Barbarians at the Gate (1993)

The president of a major tobacco company decides to buy the company himself, but a bidding war ensues as other companies make their own offers.

Director:

Glenn Jordan

Writers:

Bryan Burrough (book), John Helyar (book)

Stars:

James Garner, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Riegert

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Garner	...	F. Ross Johnson
Jonathan Pryce	...	Henry Kravis
Peter Riegert	...	Peter Cohen
Joanna Cassidy	...	Linda Robinson
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	Jim Robinson
Leilani Sarelle	...	Laurie Johnson
Matt Clark	...	Edward A. Horrigan Jr.
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	H. John Greeniaus
David Rasche	...	Ted Forstmann
Tom Aldredge	...	Charlie Hugel
Graham Beckel	...	Don Kelly
Peter Dvorsky	...	George Roberts
Peter Frechette	...	Robert Allegro
Judy Altman	...	Robinson's Aide
Bruce Beatty	...	Anthony the Pizza Man

Storyline

F. Ross Johnson, the CEO of RJR Nabisco decides that the time is ripe to take over his own company and enlists American Express. This kicks off a tide of other firms swarming in to tender offers. The outline of the film follows the actual takeover of the RJR Nabisco empire in a tongue in cheek way.

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Plot Keywords:

multi millionaire | market research | tobacco | wall street manhattan new york city | cigarette smoking | 

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Taglines:

After a power breakfast they'll still eat you for lunch.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Barbarians at the Gate

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Columbia Pictures Television, Rastar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A TV movie for the HBO network.

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Goofs

The film is set in 1988, but a post-1991 Chevrolet Caprice taxi is visible during a street scene.

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Quotes

tv commentator: You want a little idea of what 20 billion dollars could get you these days? How bout you could retire one percent of our national debt. Or you could buy your own B-1 bomber - that would be a first on the block, right. And I guess if you were really a sport you could also buy each of the homeless as well as every single person on the planet a Big Mac, an order of fries and a Coke. You could buy 80 million vowels on 'Wheel of Fortune'. Or this would only be a start of course you could send Dan ...

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Connections

Featured in M*A*S*H, Tootsie & God: A Tribute to Larry Gelbart (1998)

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Soundtracks

Shakin'
Written and Performed by Elmer Sheffield

User Reviews

solid TV from Garner

F. Ross Johnson (James Garner) is a born salesman and a self-made millionaire. In 1988, he's the wild-spending high-flying CEO of RJR Nabisco. The stock is stubbornly low. He decides to try to take the company private but he's worried about the debt at first. He is eager to promote the revolutionary new smokeless cigarette Premier but then he's told about its problems. Others become attracted to the deal and it becomes a greedy stampede in the search for a leverage buyout.

This is a solid depiction of 80s Wall Street. It is all James Garner and he drives this movie with glee. It is top notch HBO although I still want a bit more cinematic style. It would be great to have music from the era. There are plenty of great costars but Garner overshadows them all. This is a big time TV movie.