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IMDbPro

The Mambo Kings

  • 19921992
  • RR
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
5.7K
YOUR RATING
Antonio Banderas, Armand Assante, and Maruschka Detmers in The Mambo Kings (1992)
Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video
Play trailer1:54
1 Video
35 Photos
DramaMusic
Two Cuban brothers bring a new music to the 1950s USA. They are as different as the problems that await them.Two Cuban brothers bring a new music to the 1950s USA. They are as different as the problems that await them.Two Cuban brothers bring a new music to the 1950s USA. They are as different as the problems that await them.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
5.7K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Arne Glimcher
  • Writers
    • Oscar Hijuelos(novel)
    • Cynthia Cidre(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Armand Assante
    • Antonio Banderas
    • Pablo Calogero
  • Director
    • Arne Glimcher
  • Writers
    • Oscar Hijuelos(novel)
    • Cynthia Cidre(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Armand Assante
    • Antonio Banderas
    • Pablo Calogero
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 37User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 6 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Mambo Kings
    Trailer 1:54
    Watch The Mambo Kings

    Photos35

    Antonio Banderas and Armand Assante in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Antonio Banderas and Cathy Moriarty in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Armand Assante and Cathy Moriarty in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Armand Assante and Tito Puente in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Armand Assante, Scott Cohen, Mario Grillo, Ralph Irizarry, and James 'JT' Taylor in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Antonio Banderas, Armand Assante, and Desi Arnaz Jr. in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Antonio Banderas, Celia Cruz, and Maruschka Detmers in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Antonio Banderas and Cathy Moriarty in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Antonio Banderas and Armand Assante in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Antonio Banderas, Armand Assante, and James 'JT' Taylor in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Antonio Banderas, Armand Assante, and Desi Arnaz Jr. in The Mambo Kings (1992)
    Armand Assante and Cathy Moriarty in The Mambo Kings (1992)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Armand Assante
    Armand Assante
    • Cesar Castillo
    Antonio Banderas
    Antonio Banderas
    • Nestor Castillo
    Pablo Calogero
    • Ramon - The Mambo Kings Band
    Scott Cohen
    Scott Cohen
    • Bernardito - The Mambo Kings Band
    Mario Grillo
    • Mario - The Mambo Kings Band
    Ralph Irizarry
    • Pito - The Mambo Kings Band
    Pete Macnamara
    Pete Macnamara
    • Johnny Bing - The Mambo Kings Band
    James Medina
    • Manny - The Mambo Kings Band
    • (as Jimmy Medina)
    Marcos Quintanilla
    • Willie - The Mambo Kings Band
    James 'JT' Taylor
    James 'JT' Taylor
    • Frankie Suarez - The Mambo Kings Band
    William Thomas Jr.
    • Xavier - The Mambo Kings Band
    Yul Vazquez
    Yul Vazquez
    • Flaco - The Mambo Kings Band
    Cathy Moriarty
    Cathy Moriarty
    • Lanna Lake
    Maruschka Detmers
    Maruschka Detmers
    • Delores Fuentes
    Desi Arnaz Jr.
    Desi Arnaz Jr.
    • Desi Arnaz Sr.
    Celia Cruz
    Celia Cruz
    • Evalina Montoya
    Roscoe Lee Browne
    Roscoe Lee Browne
    • Fernando Perez
    Vondie Curtis-Hall
    Vondie Curtis-Hall
    • Miguel Montoya
    • Director
      • Arne Glimcher
    • Writers
      • Oscar Hijuelos(novel)
      • Cynthia Cidre(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Antonio Banderas couldn't speak English when this movie was filmed, and thus performed all his lines phonetically. Armand Assante couldn't speak Spanish and also performed all his lines phonetically.
    • Goofs
      When the Castillo brothers first approach New York City in the early 1950s, the World Trade Center towers are visible in the skyline; they weren't built until the early 1970s.
    • Quotes

      Cesar Castillo: In the name of the Mambo, the Rumba, and the Cha cha cha.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Memoirs of an Invisible Man/Under Suspicion/The Mambo Kings/This Is My Life (1992)
    • Soundtracks
      Mambo Caliente
      Written by Arturo Sandoval

      Performed by Arturo Sandoval

      Courtesy of GRP Records

    User reviews37

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    4/10
    The Mambo Kings
    The film is kind of a moot for me initially, maybe I don't possess the cultural background of Cuban influence and American living experience. I find the film is an oddball with frustration, the narrative itself is featherweight, all the conflicts and explosive set pieces are squandered, the character moulding process is also bumpy and cursory, all the time what we saw are alternative quarreling between the brothers, sometimes trivial, sometimes sentimental (on the grounds of an appealing Antonio Banderas at his prime youth), otherwise too showy indeed, maybe the whole milieu has some exotic appeal to some people, with regard to me, the effect is a regretful null.

    The only saving grace of the film is its Oscar-nominated theme song, the ever famous BEAUTIFUL MARIA OF MY SOUL (could be better interpreted by another singer than Armand Assante), in my opinion the original score by Carlos Franzetti and Robert Kraft contains much more vibrant and soulful vibes.

    The two co-leaders Assante and Banderas are uncannily overblown and understated respectively, the bittersweet brotherhood lachrymosity is too gusty to digest. And the counter- part female characters (a chimney-voice Cathy Moriarty and a stolid Maruschka Detmers) all fail to catch their own shining moments. A rather spirit-lifting Celia Cruz is my desperate guilty pleasure (I love her performance during the end-credits).

    The scheme of the tragic accident is lousy and abrupt, which furthermore reflects the pompousness and self-consciousness of the ending. The film itself is just another Hollywood throwaway, kitschy and insincere, what a pity, it has Antonio Banderas in his heyday.
    helpful•4
    0
    • lasttimeisaw
    • Aug 5, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 28, 1992 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • 曼波狂潮
    • Filming locations
      • Tower Theatre - 802 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Alcor Films
      • Canal+
      • New Regency Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $15,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $6,742,168
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $319,793
      • Mar 1, 1992
    • Gross worldwide
      • $6,742,168
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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