IMDb > Ironweed (1987)
Ironweed
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Ironweed (1987) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

IMDb Holiday Movie Guide

Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   2,791 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
William Kennedy (novel)
William Kennedy (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Ironweed on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
February 1988 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
A schizophrenic drifter spends Halloween in his home town after returning there for the first time in decades. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Birthday Suits, Well Directed
 (From FilmExperience. 30 November 2009, 6:05 AM, PST)

Their Best Role: Meryl Streep
 (From Cinematical. 18 November 2009, 9:02 AM, PST)

User Reviews:
Grim And Wonderful more (30 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jack Nicholson ... Francis Phelan

Meryl Streep ... Helen Archer

Carroll Baker ... Annie Phelan

Michael O'Keefe ... Billy Phelan

Diane Venora ... Margaret 'Peg' Phelan
Fred Gwynne ... Oscar Reo
Margaret Whitton ... Katrina Dougherty

Tom Waits ... Rudy
Jake Dengel ... Pee Wee

Nathan Lane ... Harold Allen

James Gammon ... Reverend Chester
Will Zahrn ... Rowdy Dick
Laura Esterman ... Nora Lawlor

Joe Grifasi ... Jack
Hy Anzell ... Rosskam
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Additional Details

Runtime:
143 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The scene in The Bird in a Gilded Gage, where Meryl Streep sings, the Mayor of Albany, Tom Whalen is an extra. The scene was shot in what was the Boulevard Cafeteria and has been operated as Restaurant Paridiso at Central Avenue and Robin Street in Albany, NY. The Boulevard Cafeteria was a famous hangout for students at the New York State Teachers' College (now UAlbany)and it was famous for its nude murals, its coffee and black and white cookies. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: When the vigilantes' cars approach the hobo camp, they are observed across the steel-ribbed top of a boxcar with no running board, impossible in 1938. more
Quotes:
Francis Phelan: By God, Helen, that's as good as it gets. You were born to be a star. more
Movie Connections:

FAQ

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15 out of 16 people found the following review useful.
Grim And Wonderful, 20 November 2007
9/10
Author: Ubaldo Martinez from United States

Cold, desolate in the surface and an uncomfortable warmth in the inside. Meryl Streep leads in a way that is difficult to explain. She provides a truly magic movie moment when she sings "He's My Pal" for her supper. For a moment we live her fantasy. Her moment is our moment, that's why as the song and the fantasy ends something inside me cracked. I felt tears running down my face and, I swear, I wasn't ready for that. The humanity of Meryl Streep, the actress, filters through the devastating circumstances of her character. Circumstances that, by the time we meet her, are already a way of life. At the beginning of the film, when somebody asks her how is she, her reply is "Delightful". Trying to adjust to this character I listen to her stained, tired voice, trying to be heard and I did, heard her. I love Meryl Streep.

Was the above review useful to you?
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Ironweed (1987)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Filming In Albany chickyfornia
Coming out on DVD! molly-tobin
After Meryl Sings 'He's Me Pal' cwa2011
piano piece deltoscano
Ironweed dvd's available frns-2
He's Me Pal Lukerdog
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