IMDb > The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
The Brother from Another Planet
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The Brother from Another Planet (1984) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   2,424 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
John Sayles (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Brother from Another Planet on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
7 September 1984 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Welcome to a world of crude beauty... of danger and excitement... of wonders, legend, and imagination... Welcome to Harlem, Brother. more
Plot:
A mute alien is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem in this thought-provoking cult classic. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
2 wins & 1 nomination more
User Comments:
Now Here Is Something Different! more (33 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Joe Morton ... The Brother
Rosanna Carter ... West Indian Woman
Ray Ramirez ... Hispanic Man
Yves Rene ... Haitian Man
Peter Richardson ... Islamic Man
Ginny Yang ... Korean Shopkeeper
Daryl Edwards ... Fly

Steve James ... Odell
Leonard Jackson ... Smokey

Bill Cobbs ... Walter
Maggie Renzi ... Noreen

Olga Merediz ... Noreen's Client

Tom Wright ... Sam
Minnie Gentry ... Mrs. Brown

Ren Woods ... Bernice
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language, some drug content and brief nudity.
Runtime:
108 min | Australia:106 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The "Men In Black" are named Uno (played by John Sayles) and Dos (played by David Strathairn). Although they are not named in the film or end credits, the names were revealed in a photo caption on page 39 of Starlog magazine (#86, September 1984) as part of an interview with director Sayles. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: When the Brother is sitting in the bar for the first time, in shots of the boy playing the video game, a crew member's head can be seen intermittently between the back of the video game and the wall. more
Quotes:
Card Trickster: I have another magic trick for you. Wanna see me make all the white people disappear?
Subway Public Address Announcer: Fifty-Ninth Street, Columbus Circle; 125th Street next. This an Uptown A Express going to 207. Change for the AA local across the platform, the D, or the upper level, change for the number 1 Broadway trains.
Card Trickster: See, what'd I tell ya?
Subway Public Address Announcer: Uptown A, 125th street, next.
more
Movie Connections:
References "Adam-12" (1968) more
Soundtrack:
Pussy I Cocky I Water more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
8 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
Now Here Is Something Different!, 17 February 2008
8/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Can you say "different?" Have often do you see a movie in which the lead character never utters one word?

That's the case here, a unique story of an alien who crashes near Harlem, a famous black neighborhood in New York City. The alien is a black man, so he fits in despite not being able to speak! He's just looked upon as another "brother," as the title indicates.

Two aliens come after him - white guys, naturally. In the Liberal world of films, white people are bad and black people are good 99 percent of the time.....at least when there is a contrast between the two. Writer-director John Sayles is a prime example of this type of racist thinking. But he wrote a fun film here, I have to give him that.

Even though some of the scenes make absolutely no sense, it's an entertaining movie start- to-finish. Joe Morton plays the sympathetic alien with three toes and strange nails. You have to root for him because he's portrayed as such an innocent, harmless creature.

The best part of the film is the humor, some subtle, some not-so-subtle. The guys in the neighborhood bar where the alien hangs out brought the biggest laughs.

I find this a lot of fun to watch every three or four years.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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