Be Kind Rewind (2008)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Michel Gondry

Writer:

Michel Gondry (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

You name it, we shoot it

Plot:

A man whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend's video store. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Video Store | Sabotage | Power Plant | Deception

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 18

3:45 AM

MAX

Cast

Jack Black	...	Jerry Gerber
Mos Def	...	Mike
Danny Glover	...	Elroy Fletcher
Mia Farrow	...	Miss Falewicz
Melonie Diaz	...	Alma
Irv Gooch	...	Wilson
Chandler Parker	...	Craig
Arjay Smith	...	Manny
Quinton Aaron	...	Q
Gio Perez	...	Randy
Basia Rosas	...	Andrea
Tomasz Soltys	...	Carl
Marcus Carl Franklin	...	Kid #1
Blake Hightower	...	Kid #2
Amir Ali Said	...	Kid #3
David Slotkoff	...	Jack
Frank Heins	...	Patrick
Heather Lawless	...	Sherry
Karolina Wydra	...	Gabrielle Bochenski
Harvey Hogan	...	Video Store Customer #1
Ted McElwee	...	Video Store Customer #2
Walter Helbig	...	Video Store Customer #3
Victor Dickerson	...	Man in Video Store #1
David M. Sheppard	...	Man in Video Store #2
Marc Alan Austen	...	Man in Video Store #3
Paul Barman	...	Young Man Watching TV
Karen Spitzer	...	Young Woman Watching TV
Allie Woods Jr.	...	Doctor Bent
McKinley Page	...	Brother McDuff
Francisco Fabian	...	Simon from the Copy Shop
Kishu Chand	...	Alma's Sister
Ann Longo	...	Miss Falewicz's Friend
Parrie Hodges	...	Miss Falewicz's Friend / Fats Waller's Mom
Kid Creole	...	West Coast Video Employee Passaic (as August Darnell)
Jon Glaser	...	West Coast Video Employee NYC
P.J. Byrne	...	Mr. Baker
Marceline Hugot	...	City Hall Employee
John Tormey	...	Demolition Chief
Frank Girardeau	...	Officer Gary
Matt Walsh	...	Officer Julian
Paul Dinello	...	Mr. Rooney
Sigourney Weaver	...	Ms. Lawson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elizabeth Berkley	...	Girl In Library (uncredited)
Sacha Bourdo	...	Man in queue (uncredited)
Steve Cropper	...	Fats Waller's fan in train (uncredited)
Anthony Guerino	...	Laundromat Patron (uncredited)
Booker T. Jones	...	Fats Waller's fan in train (uncredited)
Loukas Papas	...	Tophat Harry (uncredited)
Jimmy Scott	...	Fats Waller's fan in train (uncredited)
McCoy Tyner	...	Fats Waller's fan in train (uncredited)
Todd Travis Warrick	...	Store Patron (uncredited)

Directed by
Michel Gondry

Writing credits
Michel Gondry		(written by)

Produced by
Raffi Adlan	....	associate producer
Georges Bermann	....	producer
Toby Emmerich	....	executive producer
Julie Fong	....	producer
Michel Gondry	....	producer
Ann Ruark	....	co-producer
Guy Stodel	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Jean-Michel Bernard

Cinematography by
Ellen Kuras

Film Editing by
Jeff Buchanan

Casting by
Jeanne McCarthy

Production Design by
Dan Leigh

Art Direction by
James Donahue

Set Decoration by
Ron von Blomberg

Costume Design by
Rahel Afiley
Kishu Chand

Makeup Department
Marjorie Durand	....	makeup department head
Suzy Mazzarese-Allison	....	hair department head

Production Management
Gwen Bialic	....	production supervisor
Kendall McCarthy	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Catherine Bloch	....	additional second assistant director
David Fischer	....	second second assistant director
Michael Hausman	....	first assistant director
Jesse Nye	....	second assistant director
Eric West	....	additional second assistant director: action unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Robert Antalocy	....	carpenter
Stuart Auld	....	scenic artist
Russell Barnes	....	art department coordinator
Jeff Butcher	....	property master: New York
Doug Coleman	....	set dresser
Brandon Cook	....	set dresser
Guido DeCurtis	....	lead man
Amy S. Dholakia	....	graphic artist: props
Daniel Fisher	....	assistant property master
Alison Ford	....	assistant art director
Isaac Gabaeff	....	set dresser
Kley Gilbuena	....	props assistant
Jeffrey Halls	....	carpenter
Jay Hendrickx	....	camera scenic
Akeo Ihara	....	prop fabricator
Jon Kim	....	additional props
Jon Kim	....	set dresser
Jesse Klipp	....	set dresser
Jonathan B. Lee	....	set dresser
Carlton McClarence	....	set dresser
Evan C. Newell	....	art team: construction grip (as Evan Newell)
Kevin L. Raper	....	additional graphic artist
Tim Rossiter	....	props fabrication
Noreen Souza-Bailey	....	art intern
Susan Tatom	....	set dresser
Dennis Tillberg	....	scenic artist
Andrew M. Velechenko	....	carpenter
Danielle Webb	....	props fabrication
Eric West	....	location on-set dresser
Monica Wille	....	art department assistant
Rob Yapkowitz	....	set dresser
Tomas Zeman	....	art researcher
Jen Day	....	set production assistant (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gina Alfano	....	adr editor
Jamie Baker	....	supervising foley editor
David Corcoran	....	apprentice sound editor
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Jeanne Gilliland	....	boom operator
Anguibe Guindo	....	sound utility (as A. G. Guindo)
Eric Hirsch	....	sound re-recordist
Paul Hsu	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Hsu	....	supervising sound editor
Frank Kern	....	foley editor
Dan Korintus	....	dialogue editor
George A. Lara	....	foley mixer
Lisa J. Levine	....	adr editor (as Lisa Levine)
Marissa Littlefield	....	supervising adr editor
Branka Mrkic	....	dialogue editor (as Branka Mrkic-Tana)
Egor Panchenko	....	ProTools playback mixer
Egor Panchenko	....	sound utility
Egor Panchenko	....	utility boom
Mary Ellen Porto	....	adr editor
Alex Soto	....	assistant sound editor
Reilly Steele	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeffrey Stern	....	dialogue editor
Sara Stern	....	first assistant sound editor
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Robert Troeller	....	sound technician
Pawel Wdowczak	....	sound

Special Effects by
Russell Berg	....	special effects coordinator (as Russell J. Berg)
Doug Coleman	....	special effects technician
Chris Jordan	....	special effects
Steven Kirshoff	....	special effects manufacturer (as Steve Kirshoff)
Tim Rossiter	....	special effects coordinator
Danielle Webb	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
François-Xavier Aubague	....	visual effects producer: BUF
Patrick Clancey	....	digital opticals
Melanie Cussac	....	visual effects producer: BUF
Aaron Dorn	....	digital opticals producer: EFilm
Pierre Escande	....	visual effects coordinator
Nadia Essid	....	digital artist
Frederique Gyuran	....	digital artist: BUF
Nicolas Jauffret	....	software research & development: BUF
Gregory Jennings	....	digital artist: BUF
Fabrice Lagayette	....	visual effects supervisor: BUF
Cynthia Mourou	....	visual effects producer
Isabelle Perin-Leduc	....	digital artist
Nolwenn Rimbault	....	digital artist: BUF
Jean-Gabriel Saint-Paul	....	visual effects consultant
Danita Slaughter	....	digital opticals editor
Thomas Mathai	....	data manager (uncredited)

Stunts
Matt Berkoski	....	stunt player
Scott Burik	....	stunt rigger
Bob Colletti	....	stunt double
Jeffrey Lee Gibson	....	stunt rigger
Dave Pope	....	stunts: band member
Stephen A. Pope	....	stunt coordinator (as Stephen Pope)

Camera and Electrical Department
Sebastián Almeida	....	assistant camera
Diaz Alzaro	....	grip
Tony Arnaud	....	best boy grip
Kelly Britt	....	electrician
Anne Carson	....	assistant camera
Lamont Crawford	....	key grip
Andrea Cronin-Souza	....	electrician
Fernando Gayesky	....	additional assistant camera
Abbot Genser	....	still photographer
Sandy Hays	....	steadicam operator
Charles Libin	....	additional camera operator: "b" camera
Kim Marcelino	....	additional electrician
Michael C. Maronna	....	electrician
John C. Nadeau	....	gaffer
Chris Norr	....	camera operator: 'a' camera
Craig Pecchia	....	camera intern
Christopher Raymond	....	assistant camera
Brooke Stanford	....	electrician
John Tanzer	....	generator operator
Dana Turken	....	additional camera loader
Craig Vaccaro	....	key rigging grip
Craig Paul Harris	....	electrician (uncredited)
J. Dan Wright	....	light balloon technician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Nicole Abellera	....	casting associate
Joanne Bloom	....	casting assistant
Kathleen Chopin	....	additional casting
Morgan Donaho	....	casting assistant
Mellicent Dyane	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jessica Chaney	....	key on-set costumer
Jackie Freeman	....	additional costumer
Tonya Huskey	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Kenny Becker	....	color timer
Terra Bliss-Alvarez	....	digital intermediate producer (as Terra Bliss)
Eileen Godoy	....	digital intermediate producer
Nat Jencks	....	assistant editor
Alex Kopit	....	first assistant editor
Natasha Leonnet	....	digital film colorist
Curtis Lindersmith	....	digital intermediate editor
Marc Lulkin	....	digital color assist
Scott Maloney	....	telecine colorist
Tom Reiser	....	digital intermediate color assist
Alec Styborski	....	editing room assistant
Justin Worthington	....	digital intermediate assistant

Music Department
Jean-Michel Bernard	....	conductor
Jean-Michel Bernard	....	orchestrator
Dan Bora	....	music preparation
Hector Castillo	....	score engineer
Linda Cohen	....	music supervisor
Pedro H. da Silva	....	musician: electric guitar
Tass Filipos	....	music editor
François Gauthier	....	assistant score engineer
Michel Gondry	....	musician: drums, play
Bruno Mercere	....	music recording mixer
Bruno Mercere	....	score engineer
Nico Muhly	....	additional orchestrator
Ichiho Nishiki	....	assistant score engineer
Jean-Michel Tavernier	....	orchestra manager
Adam Thompson	....	assistant score engineer

Transportation Department
Matthew Callagy	....	driver
William Ferrick	....	driver
William 'Mac' Maquez	....	driver
Ed Savago	....	driver

Other crew
Nick Aase	....	intern
Daniel Atherton	....	production assistant
John Bair	....	title designer: main titles
Cassandra Barbour	....	rights and clearances
Dawn Barkan	....	animal coordinator
Anna Bosco	....	payroll accountant
Katie Brewer Ball	....	production assistant
Rich Brush	....	production assistant
Lauren Buchholz	....	production assistant
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot
Wayne Cerullo	....	ground operator
Chris Cloud	....	unit location assistant
Alison S. Cohen	....	production counsel
Wendy Cohen	....	additional clearances
Mary Cybulski	....	script supervisor
Alison Davis	....	assistant production coordinator
Gleanna Doyle	....	cat trainer
May Elbaz	....	principal stitcher
Scott Ferlisi	....	location assistant
T.G. Firestone	....	behind-the-scenes documentarian
Amanda Foley	....	location coordinator
Laurence Granec	....	press attache: France
Eddie Griffith	....	production assistant
Louis Gropman	....	production assistant
Alexander Hammer	....	production assistant
Peter Hutchison	....	production accountant
Lisa Kelley	....	additional production assistant
Jeremy Konner	....	assistant: Jack Black
Gabriella Ludlow	....	production legal
Nic Marshall	....	production intern
Karine Menard	....	press attache: France
John Merchant	....	production secretary
Kirsten Norr	....	set production assistant
Alex Paster	....	additional set production assistant
Derek Pastures	....	parking coordinator
Andrew Poppoon	....	location assistant
Oliver Refson	....	production assistant
Guillaume Renberg	....	remote head technician
Christina I. Rodriguez	....	production assistant: first team
Ben Schoen	....	title designer: end titles
Julia Seidel	....	additional production assistant
Laura Sevier	....	rights and clearances
Ricardo Uhagon Vivas	....	set production assistant
Julie Van den Bulck	....	assistant: Georges Bermann
Gayle Vangrofsky	....	location manager
Christian Vendetti	....	key production assistant
Daniel Wagner	....	production office coordinator
Marc Walsh	....	first accountant
Atilla Yucer	....	key production assistant
Russ Klein	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Nicholas Walker	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Walter F. Parkes	....	thanks
Ivan Reitman	....	thanks

Production Companies

• New Line Cinema (presents)
• Partizan (as Partizan Films)
• Focus Features

Distributors

• Focus Features (2008) (non-USA) (theatrical) (as Focus Features International)
• CatchPlay (2008) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Pathé Distribution (2008) (UK) (theatrical)
• New Line Cinema (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• EuropaCorp. Distribution (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• Monopole-Pathé (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution Sverige AB (2008) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2008) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Senator Film (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Tohokushinsha Film (2008) (Japan) (theatrical)
• UFA/DVD (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Blue Sky Media (2008) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Discovery Film & Video Distribution (2008) (Croatia) (all media)
• Gativideo (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• New Line Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Paradise Group (2008) (Russia) (all media)
• Sandrews (2008) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Tiglon (2008) (Turkey) (all media)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Switzerland) (DVD)

Special Effects

• BUF (visual effects)
• Partizan Lab (additional visual effects)

Other Companies

• Adidas  thanks
• Arms Length  camera cranes
• Arms Length  grip equipment
• C5  post-production sound facility
• Camera Service Center  Arriflex cameras
• Camera Service Center  camera dollies
• Camera Service Center  electric equipment
• Creative Mega Playground  video transfers
• Deluxe  prints (as Deluxe Labs)
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Dubway Studios  additional music recorded at
• EFilm  digital intermediate (as EFilm Digital Laboratories)
• Edgeworx  main titles
• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• Fantasy Studios  additional music recorded at
• Gotham Sound  walkies provided by
• Joe Dunton & Company  anamorphic lenses provided by
• Lakeshore Records  soundtrack
• Looking Glass Studios  additional music recorded at
• Modern VideoFilm  telecine (as Modern Video Film)
• New York and Greenwood Railway  thanks
• Panavision  camera cranes
• Paris Symphonic Orchestra  orchestra
• Post Factory NY  post-production facilities
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Sessions Payroll Management  extras payroll
• Sound One Corporation  adr recorded at
• Sound One Corporation  sound mixed at
• Soundtrack New York  adr recorded at (as Soundtrack NY)
• Spacecam Systems  gyro-stabilized camera system
• Studio Omega  music recording studio
• Studio Omega  score mixed at
• Water Music  additional music recorded at
• Wilshire Stages, The  ADR recording facility

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references. (also video version)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43318) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Australia:PG | Norway:7 | Denmark:A | Sweden:Btl | Singapore:PG | Germany:o.Al. | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-3 | Greece:K | Netherlands:AL | USA:PG-13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Australia:M | France:U | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Iceland:L | New Zealand:M | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Hackensack, New Jersey, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

The reason for Jack Black's hilarious version of the "Ghostbusters" theme song was simply because the legal department didn't have the rights to Ray Parker Jr.'s song yet.

Quotes:

Mike: [to Jerry as they begin to remake Ghost Busters] I'm Bill Murray, you're everybody else.

Movie Connections:

References The Postman (1997)

Soundtrack:

Ghostbusters

Lovely, charming, original and not too sweet

I missed this film at Sundance, caught it as soon as possible, and I wasn't disappointed. Despite being privy to the exhaustive fine-tuning of an indie film with an improvised feel, watching "Be Kind" I could absolutely believe it came together as quickly and spontaneously as the snippets of "sweded" films. This was part of its charm and I think Gondry's intention.

All the actors were engaging, and genuine heartfelt emotion - most definitely by the surprising, naturally pitch-perfect Mos Def - transcended the dialog, plot points and general wackiness.

The Fats Waller thread was just random enough and very skillfully and satisfyingly woven into the story from beginning to end. This and many other details - including touches like lovely Mia Farrow's curiosity about supernatural films and Sigourney Weaver's brief take-charge turn - convinced me that Gondry put quite a bit of thought and skill into perfecting the film's endearing awkwardness. It might not be to everybody's taste, but I think it was a great idea, executed and seasoned just right.