Rain Man 129368 225864535 2008-07-15T19:30:14Z Ckatz 831038 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/24.69.160.244|24.69.160.244]] ([[User talk:24.69.160.244|talk]]) to last version by VolkovBot {{For|the [[AOL]] publishing language|RAINMAN}} {{Infobox Film | name = Rain Man | image = Rain Man poster.jpg | caption = Poster for the film. | director = [[Barry Levinson]] | producer = [[Peter Guber]]<br>[[Jon Peters]]<br>[[David McGiffert]]<br>[[Mark Johnson (film producer)|Mark Johnson]]<br>[[Gerald R. Molen]] | writer = [[Barry Morrow]] (story and screenplay), [[Ronald Bass]] (screenplay) | starring = [[Dustin Hoffman]]<br>[[Tom Cruise]]<br>[[Valeria Golino]] | music = [[Hans Zimmer]] | cinematography = [[John Seale]] | editing = [[Stu Linder]] | distributor = [[United Artists]] | released = {{Start date|1988|12|16}} | runtime = 133 minutes | country = U.S | language = [[American English|English]] | budget = $25 million | gross = $172 million | preceded_by = | followed_by = | website = | amg_id = 1:40134 | imdb_id = 0095953 }} {{wikiquote}} '''''Rain Man''''' is a [[1988 in film|1988 dramatic film]] written by Barry Morrow and [[Ronald Bass]] and directed by [[Barry Levinson]]. It tells the story of an abrasive, selfish [[yuppie]], Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his father has left all of his [[millionaire|multimillion-dollar]] [[estate (law)|estate]] to his brother, Raymond, of whose existence he knew nothing and who is a [[Savant syndrome|savant]]. The movie stars [[Tom Cruise]] as Charlie Babbit, [[Dustin Hoffman]] as Raymond Babbit, and [[Valeria Golino]] as Charlie's girlfriend, Susanna. Morrow created the character of Raymond after meeting [[Kim Peek]], a real-life savant; his characterization was based on both Peek and [[Bill Sackter]], a good friend of Morrow who was the subject of ''[[Bill (1981 film)|Bill]]'', an earlier film that Morrow wrote.<ref name="DVD">Barry Morrow's [[audio commentary]] for ''Rain Man'' from the DVD release.</ref> The film won four Oscars at the [[61st Academy Awards]] (1989), including [[Academy Award for Best Picture#1980s|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay#1980s|Best Original Screenplay]], [[Academy Award for Best Director#1980s|Best Director]], and [[Academy Award for Best Actor#1980s|Best Actor in a leading role]] for Hoffman. Its crew received an additional four nominations.<ref name="imdb">{{imdb title|0095953}}</ref> ==Plot== <!-- The following is a summary of the narrative: please do not add detailed descriptions of every scene. --> Charlie Babbitt (Cruise), a [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] car dealer in his mid-twenties, is in the middle of importing four [[Grey import vehicles|grey market]] [[Lamborghini]]s. The deal is being threatened by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]], and if Charlie cannot meet its requirements he will lose significant money. After some quick subterfuge with an employee, Charlie leaves for a weekend trip to [[Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs]] with his girlfriend, Susanna. Charlie's trip is spoiled by sudden news that his estranged father, Sanford Babbitt, has died. Charlie travels to [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], to settle the estate, where he learns an undisclosed [[trustee]] is inheriting $3 million on behalf of an unnamed [[beneficiary]], while he is to receive only a classic [[Buick Roadmaster]] convertible and several prize rose bushes. Eventually he learns the money is being directed to a mental institution, and he discovers that it is the home of his autistic brother, Raymond (Hoffman). Raymond is an [[autism|autistic]] [[savant syndrome|savant]], with superb recall but little understanding of subject matter. He is frightened by change and adheres to strict routines (for example, his continual repetition of the "[[Who's on First?]]" sketch). Except when he is in distress, he shows little emotional expression and does not give eye contact. Numbed by learning that he has a brother and determined to get what he believes is his fair share of the Babbitt estate, Charlie takes Raymond on what becomes a cross-country trip back to [[Los Angeles]] to meet with his attorneys. He intends to start a custody battle in order to get Raymond's doctor, Dr. Bruner (Molen), to settle out of court for half of Sanford Babbitt's estate so that they can maintain custody of Raymond. During the course of the journey, Charlie learns about Raymond's condition, which he initially believes is curable — resulting in frustration with his brother. He also learns about how his brother came to be separated from his family, as a result of an accident when he was left alone with Charlie when Charlie was a baby. Sometimes shallow and exploitative, as when he learns that Raymond has an excellent memory and takes him to [[Las Vegas Strip|Las Vegas]] to win money at blackjack [[Card counting|counting cards]], Charlie nonetheless finds himself becoming protective towards Raymond. Charlie finally meets with his attorneys to try to get his share of his inheritance, but then considers taking custody of Raymond. However, Raymond is unable to decide exactly what he wants. Eventually, the attorneys press Raymond for a decisive answer, upsetting him and leading Charlie to tell the attorneys to back off. Eventually, Raymond is allowed to go back home to Cincinnati. Charlie, who has gained a new brother and mellowed considerably, tells him he'll visit often. ==Cast== [[Image:Rain Man1.jpg|frame|right|Hoffman and Cruise in a scene from the film.]] {| class="wikitable" |- ! style="background-color:tan;" | Actor ! style="background-color:lightgrey;" | Role |- | [[Dustin Hoffman]] || Raymond Babbitt |- | [[Tom Cruise]] || Charlie Babbitt |- | [[Valeria Golino]] || Susanna |- | [[Gerald R. Molen|Jerry Molen]] || Dr. Bruner |- | [[Jack Murdock (actor)|Jack Murdock]] || John Mooney |- | [[Michael D. Roberts]] || Vern |- | [[Ralph Seymour]] || Lenny |- | [[Lucinda Jenney]] || Iris |- | [[Bonnie Hunt]] || Sally Dibbs |- | [[Ray Baker (actor)|Ray Baker]] || Mr. Kelso |} ==Production== [[Image:Cogar Kelly.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A now-abandoned gas station and [[general store]] in [[Cogar, Oklahoma]] was used in a scene from the film.]] [[Roger Birnbaum]] was the first studio executive to give the film a [[greenlight]]; he did so immediately after Barry Morrow pitched the story. Birnbaum received "special thanks" in the film's credits.<ref name="imdb"/> Agents at [[CAA]] sent the script to Hoffman and [[Bill Murray]], envisioning Murray in the title role and Hoffman in the role eventually portrayed by Cruise.<ref name="DVD"/> [[Martin Brest]], [[Steven Spielberg]], and [[Sydney Pollack]] were directors also involved in the film.<ref name="DVDBass">Bass' audio commentary for ''Rain Man'' from the DVD release.</ref> [[Principal photography]] included nine weeks of [[filming location|filming on location]],<ref name="variety">[http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=Variety100&reviewid=VE1117488019&content=jump&jump=review&category=1935&cs=1 Rain Man], ''Variety'', December 14, 1988</ref> including some scenes at [[Jualita]], a 1907 mansion located in [[Hollywood]].{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Almost all of the principal photography occurred during the [[1988 Writers Guild of America strike]]; one key scene that was affected by the lack of writers was the film's final scene.<ref name="DVD"/> Bass delivered his last [[rough cut]] of the script only hours before the strike started and spent no time on the set.<ref name="DVDBass"/> ==Reception== ===Reviews=== [[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called ''Rain Man'' a "becomingly modest, decently thought-out, sometimes funny film"; Hoffman's performance was a "display of sustained virtuosity ... [which] makes no lasting connections with the emotions. Its end effect depends largely on one's susceptibility to the sight of an actor acting nonstop and extremely well, but to no particularly urgent dramatic purpose."<ref name="nytimes">[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE2D91538F935A25751C1A96E948260 Brotherly Love, of Sorts], a December 1988 review from ''The New York Times''</ref> Canby considered the "film's true central character" to be "the confused, economically and emotionally desperate Charlie, beautifully played by Mr. Cruise."<ref name="nytimes"/> [[Pauline Kael]] gave the film one of its harshest reviews:<ref>{{metacritic film|id=rainman}}, with an excerpt of a February 1989 review by Pauline Kael of ''[[The New Yorker]]''</ref> :Everything in this movie is fudged ever so humanistically, in a perfunctory, low-pressure way. And the picture has its effectiveness: people are crying at it. Of course they're crying at it - it's a piece of wet [[kitsch]]. [[Amy Dawes]] of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote that "one of the year's most intriguing film premises...is given uneven, slightly off-target treatment"; she calls the road scenes "hastily, loosely written, with much extraneous screen time" but admired the last third of the film, calling it a depiction of "two very isolated beings" who "discover a common history and deep attachment."<ref name="variety"/> ===Box office=== ''Rain Man'' debuted on [[December 16]], [[1988]], and was the second on the weekend's [[box office]] (behind ''[[Twins (film)|Twins]]''), with $7 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1988&wknd=51&p=.htm|title=Weekend Box Office: December 16–18, 1988|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref> It reached the first spot on the December 30–January 2 weekend, finishing 1988 with $42 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1988&wknd=53a&p=.htm|title=Weekend Box Office: December 30–January 2, 1988|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref> The film would end up becoming the highest-grossing film of 1988 with $172 million (though most of its gross was garnered in 1989, unlike second place ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'').<ref>{{Mojo title|id=rainman.htm|title=Rain Man}}</ref> ===Awards=== ''Rain Man'' won [[Academy Awards]] for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] (Dustin Hoffman), [[Academy Award for Directing|Best Director]], [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and [[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay|Best Writing, Original Screenplay]]. It was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Art Direction|Best Art Direction-Set Decoration]], [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] ([[John Seale]]), [[Academy Award for Film Editing|Best Film Editing]], and [[Academy Award for Original Music Score|Best Music, Original Score]]. The film also won a [[People's Choice Awards|People's Choice Award]] as the "Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture."<ref name="imdb"/> The film also won the Golden Bear at the 1989 [[Berlin International Film Festival]]. To date{{Update after|2008|12|31}}, ''Rain Man'' is the only film to have won both the [[Berlin Film Festival#Golden Bear|Golden Bear]] and the Academy Award for Best Picture. ==Popular culture references== <!-- Two or three prominent examples are enough to illustrate the film's role in popular culture. Popular culture sections are *not* exhaustive lists of every single reference to the subject of the article. --> References to ''Rain Man'', in particular Dustin Hoffman's performance, have become a popular shorthand for autism and [[savant syndrome]]. For instance, in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', "[[$pringfield]]", Homer works as a [[blackjack]] dealer; one scene features characters resembling Raymond and Charlie Babbit. In ''[[City Slickers 2]]'', a discussion of a character's ability to count the letters in a sentence on first hearing it ends in an impersonation of Raymond Babbitt. Also, in one episode of ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', the characters [[Ando Masahashi|Ando]] and [[Hiro Nakamura|Hiro]] reenact the escalator scene. ==References== {{Reflist}} {{start box}}{{s-awards}} {{succession box | | before = ''[[The Last Emperor]] | after = ''[[Driving Miss Daisy]] | title = [[Academy Award for Best Picture]] | years = 1988 |}} {{succession box | | before = ''[[The Last Emperor]]'' | after = ''[[Born on the Fourth of July (film)|Born on the Fourth of July]]'' | title = [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama|Golden Globe for Best Picture - Drama]] | years = 1989 }} {{succession box | title=[[Berlin International Film Festival|Golden Bear winner]] | years=1989 | before=''[[Red Sorghum]]'' | after=''[[Music Box (film)|Music Box]]'' and ''[[Larks on a String]]'' }} {{succession box | before = ''[[Fatal Attraction]]'' | after = ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]'' and ''[[Steel Magnolias]]'' | title = [[People's Choice Awards|People's Choice Award]] for<br/>"Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture" | years = 1989 }} {{end}} ==External links== *{{imdb title|id=0095953|title=Rain Man}} *{{rottentomatoes|id=rain_man/|title=Rain Man}} {{Barry Levinson Films}} <!-- replaced by entry in succession box {{AcademyAwardBestPicture 1981-2000}} --> [[Category:Road movies]] [[Category:Buddy films]] [[Category:Gambling films]] [[Category:American films]] [[Category:English-language films]] [[Category:Fictional characters on the autistic spectrum]] [[Category:1988 films]] [[Category:Best Picture Academy Award winners]] [[Category:Films whose director won the Best Director Academy Award]] [[Category:Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award winning performance]] [[Category:Films shot in Las Vegas]] [[Category:Films set in Las Vegas]] [[Category:Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award]] [[Category:Films directed by Barry Levinson]] [[ar:رجل المطر (فيلم)]] [[bg:Рейнман]] [[cy:Rain Man]] [[da:Rain Man]] [[de:Rain Man]] [[es:Rain Man]] [[fa:مرد بارانی]] [[fr:Rain Man]] [[ko:레인 맨]] [[hr:Kišni čovjek]] [[id:Rain Man]] [[it:Rain Man - L'uomo della pioggia]] [[he:איש הגשם]] [[ka:წვიმის კაცი (ფილმი)]] [[hu:Esőember]] [[mk:Дождовен човек (филм)]] [[nl:Rain Man]] [[ja:レインマン]] [[no:Rain Man]] [[pl:Rain Man]] [[pt:Rain Man]] [[ru:Человек дождя]] [[sk:Rain Man]] [[sr:Кишни човек]] [[fi:Sademies]] [[sv:Rain Man]] [[zh:雨人]]