Falling Down (1993)

An unemployed defense worker frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society, begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writer:

Ebbe Roe Smith

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	D-Fens
Robert Duvall	...	Prendergast
Barbara Hershey	...	Beth
Rachel Ticotin	...	Sandra
Tuesday Weld	...	Mrs. Prendergast
Frederic Forrest	...	Surplus Store Owner
Lois Smith	...	D-Fens' Mother
Joey Singer	...	Adele (Beth's Child) (as Joey Hope Singer)
Ebbe Roe Smith	...	Guy on Freeway
Michael Paul Chan	...	Mr. Lee
Raymond J. Barry	...	Captain Yardley
D.W. Moffett	...	Detective Lydecker
Steve Park	...	Detective Brian
Kimberly Scott	...	Detective Jones
James Keane	...	Detective Keene

Storyline

On the day of his daughter's (Joey Singer) birthday, William "D-Fens" Foster (Michael Douglas) is trying to get to his estranged ex-wife's (Barbara Hershey) house to see his daughter. He has a breakdown and leaves his car in a traffic jam in Los Angeles and decides to walk. Along the way he stops at a convenience store and tries to get some change for a phone call but the owner, Mister Lee (Michael Paul Chan), does not give him change. This destabilizes William who then breaks apart the shop with a baseball bat and goes to an isolated place to drink a coke. Two gangsters (Agustin Rodriguez & Eddie Frias) threaten him and he reacts by hitting them with the bat. D-FENS continues walking and stops at a phone booth. The gangsters hunt him down with their gang and shoot at him but crash their car. William goes nuts and takes their gym bag with weapons proceeding in his journey of rage against injustice. Meanwhile Sergeant Martin Prendergast (Robert Duvall), who is working on his last day ...

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Plot Keywords:

destroying property | alienation | father daughter relationship | crack up | moral ambiguity | 

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Taglines:

The adventures of an ordinary man at war with the everyday world.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and strong language

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Spanish Korean

Release Date:

26 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un día de furia

Filming Locations:

MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,724,452, 26 February 1993

Gross USA:

$40,903,593

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcor Films, Canal+, Regency Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The stripper for Prendergast (Robert Duvall) is named "Suzie". When she starts dancing, someone says "Susie Q", a reference to the Creedence Clearwater Revival song used in Apocalypse Now (1979), which also featured Duvall, as well as Frederic Forrest (Nick).

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Goofs

Bill's hands on his wife's face.

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Quotes

Construction Worker: [1:14:05] Where do you think you're going? You can't come this way.
Bill Foster: What are you doing to the street?
Construction Worker: We're fixin it! What the hell does it look like?
Bill Foster: Two days ago, it was fine.
Bill Foster: You're telling me it fell apart in two days?
Bill Foster: [in falsetto] Well, I guess so.
Bill Foster: Pardon me, but that's bullshit.
Bill Foster: I want to know what's wrong with the street. I don't think anything's wrong with the street. I think you're just trying to justify your inflated budgets.
Construction Worker: Are you nuts?
Bill Foster: I know how it works. If you don't spend your ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The role of Vondie Curtis-Hall, who plays the man protesting the bank, is credited as "Not Economically Viable Man."

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: The Buttercream Gang (2016)

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Soundtracks

LA SCHMOOVE
Written by Chip Fu (as R. Roachford), Moc Fu (as J. Jones), Poc Fu (as L. Maturine),
Phife Dawg (as M. Taylor) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (as A. Muhammad)
Performed by Fu-Schnickens
Courtesy of JIVE RECORDS

User Reviews

We have all felt like this at some time!

Only a few hours before watching Falling Down i was in a local branch of McDonalds trying to order my usual Filet'o'Fish only to be told by the gormless spotty member of staff that it would take 8 minutes because they had none ready. When asked why they had none ready at the height of lunch time the moron proceded to tell me "it's because they arent very popular"!. When i tried to explain that they were not popular because every time someone tries to order one they have to wait an eternity for you to cook it, i was presented with a face of immense puzzlement and confusion! I'm not saying i would ever go as far as Michael Douglas does when he cant get his breakfast 2 minutes after the cut off time in this film but i understand EXACTLY how he feels.!. Falling Down is a very good interpretation on how if someone not quite the full package, comes up against the day to day greedyness ,rudeness and descrimination of todays western society and how he feels he needs to get his point across in his own way. This is a very good film and is superbly acted,especially from Duvall and Douglas. 8 out of 10.