City Hall (1996 film)
| City Hall | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Harold Becker |
| Written by | |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Michael Seresin |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
|
Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $40 million[1] |
| Box office | $33.4 million[2] |
City Hall is a 1996 American
Plot summary
In
Calhoun's investigation leads to Frank Anselmo, a Brooklyn politician who has connections to Tino's uncle, crime boss Paul Zapatti. Anselmo plants money at Zapatti's behest to frame Santos. Calhoun and Cogan continue to seek the truth from a number of sources, including Santos's partner and another Zapatti relative. After the murder of probation officer Larry Schwartz, they ultimately conclude that Judge Stern had to be on the take. Pappas agrees that Stern must resign.
The scandal snowballs to the point where Zapatti instructs Anselmo to commit suicide rather than become an informer or go to jail. To protect his family, Anselmo shoots himself. Calhoun uncovers evidence that Pappas put Stern together with Anselmo to receive a
Some time later Calhoun runs for city councilor and loses the election, remaining steadfast on trying to make a place for himself in politics and also make the city a better place in which to live.
Cast
- Al Pacino as Mayor John Pappas
- John Cusack as Kevin Calhoun
- Bridget Fonda as Marybeth Cogan
- Danny Aiello as Frank Anselmo
- David Paymer as Abe Goodman
- Martin Landau as Judge Walter Stern
- Anthony Franciosa as Paul Zapatti
- Richard Schiff as Larry Schwartz
- Lauren Vélez as Elaine Santos
- Murphy Guyer as Captain Florian
- John Finn as Commissioner Coonan
- John Slattery as Detective George
- Stanley Anderson as Train Conductor
- Harry Bugin as Morty the Waiter
Fritz Hollings, the then-current U.S. Senator from South Carolina, plays Senator Marquand, whom Pappas and Calhoun lobby in order to land the Democratic National convention.
Former
Production
In January 1994, it was announced Harold Becker had made a deal with Paramount Pictures to direct City Hall, a drama in the vein of Network written by Bo Goldman.[4] The following month, it was announced Castle Rock Entertainment had picked up City Hall after Paramount let their option lapse.[5]
Tom Cruise at one point was in preliminary negotiations to star in the film, but negotiations quickly fell apart.[4][5]
Reception
![[icon]](/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2014) |
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 58% based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "City Hall explores political corruption with commendable intelligence, but this web of scandal struggles to coalesce into satisfying drama."[6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.[7]
Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half out of four stars and wrote, "Many of the parts of City Hall are so good that the whole should add up to more, but it doesn't."[8]
Box office
The film was released on February 16, 1996 in 1,815 theatres. It debuted at number 4 at the United States box office, grossing $8 million.[9] For its second weekend, it landed at number 6, grossing $13.8 million. The film grossed $20.3 million in the U.S. and Canada[10] and $13.1 million internationally for a worldwide total of $33.4 million.[2]
References
- ^ "City Hall (1996) - Financial Information".
- ^ a b "Top 100 Worldwide B.O. Champs". Variety. January 20, 1997. p. 14.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (February 16, 1996). "City Hall (1996) FILM REVIEW; Dangerous Dealings In the Heart of New York". The New York Times.
- ^ a b "Becker bags 'City Hall'". Variety. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ a b "New York politics bring Castle Rock to 'City Hall'". Variety. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ City Hall at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "City Hall" in the search box). CinemaScore. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (1996-02-16). "City Hall". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2018-02-23 – via RogerEbert.com.
- ^ Weekend Box Office : It's a Bull's-Eye for 'Broken Arrow' from Los Angeles Times, 21 February 1996, retrieved 7 September 2014
- ^ "City Hall". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
External links
- City Hall at IMDb
- City Hall at the TCM Movie Database
- City Hall at Rotten Tomatoes
- City Hall at Box Office Mojo
- City Hall at the American Film Institute Catalog
