandchildren right up to the point where Istvan died of natural causes.
    • Quotes

      Mack Jones: What do we know about our parents?

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Always/Music Box/Born on the Fourth of July/Tango and Cash/Camille Claudel (1989)

    User reviews43

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Qualified to speak on the performances
    I was astounded in reading the comments on these films to see people saying that Armin Muehler-Stall's character is flat and empty.Also, those that say his angry outbursts are not threatening.

    My father is a Hungarian immigrant who I have wondered where he has a similar "true story". I can say from personal experience that Armin's performances are consistent with my father's outbursts and for me personally were terrifying when seeing the movie.

    In terms of the generalization that the performance was "flat", there is a cold, clinical, almost sociapathic sense to some elderly Hungarians. Additionally, I found Jessica Lange's performance COMPLETELY believeable as someone raised under such strong expectations and often silent or restrained about true expressions of emotion or fear.

    That's my two cents. DO NOT underestimate the ACCURACY of this film.
    helpful•58
    7
    • msemmett
    • Jul 4, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 27, 1990 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Hungarian
    • Also known as
      • Speldosan
    • Filming locations
      • Budapest, Hungary
    • Production company
      • Carolco Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $6,263,883
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $19,381
      • Dec 25, 1989
    • Gross worldwide
      • $6,263,883
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 4 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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