Ishtar (film)
| Ishtar | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Elaine May |
| Produced by | Warren Beatty |
| Written by | Elaine May |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Bahjawa Dave Grusin Paul Williams |
| Cinematography | Vittorio Storaro |
| Edited by | Richard P. Cirincione William H. Reynolds Stephen A. Rotter |
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Production
company |
Delphi V Productions
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $51 million |
| Box office | $14,375,181 |
Ishtar is a 1987 American action-adventure-comedy film written and directed by Elaine May and produced by Warren Beatty, who co-starred with Dustin Hoffman. The story revolves around a duo of incredibly untalented American lounge singers who travel to a booking in Morocco and stumble into a four-party Cold War standoff.
Shot on location in Morocco and New York City by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, the production drew media attention before its release for substantial cost overruns on top of a lavish budget, and reports of clashes between May, Beatty, and Storaro. A change in studio management at Columbia Pictures during post-production also led to professional and personal difficulties that undermined the film's release.
The film polarized critics and became a notorious failure at the box office. Many have considered it to be one of the worst films ever made, although critical support for the film has grown strongly since its release. It was originally released on DVD only in Europe. A director's cut, running two minutes shorter, was released on Blu-ray in North America on August 6, 2013.
Chuck Clarke (Hoffman) and Lyle Rogers (Beatty) are inept songwriters who are down on their luck, but dream of becoming a popular singing duo in the mold of Simon and Garfunkel. Though they are poorly received at a local open mic night, agent Marty Freed (Weston) offers to book them as lounge singers in a hotel in Marrakesh, Morocco, explaining that the last act quit due to political unrest in the area. Nearly broke, both single and without any better options, Lyle and Chuck decide to take the gig.
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Wikipedia