Neighbors (1981 film)
| Neighbors | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John G. Avildsen |
| Produced by |
Richard D. Zanuck David Brown |
| Screenplay by | Larry Gelbart |
| Based on |
Neighbors by Thomas Berger |
| Starring |
John Belushi Dan Aykroyd Cathy Moriarty Kathryn Walker |
| Music by | Bill Conti |
| Cinematography | Gerald Hirschfeld |
| Edited by | Jane Kurson |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8.5 million |
| Box office | $29,916,207 |
Neighbors is a 1981 American comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Berger. It was released through Columbia Pictures, was directed by John G. Avildsen, and starred John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cathy Moriarty, and Kathryn Walker. The film takes liberties with Berger's story, and features a more upbeat ending. The screenplay of the film is officially credited to Larry Gelbart, although it was extensively rewritten, to Gelbart's public disapproval. Released two and a half months before John Belushi's death, the film marks the actor's last film performance.
Earl Keese is a low-key, ineffectual, middle-class suburbanite with a wife, Enid, and a teenage daughter, Elaine. Earl's peaceful, dreary life changes when a younger couple, Vic and Ramona, move next door. The new neighbors impose themselves on the Keese household, leaving Earl infuriated with the loud, gung-ho Vic, and flustered by the sly and seductive Ramona. Earl is frustrated by his inability to handle them, and the fact that he can never come up with any proof that the couple are doing anything wrong on purpose. Enid and Elaine are no help, and over the course of one night, the antagonism between Earl and his new neighbors escalates into suburban warfare. Earl begins to question his sanity, and the sanity of his wife and daughter. He realizes that his new neighbors have provided him with the most excitement he's had in years, and that they can give him a promising future apart from suburbia and away from his family. In the film's closing scene, Earl joins Vic and Ramona, leaving his family behind and his house on fire.
Thomas Berger's bestselling novel, Neighbors, was published in 1980. Columbia Pictures acquired the rights to film the novel, and assembled a high-profile cast and crew: Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown had produced Jaws (1975); John G. Avildsen won an Academy Award for directing Rocky (1976); veteran comedy writer Larry Gelbart developed the hit TV series M*A*S*H (1972-1983); and John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were the stars of TV's Saturday Night Live (on which they appeared from 1975-1979) and the film The Blues Brothers (1980). The film's female leads were played by Cathy Moriarty, who made her film debut in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980), and Kathryn Walker, who had been the girlfriend of Belushi's National Lampoon colleague Douglas Kenney (1946-1980).
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