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Saanko esitellä: Joe Black

Original title: Meet Joe Black
  • 19981998
  • K-12K-12
  • 2h 58min
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
228K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,706
179
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani in Meet Joe Black (1998)
DramaFantasyRomance

Death, who takes the form of a young man, asks a media mogul to act as a guide to teach him about life on Earth, and in the process, he falls in love with his guide's daughter.Death, who takes the form of a young man, asks a media mogul to act as a guide to teach him about life on Earth, and in the process, he falls in love with his guide's daughter.Death, who takes the form of a young man, asks a media mogul to act as a guide to teach him about life on Earth, and in the process, he falls in love with his guide's daughter.

IMDb RATING
7.2/10
228K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,706
179
  • Director
    • Martin Brest
  • Writers
    • Ron Osborn(screenplay)
    • Jeff Reno(screenplay)
    • Kevin Wade(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Brad Pitt
    • Anthony Hopkins
    • Claire Forlani
Top credits
  • Director
    • Martin Brest
  • Writers
    • Ron Osborn(screenplay)
    • Jeff Reno(screenplay)
    • Kevin Wade(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Brad Pitt
    • Anthony Hopkins
    • Claire Forlani
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 861User reviews
    • 93Critic reviews
    • 43Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 6 nominations

    Videos1

    What Roles Did Brad Pitt Miss Out On?
    Video 3:40
    What Roles Did Brad Pitt Miss Out On?

    Photos125

    Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Anthony Hopkins and Claire Forlani in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Brad Pitt, Marcia Gay Harden, and Jake Weber in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani in Meet Joe Black (1998)
    Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani in Meet Joe Black (1998)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Brad Pitt
    Brad Pitt
    • Joe Blackas Joe Black…
    Anthony Hopkins
    Anthony Hopkins
    • William Parrishas William Parrish
    Claire Forlani
    Claire Forlani
    • Susan Parrishas Susan Parrish
    Jake Weber
    Jake Weber
    • Drewas Drew
    Marcia Gay Harden
    Marcia Gay Harden
    • Allisonas Allison
    Jeffrey Tambor
    Jeffrey Tambor
    • Quinceas Quince
    David S. Howard
    • Eddie Sloaneas Eddie Sloane
    Lois Kelly-Miller
    • Jamaican Womanas Jamaican Woman
    Jahnni St. John
    • Jamaican Woman's Daughteras Jamaican Woman's Daughter
    Richard Clarke
    • Butleras Butler
    Marylouise Burke
    Marylouise Burke
    • Lillianas Lillian
    Diane Kagan
    • Jenniferas Jennifer
    June Squibb
    June Squibb
    • Helenas Helen
    Gene Canfield
    Gene Canfield
    • Construction Foremanas Construction Foreman
    Suzanne Hevner
    • Floristas Florist
    Steve Coats
    • Electricianas Electrician
    Madeline Balmaceda
    • Madelineas Madeline
    • (as Madeline N. Balmaceda)
    Julie Lund
    • Drew's Secretaryas Drew's Secretary
    • Director
      • Martin Brest
    • Writers
      • Ron Osborn(screenplay)
      • Jeff Reno(screenplay)
      • Kevin Wade(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit
    William Parrish (Sir Anthony Hopkins), media tycoon, loving father, and still a human being, is about to celebrate his 65th birthday. One morning, he is contacted by the inevitable, by hallucination, as he thinks. Later, Death enters his home and his life, personified in a man's body: Joe Black (Brad Pitt) has arrived. His intention was to take William with him, but accidentally, Joe's former host and William's beautiful daughter Susan (Claire Forlani) have already met. Joe begins to develop certain interest in life on Earth, as well as in Susan, who has no clue with whom she's flirting. —Julian Reischl <julianreischl@mac.com>
    deathbirthdaywealthdeath personifiedfear of death84 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • He's Expecting You.
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Romance
    • Certificate
      • K-12
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A truncated two-hour version has been shown on television and airlines, achieved by chopping out most of William Parrish's (Sir Anthony Hopkins') business. Producer and director Martin Brest has disowned this edit, so the director's credit is for "Alan Smithee" (the usual nickname used for directors when they disregard from a work).
    • Goofs
      In the coffee shop, Susan pours cream into her coffee three times, and puts sugar in twice.
    • Quotes

      William Parrish: Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. I say, fall head over heels. Find someone you can love like crazy and who will love you the same way back. How do you find him? Well, you forget your head, and you listen to your heart. And I'm not hearing any heart. Cause the truth is, honey, there's no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love, well, you haven't lived a life at all. But you have to try, cause if you haven't tried, you haven't lived.

    • Alternate versions
      TV version shortens the scene when Joe is hit by the cars.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Meet Joe Black/I'll Be Home for Christmas/Dancing at Lughnasa/I Still Know What You Did Last Summer/Velvet Goldmine (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      Top Hat, White Tie, And Tails
      Written by Irving Berlin

    User reviews861

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Long, boring at parts, but when it picked up it was great
    I was a little hesitant to watch this movie, seeing as how it was 3 hours long, but I decided to give it a try. As I sort of expected, much of the first part was fairly slow moving and a bit boring. But if you stick with MEET JOE BLACK, it gets a little more exciting and you'll find the story a bit more interesting.

    William Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) is a very successful businessman who has raised a good family, had a good career and has lead a good life. Then one day, Death (Brad Pitt) comes to William and offers him more time to be alive in exchange for Parrish showing him around life. Death, using the name Joe Black, really starts to enjoy life and fall in love with Parrish's daughter Susan (Claire Forlani). When this happens, he considers changing the rules of life & death.

    The plot is very original and fairly interesting. I think it would have been a little less boring if there wasn't a dramatic pause between every sentence. The beginning of this movie is actually pretty good, but the rest of the first half tends to drag a bit. The second half still has similar flaws, but because the characters have been set and the plot really starts to threaten, it is a lot more interesting. I had mixed feelings for the ending. I thought it was OK, but it could have been a little better. The ending was kind of predictable, but not especially since it was hard to tell where they were going with it. Half of the movie is predictable and half of it wasn't.

    The acting was superb in this movie, as expected with a veteran like Anthony Hopkins and a newer, but talented, face like Brad Pitt. Hopkins, in my humble opinion, stole the show right out from under Pitt, who I think was meant to be the showcase. Claire Forlani did pretty well as the adorable girlfriend of Pitt, and I thought the Jamaican Lady, played by Lois Kelly-Miller, and was both funny and noble. I loved the scenes between her and Pitt, and I thought Pitt was very funny speaking a Jamaican accent.

    The character development in this movie was pretty good. It was pretty cool to see the Grim Reaper himself (Joe Black/Death) have feelings and curiosity about life, let alone fall in love with someone. You can relate to Parrish, even though he plays an old fart, because he knows that his death is coming and he is, naturally, trying to tie up loose knots. You would do this too if Death came to you and said "Hey, you're gonna die in a week. So, how 'bout them Yankees?" Both of Parrish's daughters represent two stereotype daughters. One was the older, favorite daughter who is struggling with her feelings about love. The other is the younger daughter who is jealous of her older sister, but is married. Again, I loved the Jamaican Lady, but I don't think I would have if it weren't for Pitt's excellent dialogue with her.

    If you don't like long movies, you'd better stay away from this one. If you're a Pitt fan, you'll love it because he is everywhere on this film. I'd still say this is one great film and that you should check it out, but not if you have a bad attention span.
    helpful•22
    14
    • Xophianic
    • Feb 15, 2000

    FAQ2

    • Who's the voice of the death?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 29, 1999 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official Facebook
    • Languages
      • English
      • Dutch
    • Also known as
      • Får jag presentera: Joe Black
    • Filming locations
      • Aldrich Mansion - 836 Warwick Neck Avenue, Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • City Light Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $90,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $44,619,100
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $15,017,995
      • Nov 15, 1998
    • Gross worldwide
      • $142,940,100
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 58min
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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