Renaissance Man (1994)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Penny Marshall

Writer (WGA):

Jim Burnstein (written by)

Release Date:

3 June 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

One Man's Mission To Teach The Few, The Proud... The Impossible!

Plot:

Danny DeVito plays an advertising man who is slowly sliding downhill. When he is fired from his job in Detroit...

Plot Keywords:

Advertising | Army | Teaching | Captain | Shakespeare's Henry V

Cast

Danny DeVito	...	Bill Rago
Gregory Hines	...	Sergeant Cass
James Remar	...	Captain Tom Murdoch
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Jack Markin
Lillo Brancato	...	Pvt. Donnie Benitez (as Lillo Brancato Jr.)
Stacey Dash	...	Pvt. Miranda Myers
Kadeem Hardison	...	Pvt. Jamaal Montgomery
Richard T. Jones	...	Pvt. Jackson Leroy
Khalil Kain	...	Pvt. Roosevelt Nathaniel Hobbs
Peter Simmons	...	Pvt. Brian Davis, Jr.
Gregory Sporleder	...	Pvt. Melvin (as Greg Sporleder)
Mark Wahlberg	...	Pvt. Tommy Lee Haywood
Cliff Robertson	...	Colonel James
Ben Wright	...	Private Oswald
Ann Cusack	...	Bill's Secretary

Also Known As:

Army Intelligence
By the Book

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Philippines:G | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:6 | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Company:

Cinergi Pictures Entertainment

Trivia:

After failing to bring in audiences as a comedy under the original title "Renaissance Man", the movie was re-released to theaters a couple months later marketed as a drama with the alternate title "By The Book", and unsurprisingly pulled in far fewer receipts the second time through the theaters.

Goofs:

Factual errors: If you're watching the movie with subtitles you will notice that, when one of the guys is impersonating Robert DeNiro in Raging bull, the subtitle says "impersonating Robert DeNiro". Later on however when the same guy is impersonating Scarface, the subtitle also say “impersonating Robert DeNiro”. However a true fan will know that it is Al Pacino who is in Scarface.

Quotes:

Bill Rago: It says here that you're from Detroit. What part?
Pvt. Roosevelt Nathaniel Hobbs: The part you drive through doing 85.
Bill Rago: I've been there.

Movie Connections:

References Rocky (1976)

Soundtrack:

UNITED

Great works of art transcend cultural barriers.

This film is about educating the most unlikely people so that they will be able to appreciate beauty of the classical works. For me, it's very moving because enjoying good works of art are fully part of enjoying life. Besides, the film is well done and funny. And last but not least, education is properly shown as a two-way process: the teacher will learn a lot from his students during the very time he teaches them. In summary, I loved the story and sent everyone I met to see it. And most of them were happy too.