The Player (1992)
89%RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 3 Oscars
24 wins & 33 nominations total
Bitingly cynical without succumbing to bitterness, The Player is one of the all-time great Hollywood satires — and an ensemble-driven highlight of the Altman oeuvre.
The Player is like a game of Clue, but instead of figuring out who killed Mr. Boddy, you’re trying to figure out who’s going to get killed next in Hollywood. With a cast of characters that are both hilarious and deadly, this movie is a slam dunk. Altman’s satirical take on the industry is merciless, but good-natured, and the ultimate insider’s film. Plus, who doesn’t love a good celebrity spotting and in-joke? It’s like the Oscars, but with murder.
Production Company(ies)
Pathé Consortium Cinéma Indusfilms Société Nouvelle Pathé Cinéma
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Fine Line Features
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Geoffrey’s Restaurant – 27400 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, and for some sensuality
Year of Release
1992
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Ultra Stereo Dolby SR
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 3m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 3, 1992 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 17, 2010
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Vincent D’Onofrio, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Brion James, directed by Robert Altman, written by Michael Tolkin, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Owen Gleiberman, David Ansen, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Variety Staff, Roger Ebert, Vincent Canby, Brian Eggert, Sarah Brinks, Mattie Lucas, Andrea Beach, Armond White, R rating, Hollywood satire, producer Michael Tolkin, David Brown, Nick Wechsler, Criterion Collection, Fine Line Features, 1992 release, 2h 3m runtime, Surround sound mix
Worldwide gross: $21,706,101
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $46,462,464
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,371
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 5,066,790
US/Canada gross: $21,706,101
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $46,462,464
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,106
US/Canada opening weekend: $302,216
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $646,901
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,344
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $8,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $17,124,204
Production budget ranking: 1,450
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,221,384
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $20,116,875
ROI to date (est.): 76%
ROI ranking: 1,028
Greta Scacchi – June Gudmundsdottir
Fred Ward – Walter Stuckel
Whoopi Goldberg – Detective Susan Avery
Peter Gallagher – Larry Levy
Brion James – Joel Levison
Director(s)
Robert Altman
Writer(s)
Michael Tolkin
Producer(s)
Michael Tolkin, David Brown, Nick Wechsler
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
24 wins & 33 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (65) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (64) | Rotten (1)
September 7, 2011 | Rating: A
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Hilarious and deadly, this may be Altman’s most completely realized film since his glory days in the ’70s.
October 18, 2008
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
[It’s] supposed to be scathing, but the pleasure it affords is like what you get from watching the Oscars: celebrity spotting and in-jokes.
April 28, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Mercilessly satiric yet good-natured, this enormously entertaining slam dunk quite possibly is the most resonant Hollywood saga since the days of Sunset Blvd. and The Bad and the Beautiful.
April 28, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
A movie about today’s Hollywood — hilarious and heartless in about equal measure, and often at the same time.
October 23, 2004 | Rating: 4/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
Mr. Altman’s most subversive message here is not that it’s possible to get away with murder in Hollywood, but that the most grievous sin, in Hollywood terms anyway, is to make a film that flops.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 5/5
Vincent Canby
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Through Altman’s incomparable perspective, The Player would become the ultimate post-modern insider’s film, whose deconstructive approach dishes on Hollywood culture in all its insidious glory.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
…movies like The Player bring into harsh light that box office success will trump art most of the time…
April 1, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
Altman structures the The Player like a film noir, but one that feels like a tune on a piano being played slightly off-key.
June 5, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
Noir masterpiece has nudity, lots of strong language.
November 22, 2016 | Rating: 5/5
Andrea Beach
Common Sense Media
The Player, which Altman made after years of struggle, with all Hollywood fascination worn away, is Altman’s dour version of Dante’s Inferno. His satire forces us to realize the obscenity of Clinton-era corruption – once again.
November 4, 2016
Armond White
National Review
In “The Player,” Altman creates a scathing satire of Hollywood – and then lets his satire itself gets seduced by Hollywood schmaltz. Because what better way to show how seductive it is?
June 10, 2016 | Rating: 4/4
Rob Thomas
Madison Movie…
Plot
Events in the life of a Hollywood studio executive, unfold with the same unrealistic positive coincidences, ultimately culminating to a “happy ending”, much like the movie scripts, with which he works day in and out, after he accidentally murders someone.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Tim Robbins delivers a strong performance as the lead character, Griffin Mill.
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