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.
- Director
- Writers
- Ron Osborn(screenplay)
- Jeff Reno(screenplay)
- Kevin Wade(screenplay)
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- Ron Osborn(screenplay)
- Jeff Reno(screenplay)
- Kevin Wade(screenplay)
- Stars
- Awards
- 3 wins & 6 nominations
Videos1
- Madelineas Madeline
- (as Madeline N. Balmaceda)
- Director
- Writers
- Ron Osborn(screenplay)
- Jeff Reno(screenplay)
- Kevin Wade(screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
- Taglines
- He's Expecting You.
- Genres
- Certificate
- K-12
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaA 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).
- GoofsIn 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 versionsTV version shortens the scene when Joe is hit by the cars.
- SoundtracksTop Hat, White Tie, And Tails
Written by Irving Berlin
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.
- Xophianic
- Feb 15, 2000
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Får jag presentera: Joe Black
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- 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
- Runtime
- 2h 58min
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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