- Biloxi Blues
:"This article is about the film. For the play upon which it is based, see Biloxi Blues."
Infobox Film
name = Biloxi Blues
caption = Original poster
director =Mike Nichols
producer =Ray Stark
writer =Neil Simon
narrator =Matthew Broderick
starring = Matthew BroderickChristopher Walken Penelope Ann Miller Corey Parker
music =Georges Delerue
cinematography =Bill Butler
editing =Sam O'Steen
distributor =Universal Pictures
country =United States
released =March 25 , 1988USA
runtime = 106 minutes
preceded_by = "Brighton Beach Memoirs " (1986)
followed_by = "Broadway Bound " (1992)
language = English
budget =
gross = $51,684,798 (worldwide)
imdb_id = 0094746"Biloxi Blues" is a 1988 American
comedy film directed byMike Nichols . Thescreenplay byNeil Simon is based on his semi-autobiographical 1985 play of the same name.Plot synopsis
The second chapter in what is known as Simon's "
Eugene Trilogy " (the first being "Brighton Beach Memoirs " and the third being "Broadway Bound "), the story centers around Eugene Morris Jerome, a 20-year-oldJew ishBrooklyn ite who enlists in theUnited States Army during the last year ofWorld War II and is sent toBiloxi, Mississippi for basic training. While there he learns to cope with fellow soldiers from all walks of life, falls in love, and loses his virginity in less than ideal circumstances, all while having to cope with an eccentric drill sergeant.Production notes
The film was shot on location in
Fort Chaffee ,Fort Smith andVan Buren, Arkansas .Period songs heard on the soundtrack include "
How High the Moon " byMorgan Lewis and Nancy Hamilton, "Blue Moon" byRichard Rodgers andLorenz Hart , "Marie" byIrving Berlin , "Solitude" byDuke Ellington ,Irving Mills , andEdgar DeLange , "Chattanooga Choo Choo " byHarry Warren andMack Gordon , and "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree (with Anyone Else But Me)" bySam H. Stept ,Charles Tobias , andLew Brown .The film opened on 1,239 screens in the US and earned $7,093,325 on its opening weekend. It eventually grossed $43,184,798 in the US and $8,500,000 in foreign markets for a worldwide box office total of $51,684,798 [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=biloxiblues.htm BoxOfficeMojo.com] ] .
Cast
*
Matthew Broderick ..... Eugene Morris Jerome
*Christopher Walken ..... Sgt. Toomey
*Matt Mulhern ..... Joseph Wykowski
*Corey Parker ..... Arnold B. Epstein
*Casey Siemaszko ..... Don Carney
*Markus Flanagan ..... Roy Selridge
*Michael Dolan ..... James J. Hennessey
*Penelope Ann Miller ..... Daisy
*Park Overall ..... RowenaCritical reception
Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times " called the film "pale, shallow, unconvincing and predictable" and added, "nothing in this movie seems fresh, well-observed, deeply felt or even much thought about ... It's just a series of setups and camera moves and limp dialogue and stock characters who are dragged on to do their business." [ [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19880325/REVIEWS/803250301/1023 "Chicago Sun-times", March 25, 1988] ]Rita Kempley of the "
Washington Post " thought the film was "an endearing adaptation" and "overall Nichols, Simon and especially Broderick find fresh threads in the old fatigues" despite some "fallow spells and sugary interludes." [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/biloxibluespg13kempley_a0ca27.htm "Washington Post", March 25, 1988] ]"Variety" called it "an agreeable but hardly inspired film" and added, "Even with high-powered talents Mike Nichols and Matthew Broderick aboard, World War II barracks comedy provokes just mild laughs and smiles rather than the guffaws Simon's work often elicits in the theater." [ [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117789275.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 "Variety", January 1, 1988] ]
References
External links
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