ISHTAR
Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman play the awful musical comedy team of Lyle Rogers and Chuck "The Hawk" Clarke, who book a gig in Morocco but wind up in the fictional neighboring nation of Ishtar, where they become embroiled with the local revolution — and a lovely revolutionary (Isabelle Adjani). A CIA agent (Charles Grodin) enlists Chuck in the intrigue, rationalizing the low salary with: "You can't really put a price on democracy, can you?" An infamous, money-losing bomb upon release, with its quirky daring and genius then lost on critics and audiences alike, ISHTAR has gradually endeared itself to adventurous viewers and won a measure of hard-earned cult status. The film's daft musical numbers were composed by ace songwriter Paul Williams, with contributions by May, Beatty and Hoffman. DIR/SCR Elaine May; PROD Warren Beatty. U.S., 1987, color, 107 min. RATED PG-13
AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 107 Minutes
Opening Date: Saturday, September 14, 2024
Genre: Adventure comedy