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Tagline: A killer comedy!
Genre: Comedy
Run Time: 98 minutes

Film Synopsis

John Cusack plays David Shayne, a youthful, intellectual playwright seeking to get his play staged and directed by himself. A starry-eyed writer, filled with integrity, his potential producer, Julian Marx (Jack Warden), tells him that a gangster, Nick Valenti (Joe Viterelli), is willing to be the play's angel. There is only one string, his talentless showgirl / lover, Olive (Jennifer Tilly), gets the lead part in the play. Olive is a loud, vulgar girl who, in the case of this play, would somehow have to play the role of the psychiatrist.

Shayne, if he sets aside his principles and hires Olive, can get Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest), a prima donna who likes to booze it up. He could also hire actors Eden Brent (Tracey Ullman) and Warner Purcell (Jim Broadbent). No contest: Shayne's principles lose.

Ultimately, the entire production becomes a test for Shayne to see if he was a true artist or not.

Main Cast

• John Cusack .... David Shayne
• Jack Warden .... Julian Marx
• Dianne Wiest .... Helen Sinclair
• Tony Sirico .... Rocco
• Jennifer Tilly .... Olive Neal
• Victor Colicchio .... Waterfront Hood
• Louis Eppolito .... Waterfront Hood (as Lou Eppolito)
• Rob Reiner .... Sheldon Flender
• Gene Canfield .... Waterfront Hood
• Chazz Palminteri .... Cheech
• Peter Castellotti .... Waterfront Hood (as Pete Castellotti)
• Tony Conforti .... Waterfront Hood
• John Di Benedetto .... Waterfront Hood (as John DiBenedetto)
• John Ventimiglia .... Waterfront Hood (as Johnny Ventimiglia)
• Lisa Arturo .... Three Deuces Chorus Line

See Full Cast & Credits

Film Remarks

Some critics and filmgoers have hailed this 1989 comedy-drama as Woody Allen's best film, and while that's certainly open for debate, a good case can be made that it's the most ambitious and morally complex of Allen's films. It's the kind of movie that provokes heated philosophical debate about the role of God in our lives, the nature of guilt, and the circumstances that would allow a seemingly good, law-abiding family man and successful professional (Martin Landau) to commit a murder with no risk of being caught.

Could you live with yourself under those conditions? Allen explores this complicated issue in the context of an extramarital affair that Landau's mistress (Anjelica Huston) threatens to expose, while developing a second story about a documentary filmmaker (Allen) who reluctantly makes a film about his brother-in-law (Alan Alda), a TV sitcom producer whose vanity is seemingly unlimited. From serious crimes to misdemeanors of personal behavior, Allen ties these stories together to create a provocative and unsettling study of divergent moralities and the price we're willing to pay to preserve our personal comfort and happiness. It's a sobering film, but a fascinating and funny one as well, unfolding like a thriller in which the question is not whodunit but rather, would you do it if you knew you could get away with it?

--Jeff Shannon from Amazon.com

Bullets Over Briadway Movie Trivia & Awards

Bullets Over Broadway trivia.

Budget: $19m (USA)

$13.383m (USA)
Release Date: September 16, 1994 (Toronto Film Festival), October 21, 1994 (USA) January 13, 1995 (France), April 20, 1995 (Germany), September 1, 1995 (Sweeden), October 20, 1995 (Poland), April 26, 1995 (Finland)