Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989)

An unbalanced but alluring former mental patient takes a porn star prisoner in the hopes of convincing her to marry him.

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Writers:

Pedro Almodóvar (screenplay), Pedro Almodóvar (story)

Stars:

Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Loles León

7 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Victoria Abril	...	Marina
Antonio Banderas	...	Ricky
Loles León	...	Lola
Francisco Rabal	...	Máximo
María Barranco	...	Berta
Rossy de Palma	...	Traficante de drogas en Vespa
Julieta Serrano	...	Alma
Lola Cardona	...	Directora psiquiátrico
Montse G. Romeu	...	Montse
Emiliano Redondo	...	Decorador
Oswaldo Delgado	...	Fantasma
Concha Rabal	...	Farmacéutica
Alberto Fernández	...	Productor
José María Tasso	...	Anciano psiquiátrico
Angelina Llongueras	...	Montadora

Storyline

Ricky is released from a mental hospital, and knows exactly what he wants to do. He hunts down Marina, a porn film star he once had sex with, and tries to convince her to be his wife. She is a bit reluctant, so he ties her up. Will this approach endear him to her?

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Plot Keywords:

female full rear nudity | misogynist | lust | handcuffs | masturbation with a toy | 

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Taglines:

A love story...with strings attached!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for scene of strong adult sensuality with nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

12 April 1990 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

Filming Locations:

Barajas, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Gross USA:

$4,087,361

Company Credits

Production Co:

El Deseo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the United States, the home video releases from Miramax and Anchor Bay are rated NC-17, with the latter studio distributing the film under license from Miramax. The Criterion Collection releases are unrated because they were licensed directly from El Deseo, S.A. and neither studio are under contract with the MPAA to distribute the film with a certification.

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Goofs

When Ricky first takes the knife from the store, we see him put it in his back pocket. But when he gets on the bus, we can clearly see there is no bulge where the knife would be in his back pocket.

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Quotes

Ricky: I have nothing, so I have nothing to lose.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Devil Fish (1998)

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Soundtracks

Celos
Written by Jacob Gade

User Reviews

One of his better movies but often misunderstood

Although Tie me up, tie me down doesn't reach the levels of greatness that Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown did, this is none the less a hilarious movie.

First thing that you should remember is that this is a FARCE. It isn't intended to reflect a real situation or inspire people to imitate it. As a matter of fact, I'd be hard pressed to believe that anyone watching this movie would come away thinking they should kidnap someone to make them fall in love. That would be the difference between a movie and reality.

That being said the movie does have a lot to say about what people will do for love and how love and lust tie us to other people. It also makes the great point that love doesn't change who we are, but it does change how we perceive those we are in love with.

And in case I forgot to mention it, the movie is funny. Antonio Banderas and Victoria Abril both are very good but Loles León steals the movie as the air-headed sister.