Gran Torino (2008)

Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Nick Schenk (screenplay), Dave Johannson (story)

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley

Top Rated Movies #169 | Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 21 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Walt Kowalski
Christopher Carley	...	Father Janovich
Bee Vang	...	Thao
Ahney Her	...	Sue
Brian Haley	...	Mitch Kowalski
Geraldine Hughes	...	Karen Kowalski
Dreama Walker	...	Ashley Kowalski
Brian Howe	...	Steve Kowalski
John Carroll Lynch	...	Barber Martin
William Hill	...	Tim Kennedy
Brooke Chia Thao	...	Vu
Chee Thao	...	Grandma
Choua Kue	...	Youa
Scott Eastwood	...	Trey (as Scott Reeves)
Xia Soua Chang	...	Kor Khue

Storyline

Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors. He is a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbor Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | widower | gang rape | teenager | street gang | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout, and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English Hmong

Release Date:

9 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gran Torino

Filming Locations:

13140 Charlevoix St, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$33,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$271,720, 14 December 2008

Gross USA:

$148,095,302

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$269,958,228

Company Credits

Production Co:

Matten Productions, Double Nickel Entertainment, Gerber Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many Clint Eastwood fans see parallels between this movie and Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992). Both movies open with his wife having died, and he plays an old-fashioned character having trouble adapting to a rapidly modernizing world. Where Unforgiven is widely regarded as Eastwood's goodbye to his many western roles, such as his 'Man With No Name' persona from the Dollars Trilogy, Gran Torino is considered by many to be Eastwood saying farewell to the trademark no-nonsense lawman character that he played in many movies like The Gauntlet (1977) and the Dirty Harry (1971) series.

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Goofs

The sides of the folding chairs flip by the time Walt takes the 2 folding chairs from the basement to the upstairs; the curvatures of the chairs clearly show this.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Al: God, I am sorry for Dorothy, Walt. She was a real peach.
Walt Kowalski: Thanks for coming, Al.

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Crazy Credits

The credits scroll over a highway overlooking the lake shore, with the Warner Logo appearing in black and white.

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Connections

Featured in The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2009)

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Soundtracks

Appreciation
Written and Performed by L.P., Buddah, Cuzz, and L.B.
Courtesy of Kingpen Records

User Reviews

A great feel-good movie with both comedy and tragedy at the same time

This movie made me laugh and cry at the same time. It deals with both grimy old bastards as well as with more serious matters as racism. Good acting from Clind as well as all his supporting actors and once again Clint has shown that he is capable of making movies that involves both emotions and stereotypes! The "olidish" bitterness of Clint's character and the mix between comedy and drama is just genius. The only criticism of the movie would be that the gang-bangers were pretty and does not correspond very well to all of the reports of gang violence all around the world. But overall I thought this was a great movie with lots of potential for being one of those films that you will actually remember when you visit the video rental store in five years from now.