Pacific Heights (1990 film)
| Pacific Heights | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John Schlesinger |
| Produced by |
Scott Rudin William Sackheim |
| Written by | Daniel Pyne |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
| Cinematography | Amir Mokri |
| Edited by | Steven Ramirez Mark Warner |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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September 28, 1990 |
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Running time
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102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million |
| Box office | $44,926,706 |
Pacific Heights is a 1990 psychological thriller film directed by John Schlesinger, written by Daniel Pyne, and starring Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, and Michael Keaton. The original music score was composed by Hans Zimmer. The film's tagline is: "It seemed like the perfect house. He seemed like the perfect tenant. Until they asked him to leave."
Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton) is in bed with a woman, Ann Miller (Beverly D'Angelo), when he is suddenly attacked and beaten by two men. After the men have left, Hayes calmly tells Ann, "The worst is over".
The scene shifts to San Francisco, where an unmarried couple, Drake Goodman (Modine) and Patty Palmer (Griffith), purchase an expensive 19th-century polychrome house in the exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood. They rent one of the building's two first-floor apartments to the Watanabes, a kindly Japanese couple. Soon after, Hayes visits to view the remaining vacant unit and immediately expresses a desire to move in. Hayes drives an expensive Porsche and carries large amounts of cash on his person, but is reluctant to undergo a credit check. He convinces Drake to waive the credit check in exchange for a list of references and an upfront payment of the first six months' rent, to be paid by wire transfer.
Before any of this money is paid, however, Hayes arrives unannounced one morning and shuts himself into the apartment. As the days pass, Hayes' promised wire transfer fails to materialize. From inside the apartment, sounds of loud hammering and drilling are heard at all hours of the day and night, however the door is seldom answered. When Drake finally makes an attempt to enter Hayes' apartment, he finds that the locks have been changed. Drake attempts to put an end to the constant noise and drive out Hayes by cutting the electricity and heat to the apartment, but Hayes summons the police, who side with Hayes and reprimand Drake.
Drake and Patty hire a lawyer, Stephanie MacDonald (Laurie Metcalf), however the eviction case is thwarted by Drake's actions. Hayes, safe from eviction for the time being, infests the house with cockroaches, which prompts the Watanabes to move out and pushes Drake and Patty further into debt. The heavy stress takes its toll on the couple; Drake drinks heavily and Patty suffers a miscarriage. Hayes visits the couple to offer his condolences, but an infuriated Drake attacks him and is arrested by the police, whom Hayes had already called to the scene in anticipation of an assault.
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