Ishtar |  | Director: Elaine May
Actors: Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani, Charles Grodin, Jack Weston
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: Video
Buy Used: CDN$ 38.50
as of 7/31/2010 10:30 CDT details
Seller: starvibe2
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 314
Format: NTSC
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: VHS Tape
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6302814146
UPC: 043396608498
EAN: 9786302814149
ASIN: 6302814146
Theatrical Release Date: May 15, 1987
Release Date: June 24, 1994
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
| | |
| Editorial Reviews:
From Amazon.com
At the time of its release in 1987, this Elaine May production was bandied about as one of the worst films of the decade. It was nominated for three Razzie Awards that year--Worst Picture, Screenplay, Direction--but it still was not the nadir detractors claimed it to be. (Remember, that was the year Norman Mailer's self-indulgence spilled all over the screen in Tough Guys Don't Dance.) If this comedy had been made by unknowns, it would have simply faded into the obscurity it deserves. The fuss came about because May squandered much talent and a ridiculously large budget, rumored to exceed $40 million, returning less than half of that in ticket sales. Two artistically challenged lounge musicians (Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman) are jettisoned out of the States by their agent, who finds them a gig in Morocco. En route, they become pawns in an international power play between the CIA, the mythical emir of Ishtar, and upstarts hoping to overthrow the emir's regime. There are some humorous bits, such as when Hoffman and Beatty so badly perform their horrible ditties that audiences are left appalled. Most of the time however, we are the ones lulled into a near daze by a hokey script and boorish jokes about blind camels. If Abbott and Costello had made this flick, it might have worked. --Rochelle O'Gorman
|
| Customer Reviews:
 I love it! Where's the DVD? July 5, 2005
P. Zylik (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
It's been many many years since I've seen this, but it still ranks as one of the funniest movies I've seen. I saw it in the theatre (which was packed) and had never before heard, or heard since, an audience laugh so hard and have so much fun. Bring on the DVD!!! I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I want to see it again, and I'm wondering how hard it's going to be to find this in a video store, since almost everything is DVD these days. Seriously, please release it on DVD. It's 19 years later and a whole new generation, untainted by the suprisingly poor reviews from way back when, are waiting to be won over by this gem.
I would buy the DVD~! April 29, 2004
Woofer (Kingston, MA United States)
You have to bring this out on DVDIt is a milestone movie! It has to be done!!
Yes it takes great acting to come up with this totally funny Movie...
Everything that killed it when it was released only adds to the legend!!
I am having the whole neighborhood over when it comes out on DVD.
I loved Ishtar April 18, 2004
Ishtar is one of the best movies I have ever watched. I thought the actors were brilliant. These two extremely talented actors had to act untalented and that takes talent. The message in the little one liners was profound. Take time to really listen to the wisdom so simply delivered and you will enjoy and be amazed. The movie critics were simply wrong. This is a great movie.
THE WORST MOVIE I EVER SAW! April 12, 2004
fufupame (CHICAGO)
YES, I THINK THAT THIS MOVIE IS A "TURKEY" SO WHY, I AM SURE YOU ARE ASKING YOURSELF, AM I GIVING THIS "TURKEY" 5 STARS. WELL, LET ME TELL YOU THAT WHEN I SAW THIS MOVIE THE FIRST TIME, I HATE IT AND DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF IT. BUT NOW, AFTER I HAVE SEEN IT 5-6 TIMES. I REALIZED THAT THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THIS MOVIE THAT MAKES YOU COME BACK TO IT OVER AND OVER. THE MUSIC AND THE LYRICS ARE SO BAD THAT THEY ARE FUNNY. "SHOCKINGLY FUNNY". I AM SORRY, YOU HAVE TO SEE TO BELIEVE HOW BAD THEY REALLY ARE - ("HOW BIG IS VENUS? HOW BIG IS MARS?") YOU KNOW, I THINK THE REASON I LIKE THIS MOVIE IS BECAUSE TO BE THIS BAD YOU HAVE TO BE TALENTED... OR SOMETHING... I DON'T KNOW. PSSS...I AM WATCHING "ISHTAR" AGAIN NOW.
Little known treasure! April 3, 2004
When Ishtar first came out in the theaters - my husband and I wondered aloud "was this the worst movie we've ever seen, or the BEST?" We decided it was the BEST -- at least one of the best, anyway.....We usually have to rent it once a year (sometimes more) to get a good laugh. It's so funny I literally cry! Can Amazon please get behind this and get some copies of this movie in DVD for all the loyal ISHTAR fans? We need our own copy of ISHTAR! We're ready to buy it NOW! PS "Half-an-Hour" is one of the greatest songs in the film!
|
|
|
