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 | moral ambiguity | dysfunctional family | 

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Taglines:

A Tale Of Urban Reality

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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

Just before the park scene when the people are getting on the crowded bus, a black woman with shorts and a blue shirt all the way to the right gets on the bus; she is in front of Bill as he tries to get on the bus, that is the top of her head as he gets bumped in the crowded line. However, in the next scene she is dancing in the park with a headphone radio.

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Quotes

Gang Member #1: Whatcha doin' Mister?
Bill Foster: Nothing.
Gang Member #1: Yes you are man, you're trespassing on private property.
Bill Foster: Trespassing?
Gang Member #2: You're loitering too, man.
Gang Member #1: That's right, you're loitering too.
Bill Foster: I didn't see any signs.
Gang Member #1: [pointing at a graffiti skull] Whatcha call that?
Bill Foster: Graffiti.
Gang Member #1: No man, that's not fucking graffiti. That's a sign.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

"London Bridge is Falling Down" plays briefly at the very end of the credits.

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Connections

Featured in Anime Abandon: The End of Evangelion (2012)

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Soundtracks

THE STRIPPER
Written by David Rose
Performed by David Rose and His Orchestra
Courtesy of POLYGRAM SPECIAL MARKETS

User Reviews

Michael Douglas: voice of the average consumer

Joel Schumacher's career has gone down the drain since this movie, for now he is just trying to make stupid movies with no sense and style. However this proved to be one of his best films. Michael Douglas portrayed William Forster perfectly, giving us a character who is both sensible and psychotic at the same time. The whole scene with Douglas in the fast food restaurant was priceless, giving a voice to the typical angry consumer. So many messages in the film really brought out the stereotypical infuriated American, and gave us the reactionary nature of such an individual. While this film will most likely leak in to the annals of obscurity, this one will always remain in my video collection.