Falling Down (1993)

An ordinary man 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:

rage | alienation | urban decay | social commentary | downward spiral | 

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Taglines:

A Tale Of Urban Reality

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steve Park and Raymond J. Barry have both appeared in Law & Order: Criminal intent episodes while the latter and Rachel Ticotin have had small roles in the TV series LOST.

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Goofs

When Bill is at the Whammyburger and tells the employees to turn around and look at the picture of the burger on the menu board, the boom mic is clearly reflected in it.

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Quotes

Bill Foster: I've passed the point of no return, Beth. Do you know when that is? That's the point in a journey where it's longer to go back to the beginning than it is to continue to the end. It's like... do you remember when those astronauts got in trouble? They were going to the moon and something went wrong. I don't know, somebody screwed up, and they had to get them back to Earth. But they had passed the point of no return. So they had to go all the way around the moon to get back-and they were out of ...
[...]

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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

References Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

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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

Don't We All Want To Fall Down Sometimes?

Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall star in a film that portrays life as true, funny and aggravating as it really is. Douglas is wonderful in his role of an average Joe Schmoe gone haywire, and Robert Duvall is vivid and deep as the cop on the chase.

Falling Down may have a few incredibilities (though I remember going through a lot of situations in the film Douglas went through-though I never was angry enough to pull a shotgun out), but it's more symbolic than anything.

I think the funniest part is the burger restaurant, obviously a mimic of McDonalds, and Douglas' reaction. It's kind of like he realizes, "Hey, I'm this far, why not complain about the burger while I'm at it? It's always bugged me anyway!" Falling Down represents all Americans: the aggravations, road rage we hear about, everything. Every day situations in a new perspective.

5/5 stars-

JOHN ULMER

Details

Country:

USA France UK

Language:

English Spanish Korean

Release Date:

26 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Falling Down

Filming Locations:

MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,724,452, 28 February 1993

Gross USA:

$40,903,593

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$40,903,593

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcor Films, Canal+, New Regency Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1