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Pacific Heights

  • 1990
  • R
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
21K
YOUR RATING
Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, and Matthew Modine in Pacific Heights (1990)
Home Video Trailer from CBS/Fox
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
58 Photos
Thriller

A couple work hard to renovate their dream house and become landlords to pay for it. Unfortunately, one of their tenants has plans of his own.A couple work hard to renovate their dream house and become landlords to pay for it. Unfortunately, one of their tenants has plans of his own.A couple work hard to renovate their dream house and become landlords to pay for it. Unfortunately, one of their tenants has plans of his own.

  • Director
    • John Schlesinger
  • Writer
    • Daniel Pyne
  • Stars
    • Melanie Griffith
    • Matthew Modine
    • Michael Keaton
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    21K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Schlesinger
    • Writer
      • Daniel Pyne
    • Stars
      • Melanie Griffith
      • Matthew Modine
      • Michael Keaton
    • 132User reviews
    • 38Critic reviews
    • 55Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Pacific Heights
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch Pacific Heights

    Photos58

    Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, and Matthew Modine in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, and Matthew Modine in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, and Matthew Modine in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, and Matthew Modine in Pacific Heights (1990)
    William Baldwin, Cindy Crawford, Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, and Matthew Modine in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Michael Keaton in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Michael Keaton in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Michael Keaton in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Michael Keaton in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Michael Keaton in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Beverly D'Angelo in Pacific Heights (1990)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Melanie Griffith
    Melanie Griffith
    • Patty Palmer
    Matthew Modine
    Matthew Modine
    • Drake Goodman
    Michael Keaton
    Michael Keaton
    • Carter Hayes…
    Mako
    Mako
    • Toshio Watanabe
    Nobu McCarthy
    Nobu McCarthy
    • Mira Watanabe
    Laurie Metcalf
    Laurie Metcalf
    • Stephanie MacDonald
    Carl Lumbly
    Carl Lumbly
    • Lieutenant Lou Baker
    Dorian Harewood
    Dorian Harewood
    • Dennis Reed
    Luca Bercovici
    Luca Bercovici
    • Greg
    Tippi Hedren
    Tippi Hedren
    • Florence Peters
    Sheila McCarthy
    Sheila McCarthy
    • Liz Hamilton
    Guy Boyd
    Guy Boyd
    • Warning Cop
    Jerry Hardin
    Jerry Hardin
    • Bennett Fidlow
    Dan Hedaya
    Dan Hedaya
    • Loan Officer
    James Staley
    James Staley
    • District Attorney Henry
    Miriam Margolyes
    Miriam Margolyes
    • Realtor
    Luis Oropeza
    • Revilla
    F. William Parker
    F. William Parker
    • Judge Mitchell Black
    • Director
      • John Schlesinger
    • Writer
      • Daniel Pyne
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Screenwriter Daniel Pyne once rented an apartment to a tenant that he could not evict. The film was inspired from this scenario.
    • Goofs
      The policeman quotes an entirely non-factual law to Drake about a tenant having rights just because a tenant physically enters a building, even at the time the movie was made. No tenant has any legal right to remain on the premises of a single-family or multiple-family dwelling in any state without payment, and furthermore, because of Carter Hayes destructive acts (e.g., releasing the cockroaches and physical damage to the unit), Drake had more than enough good cause to have Carter forcibly evicted, either by the City of San Francisco police or the San Francisco County sheriff.
    • Quotes

      Amy: Patty?

      Patty Palmer: Yeah?

      Amy: Do you mind if I ask you why you're selling? I mean, you've done so much to this place. You've obviously put your heart in it.

      Patty Palmer: [Ironically] No, not really. It was just an investment.

    • Crazy credits
      Melanie Griffith's character Patty Palmer is credited as Patty Parker in the credits.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Green Fog (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      Vivaldi: Summer - The Four Seasons
      Music by Antonio Vivaldi (uncredited)

      Performed by Pinchas Zukerman (as Pinchas Zuckerman) and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (as The Israeli Philharmonic)

      Courtesy of Deutsche Gramaphon, a division of PolyGram Classics, Inc.

    User reviews132

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Tenants are the curse of the propertied class
    This is a carefully programmed yuppie nightmare, something to titillate the emotions betwixt the sushi and the creme de mint, something to remind the upwardly mobile that you have to keep your guard up at all times because there are animals out there waiting to take it all away from you.

    Clever plot premise: Yuppie couple, stylishly unmarried, possibly for tax purposes, buy a painted lady in the Pacific Heights district of San Francisco, a Victorian fixer upper for $750,000. It's the 1980's and everybody is getting rich in California real estate. They are now in yuppie heaven since there are two rentals on the property which take care of $2300 of the $3700 monthly mortgage, which leaves them responsible for only $1400, which is less then they were paying before, and now they have a huge tax write-off and hopefully an appreciating property. Of course they are margined to the gills, but what can go wrong?

    How about the tenant from hell? Forget about your wild parties and your late-with-the-rent dead beats. This guy (Michael Keaton as a slimy, upper crust psycho genius) doesn't even pay the deposit. He just moves in, squats, and our yuppie couple is helpless to get rid of him since by law he now has possession. He changes the locks, cultivates big ugly oriental cockroaches, and pounds away at all hours of the night, and chases off the other tenant. Seems he has done this before. Seems it is an elaborate scam to gain total possession of the entire property. Next to go are the owners.

    Naturally the cops and the law seem to work for him, not our adorable couple. (This is a little fictional reality to further excite the passions of the audience, call it poetic license, since we all know that the tenant/landlord laws in California are written by and for the propertied class, as they are anywhere else, as is only right.)

    But this is a morality play. Could it be that our yuppies are undeserving of their wealth and are easy prey in the econ jungle because of their naiveté? Could be. But as this is a modern morality tale, you can be sure that the woman, played with worrisome lines under her eyes by the ever adorable Melanie Griffith, will turn the tables and kick some male butt despite the handicap of having a not too bright boyfriend, who is easily manipulated by our villain into some rather stupid male behavior that makes things worse for our heroine. Incidentally, he is played with such annoying exactitude by Matthew Modine that I can hear the rednecks in the audience screaming: "Die yuppie scum!"

    It should be noticed that the adversary of the yuppies is not your standard ghetto dweller, but a wayward member of the upper class, a fitting adversary in this yuppie trial by fire.

    I'll let you guess who wins.

    (Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)
    helpful•36
    18
    • DennisLittrell
    • Aug 27, 1999

    FAQ10

    • What is "Pacific Heights" about?
    • Is "Pacific Heights" based on a book?
    • How was Hayes able to stay in the apartment so long if he hadn't paid his rent or security deposit?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 28, 1990 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Fremde Schatten
    • Filming locations
      • Potrero Hill, San Francisco, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Morgan Creek Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $18,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $29,381,956
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $6,912,637
      • Sep 30, 1990
    • Gross worldwide
      • $44,926,706
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 42 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

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