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

Overview

User Rating:
3.7/10   5,793 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 11% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Elaine May (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Ishtar on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 May 1987 (USA) more
Plot:
Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the CIA... more | full synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
Ishtar Lives! Men Who Stare at Goats
 (From Huffington Post. 9 November 2009, 11:29 AM, PST)

Vintage Isabelle
 (From FilmExperience. 23 March 2009, 9:38 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Call me crazy, but... more (107 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Warren Beatty ... Lyle Rogers

Dustin Hoffman ... Chuck Clarke

Isabelle Adjani ... Shirra Assel
Charles Grodin ... Jim Harrison
Jack Weston ... Marty Freed

Tess Harper ... Willa

Carol Kane ... Carol

Aharon Ipalé ... Emir Yousef
Fijad Hageb ... Abdul (as Fuad Hageb)
David Margulies ... Mr. Clarke
Rose Arrick ... Mrs.Clarke

Julie Garfield ... Dorothy

Cristine Rose ... Siri Darma (as Christine Rose)
Robert V. Girolami ... Bartender (as Bob Girolami)
Abe Kroll ... Mr. Thomopoulos
more
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Additional Details

Runtime:
107 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:L | UK:15 (uncut DVD version) (2004) | UK:PG (theatrical release, cut) (1987) | Sweden:11 | Australia:PG | USA:PG-13

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The film's budget was $55 million; it bombed at the box office, making only $12.7 million, a loss of over $42 million. more
Goofs:
Boom mic visible: By the chandelier when Jim talks to the Emir. more
Quotes:
CIA Agent: Jim, I don't know what you had in mind here, but this mission is no longer covert. We are now overtly firing on two Americans and God knows who else. And they are armed to the teeth! more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
PROTABLE PICNIC more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
24 out of 31 people found the following comment useful.
Call me crazy, but..., 13 October 1998
Author: ChakaMan from Cherry Hill, NJ

"Ishtar was great," I think defiantly every time by some off chance someone I come in contact with who has actually seen it cites it was the worst movie ever. I suppose it's part of cinematic pop culture to hold that opinion as a safeguard against being called a fool.

The most charming quality of Ishtar is its consistently dry, tongue-and-cheek disposition. It offers brilliant insight to the types of people in the world that, despite the fact that to everyone else their talent is cheesy at best, continue to try and try. Rogers and Clarke are the "Every Men" for that entire segment of the population with their songwriting musical act.

Their third-rate, leisure-suit-wearing manager does his job by getting them a few gigs; the biggest gig of all is in Ishtar, a politically unstable Middle Eastern country. Which, of course, is unbeknownst to Rogers and Clarke, who are just reveling in their love of playing music. Their naivete (and sometimes outright stupidity) is a character unto itself, and plays brilliantly throughout the ridiculous adventure that they experience.

I've seen Hoffman and Beatty in interviews joking about how they knew the movie was so bad that, instead of quitting, they simply got into the spirit by over-acting at parts. But, whether they know it or not, they were very REAL people, and THAT was the best part of all.

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more (107 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Ishtar (1987)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
why dos everyone hate this movie noer86
What are the lines to the song love in my will JAlexa9898
what does ishtar mean? soccerplayr28
Soundtrack....yes, again..*sigh* papalorentzi
saw it for the first time on cable lebanesecuisine
Quentin Tarantino introduced Ishtar last night at a screening horrorbargainbin
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