Going in Style is a 1979 American heist comedy/drama film written and directed by Martin Brest and starring George Burns , Art Carney , Lee Strasberg (in his final film role) and Charles Hallahan . It was Brest's first commercial feature film.
21-659: Martin Brest (born August 8, 1951) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. After his feature debut, Going in Style (1979), he directed the action comedies Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Midnight Run (1988), which were critical and commercial hits. Brest then directed Scent of a Woman (1992), starring Al Pacino , who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. He followed it with Meet Joe Black (1998), which received mixed reviews. Brest's next film
42-485: A Woman (1992) earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama . The film also won Golden Globes for Al Pacino and screenwriter Bo Goldman , as well as a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Chris O'Donnell . In addition, the film received four Academy Award nominations: Best Picture , Best Director , Best Screenplay (Adapted) , with Al Pacino winning Best Actor . Brest's next film, Meet Joe Black (1998), starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins ,
63-681: A clear signal it was time for me to back away. I had a good run, and I enjoyed success and freedom, and that was fantastic. I would've liked it to go on longer, but everybody likes everything to go on longer. Brest has received the American Film Institute's Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award , which "celebrates the recipient's extraordinary creative talents and artistic achievements." His essays about art and artists have appeared in various books. Acting roles Going in Style Joe, Al, and Willie are three senior citizens who share
84-503: A featured guest at a screening of Beverly Hills Cop and Midnight Run in Los Angeles, where he was interviewed by fellow filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson . Two years later, he gave an interview to Variety in which he reflected: Once [ Gigli ] happened, I thought I'll never be invited back [to make more films]. Second, I would never be able to operate with the kind of control that a director, I feel, needs and deserves. So that felt like
105-497: A healthy catharsis for anyone who is old or is thinking about becoming old." Siskel added that "what this remarkable movie is after is duplicating the texture of being old in America. And, as we spend the final days with these three characters, we discover that what growing old is about for so many people is being alone. In one heart-tugging scene after another, we see the maturity it takes to make peace with yourself as you grow old. We see
126-512: A small apartment in Queens , New York City . Their days are spent on a park bench, and Joe is desperate to break the monotony. One day Joe suggests that they go on a "stick-up". They have no experience as criminals, but after some reluctance, the two others agree. Al surreptitiously borrows three pistols from the gun collection of his nephew, Pete, who lives with his wife and children a few miles away. The trio, disguised with novelty glasses , pulls off
147-535: A working-class neighborhood in the Bronx in 1951. He was influenced by watching The Honeymooners as a child, saying in a 2023 interview, "I was a kid watching it in a household that was economically not that different than in the show. I felt like it was a show made for my neighborhood. And that character of Ralph Kramden really touched me, that angry soul whose spirit blossoms". Brest graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1969 and from New York University's School of
168-565: Is an organization of journalists who cover the film industry in the United States, but are affiliated with publications outside North America. When the awards were introduced, there was a single category for Best Picture. Starting with the 9th Golden Globe Awards , the Golden Globes split the Acting and Best Picture awards into Drama and Musical or Comedy categories. Since 1951, the only time
189-566: The AFI Conservatory , where he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 1977. Brest's major studio debut was Going in Style (1979), which starred George Burns , Art Carney , and Lee Strasberg . Brest was then hired to direct WarGames (1983), which starred Matthew Broderick , but he was fired three weeks into production amid conflicts with the film's executive producer, and replaced with John Badham . The dismissal from WarGames left Brest highly pessimistic about his career, until he
210-648: The Arts in 1973. His New York University undergraduate student film, Hot Dogs for Gauguin (1972), starring a then unknown Danny DeVito and with a small part by then unknown Rhea Perlman , was one of 25 films chosen in 2009 by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress to "be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures" and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Brest attended
231-510: The bank heist and the Las Vegas adventure. He gives Pete the remaining bank loot and the Vegas winnings and tells him to store the cash in his safe deposit box and never tell anyone about it. The next day, on his way to Al's funeral, Joe is arrested. He confesses to the robbery but refuses to say what happened to the money. Pete visits Joe in prison and suggests giving back at least the stolen portion of
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#1732876729134252-440: The film "means to be both moving and comic" but "never elicits any emotional response more profound than curiosity." On Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an 82% approval rating based on 11 reviews. In 2015, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema began production on a remake, also titled Going in Style , directed by Zach Braff , written by Theodore Melfi and starring Morgan Freeman , Michael Caine and Alan Arkin . The remake
273-499: The heist, netting $ 35,000. The excitement is too much for Willie, who soon suffers a fatal heart attack . Joe and Al give $ 25,000 to Pete and his family, claiming it is the proceeds from Willie's life insurance policy. They decide to splurge the remaining $ 10,000 on a trip to Las Vegas . Al and Joe win over $ 70,000 playing craps , but the trip, which they make right after Willie's funeral, exhausts Al and he dies in his sleep. Joe informs Pete that his uncle has died, then tells him about
294-470: The money in the hope of a lighter sentence. Joe explains that he is an old man with no family and, now, no friends, and is resigned to his fate. He tells Pete to enjoy his "inheritance" before he heads back to his cell. Critic Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three and a half stars, remarking that it "treats old age with a lot of bitterness. And my suspicion is that this picture will be
315-475: The original film being released. That version became one of the more notorious films of its time, with a scathing critical reception. A 2014 article in Playboy observed that in the then-eleven years since Gigli ' s release, Brest "went Full Salinger ", appearing to have left the entertainment industry completely, without any further credits or major public appearances to his name. However, in 2021, he appeared as
336-515: The role opposite Dustin Hoffman , before Barry Levinson eventually directed the film. Brest's next film was the action-comedy Midnight Run (1988), starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin . The film was another critical and commercial success, earning Brest another Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy as well as a Best Actor Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy nomination for De Niro. His work on Scent of
357-430: The strength it takes to be willing to sit quietly." Siskel offered particular praise for Burns' performance, stating that "Fans of George Burns . . . will be startled by his performance in this film. Burns, who has always seemed so cheerful on film, lets out some of his rage at growing old. He does this in a controlled, quiet way that reveals he is one remarkable actor." Vincent Canby of The New York Times said that
378-431: Was Gigli (2003). After disagreements between Brest and Revolution Studios , creative control was taken from him, resulting in a radically re-written and re-shot version of the original film being released, which became his first and only non-profitable film and, in fact, a major box office bomb , receiving scathing reviews. It remains his most recent film to date. Brest was born to Eastern European immigrant parents in
399-441: Was a loose remake of 1934's Death Takes a Holiday . The film had an American box-office return of $ 44.6 million, taking in an additional $ 98.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $ 142.9 million. Brest wrote and directed Gigli (2003), starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez . During filming, production company Revolution Studios took creative control from him, resulting in a radically re-written and re-shot version of
420-518: Was recruited by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to direct Beverly Hills Cop (1984), starring Eddie Murphy . The film grossed over $ 300 million worldwide and received Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) and for Best Actor (Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Eddie Murphy), as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay . Brest was in pre-production for Rain Man (1988), when he cast Tom Cruise in
441-569: Was released on April 7, 2017. Other crime caper films involving older perpetrators include: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture %E2%80%93 Drama The Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama is a Golden Globe Award that has been awarded annually since 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Since its institution in 1943, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
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