Mother Night (film)
| Mother Night | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Keith Gordon |
| Produced by | Keith Gordon Robert B. Weide Mark Ordesky |
| Screenplay by | Robert B. Weide |
| Based on |
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut |
| Starring |
Nick Nolte Sheryl Lee Alan Arkin Kirsten Dunst |
| Narrated by | Nick Nolte |
| Music by | Michael Convertino |
| Cinematography | Tom Richmond |
| Edited by | Jay Rabinowitz |
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Production
company |
New Line Cinema
Whyaduck Productions |
| Distributed by | Fine Line Features |
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Release date
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Running time
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114 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English German Yiddish |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $403,701 |
Mother Night is a 1996 American romantic war film based on Kurt Vonnegut's 1961 book of the same name.
Nick Nolte stars as Howard W. Campbell, Jr., an American who moves with his family to Germany after World War I and goes on to become a successful German language playwright. As World War II looms, Campbell meets a man who claims to be from the United States Department of War, and is recruited to spy for the U.S., transmitting Nazi propaganda containing hidden messages that can only be decoded by Allied intelligence. After the war, Campbell relocates to New York City, where he attempts to live in obscurity. The film is narrated by Campbell, through a series of flashbacks, as he sits in a jail cell in Israel, writing his memoirs, and awaiting trial for war crimes.
The film also stars Sheryl Lee, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and Frankie Faison. Vonnegut makes a brief appearance in a scene in New York City.
Confined in an Israeli jail, Howard W. Campbell, Jr. writes a memoir about his career in Nazi Germany. During the buildup to World War II, Campbell, an American playwright of German language stage productions, is approached by War Department operative Frank Wirtanen. Wirtanen asks Campbell to work as a spy for the U.S. in the approaching war, though he promises no reward or recognition. Campbell rejects the offer, but Wirtanen adds that he wants Campbell to take some time to consider, telling him that Campbell's answer will come in the form of how he acts and what positions he assumes once the war begins.
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Wikipedia