Hoffa (film)
Hoffa | |
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Directed by | Danny DeVito |
Written by | David Mamet |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 140 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $35 million[1] |
Box office | $29.3 million[2] |
Hoffa is a 1992 American
Plot
On July 30, 1975, Jimmy Hoffa and his longtime friend Bobby Ciaro are impatiently waiting in the parking lot of a roadhouse diner. Moving in vignettes from when he was an
During a Teamsters strike that quickly turns into a street brawl with non-union workers, Hoffa is taken to see Detroit Mafia's top boss, Carl D'Allesandro, with the Italian-American Ciaro acting as interpreter. A partnership is soon formed between the Teamsters and the Mafia, and Hoffa makes several illegal loans to the mob using union funds. At a Congressional hearing, Hoffa is questioned by Robert F. Kennedy over allegations that the Teamsters are controlled by organized crime. When Hoffa becomes president of the Teamsters in 1957, Kennedy and Hoffa engage in a loud and bitter feud, especially after John F. Kennedy is elected President in 1960 and Bobby becomes Attorney General.
During a hunting trip, D'Allesandro and Hoffa discuss an embezzlement scheme involving the Teamsters pension fund. Having no paper with them, the plans are sketched on the back of a hunting license. Hoffa is then betrayed by Teamsters official Peter Connelly, who not only testifies at Hoffa's trial for labor racketeering but also provides the prosecution with a crucial piece of evidence: the license. Hoffa surrenders to federal officials and receives a long sentence while Connelly's uncle, Frank Fitzsimmons, assumes control of the Teamsters. Ciaro is also convicted but on lesser charges, and quickly obtains early release from prison. D'Allesandro advises him to have the Teamsters endorse Richard M. Nixon for president in 1968 in exchange for Hoffa receiving a presidential pardon.
Hoffa is pardoned by the Nixon administration but learns that one of the conditions of his release is that he cannot have any involvement with the Teamsters for at least ten years. Hoffa becomes furious and meets with D'Allesandro, asking him to have Fitzsimmons killed, resulting in a failed attempt to assassinate him with a car bomb. D'Allesandro believes that Hoffa has become "too hot" with his public antics and declines to help him any further. In response, Hoffa has Ciaro deliver a message to D'Allesandro that unless Fitzsimmons is dealt with, Hoffa will go to the press. D'Allesandro replies that he will meet with Hoffa at a nearby diner the next day to work out a plan.
Hoffa and Ciaro spend several hours waiting in the diner's parking lot, but D'Allesandro does not come. A union driver has been waiting for hours in the dining room, allegedly for a part for his truck. He and Ciaro start talking, and Ciaro lets him take some coffee to Hoffa, who is waiting in the car. The
Cast
- Jack Nicholson as Jimmy Hoffa
- Danny DeVito as Bobby Ciaro
- Armand Assante as Carl "Dally" D'Allesandro (based on Anthony Giacalone)
- J.T. Walsh as Frank Fitzsimmons
- John C. Reilly as Petey Connelly
- Kevin Anderson as Robert F. Kennedy
- John P. Ryanas "Red" Bennett
- Frank Whaley as Young Trucker In Diner
- Natalia Nogulich as Josephine "Jo" Hoffa
- Nicholas Pryor as Hoffa's Attorney (based on Bill Bufalino)
- Robert Prosky as Billy Flynn
- Paul Guilfoyle as Ted Harmon
- Karen Young as Young Woman At RTA
- Cliff Gorman as Soloman "Solly" Stein
- Peter Spellos as Man in Crowd
- Bruno Kirby as Nightclub Comedian (uncredited)
- Jon Favreau as Extra (uncredited)
- Tim Burton as Corpse (uncredited)
Production
In 1982,
The film sparked controversy before its release, when DeVito made a statement that he saw Hoffa as a hero.
Reception
Box office
The film premiered at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on December 11, 1992.[3] It received a wider release on Christmas Day 1992, in 1,066 theaters. It debuted at no. 5 at the US box office.[7] making $6.4 million in its opening weekend. In its second weekend, it dropped at #6 and grossed $4.8 million. It went on to gross $24.2 million in the U.S. and $5 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $29.3 million.[2] Jack Nicholson blamed the film's poor performance on Columbia Pictures's decision to move his other film A Few Good Men to the same release date.[3]
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews, with criticism being directed at for historical inaccuracies and its depiction of Hoffa in a heroic, even sympathetic light.[8][9] Sean Wilentz, writing in the New Republic, accused the film of having been conceived, originated, and outlined by organized crime figures. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 52% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 5.46/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Jack Nicholson embodies Hoffa with malevolent relish, but a dearth of meaningful insight knocks this crime epic off the mark by a nose."[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[12]
Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5/4 stars and wrote, "Here is a movie that finds the right look and tone for its material. Not many directors would have been confident enough to simply show us Jimmy Hoffa instead of telling us all about him. This is a movie that makes its points between the lines, in what is not said. It's not so much about what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, as about the fact that something eventually would."[13] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also gave the film 3.5/4 stars and said, "In the more ambitious Hoffa, Nicholson plays the Detroit street fighter who rose from the ranks of trucker and labor organizer to build the Teamsters into the nation's most powerful union. The boldness of director Danny DeVito's violent epic is matched by Nicholson's astonishing physical and vocal transformation into Jimmy Hoffa. The changeover might constrict another actor. Not Nicholson."[14] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote: "Hoffa is an original work of fiction, based on fact, conceived with imagination and a consistent point of view." Canby notes that the film has "a bitterly skeptical edge that is rare in American movies. It forces viewers to make up their own minds, something that can be immensely disorienting as well as rewarding."[15] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "It is a laconic, enigmatic piece of work, displaying the grace with spoken language that marked Glengarry Glen Ross but troublesome in terms of structure and character development."[16]
Alex von Tunzelmann of The Guardian gave the film a grade of C−, saying: "The film attempts a cautious middle route between celebrating Hoffa as a working-class hero and condemning him as a gangster. But despite a watchable performance from Nicholson, after more than two hours of screentime, Jimmy Hoffa remains an enigma."[17]
David Thomson states that the film was terribly neglected, since Nicholson portrayed one of his best screen characters, someone who is "snarly, dumb, smart, noble, rascally—all the parts of 'Jack'".[18]
Accolades
Hoffa earned two
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[21]
See also
References
- ^ "Hoffa". The Numbers.
- ^ a b "Hoffa (1992)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
- ^ Goldstein, Patrick (1992-08-30). "A Labor-Intensive 'Hoffa' : Jack Nicholson got the part, but it's Danny DeVito, directing with the bark of the Teamster boss himself, who acts like Jimmy Hoffa". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ "A Team Player // DeVito's 'Hoffa' Depicts Legendary Union Boss Whose Sudden, Suspicious Disappearance Shaped - and Distorted - His Legacy". Tulsa World. 20 December 1992.
- ^ "Memories of Jimmy". People.
- ^ Fox, David J. (1992-12-28). "Christmas Crowd Opts for the Tried and True : Box office: Holiday weekend sees expected surge in moviegoing with established hits selling most of the tickets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ Johnson, Malcolm (December 25, 1992). "Nicholson Performance Strong, But Devito Robs 'Hoffa' Of Drama". Hartford Courant.
- ^ Thompson, Gary (December 24, 1992). "Solidarity With 'Hoffa' Teamster Boss Portrayed As Working-class Tragic Hero". philly.com.
- ^ "Hoffa (1992)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ "Hoffa reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (1992-12-25). "Hoffa review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ Travers, Peter (1992-12-25). "Hoffa". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (1992-12-25). "Review/Film; Big Labor's Master Of Manipulation". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ Turan, Kenneth (1992-12-25). "MOVIE REVIEWS : 'Hoffa': Negotiating a Complex Life : Saga of Teamsters Leader Is Dark, Sinister, Brooding". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ "Hoffa: DeVito shouldn't have hassled the Hoff". The Guardian. 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ Thomson, David. The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, Alfred A. Knopf (2002) pp. 634–635
- ^ "Berlinale: 1993 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- ^ "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees" (PDF). AFI. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
External links
- Hoffa at IMDb
- Hoffa at the TCM Movie Database
- Hoffa at AllMovie
- Hoffa at Rotten Tomatoes
- Hoffa at Box Office Mojo