Long-repressed feelings of bitterness and betrayal explode when three inner-city losers plot the robbery of a valuable coin in a seedy second-hand junk shop.
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Storyline
AMERICAN BUFFALO is another story of men's interminable struggle toward the top of the heap, a goal which ultimately and inevitably eludes most of us. Don Dubro, the proprietor of a dusty dark inner-city junk shop, holds court there with his friends and makes plans probably on a daily basis for his ascendancy to the top. He does this more out of habit than hope because he's long ago surrendered his future to the daily repetition of his life as guardian of the discarded remnants of others' possessions. Disheveled Teach, on the other hand, is either too dumb or too stubborn to accept the lot life has dealt him. Instead, he bucks like a wild horse under the saddle and refuses to be broken. Most pitiable of the trio which populates the movie is teen-aged Bobby. Mistaking much of the palaver which passes between the older men as pearls of wisdom, Bobby is the only one of the trio who still has a chance to make a life for himself somewhere beyond this tired too-familiar neighborhood. Don ... Written by Mark Fleetwood <mfleetwo@mail.coin.missouri.edu>
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It was the heist of their lives..... See more »Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
13 September 1996 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
American Buffalo - Das Glück liegt auf der Straße See more »Filming Locations:
Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USAEdit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$164,109, 15 September 1996, Limited ReleaseGross USA:
$643,129, 31 December 1996Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Michael Corrente got the job of the directing this movie based on his work on Federal Hill (1994), which he personally admits was inspired by this play to Producer Gregory Mosher. See more »Crazy Credits
special thanks to Mr. B See more »Connections
Featured in At the Movies: American Buffalo/Fly Away Home/Feeling Minnesota/The Rich Man's Wife/Grace of My Heart/The Wife (1996) See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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A movie about junk. Worthless Lives that have hopelessly ended up in a junk store along with formally useful stuff that has also ended up in a junk store. The store has one thing of value, a rare Buffalo Nickel and one life of value; Bobby's, a young kid who does odd jobs helping out around the store. The store's owner Donnie, loves Bobby like a son and he represents the potential for success and happiness Donnie no longer has.
Dustin Hoffman plays Teach, Donnies friend. Hoffman's overacting is the only problem I found with this movie. If Hoffman had taken it down just a notch his charachter would have earned some well deserved sympathy. I wouldn't change a word of Mamet's excellent dialog, just have Hoffman calm down. The fact that the ending leaves the movie with no payoff was fitting and showed how the charachters lives have no payoff.