Falling Down (1993)
80%RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 2 nominations
Falling Down’s popcorn-friendly take on its complex themes proves disquieting — and ultimately fitting for a bleakly entertaining picture of one man’s angry break with reality
Falling Down” is a movie that will make you question your sanity and the society we live in. It’s a disturbing crime thriller that will leave you with a lot of questions. The film is a high-concept premise that’s executed well by Joel Schumacher. The tone is dour, but it’s still an entertaining suspense thriller. Michael Douglas’s performance as D-FENS is wickedly mischievous and will make you wonder if you should like him or not. Overall, “Falling Down” is a stellar film that’s worth watching, but be warned, it has violence and language.
Production Company(ies)
Channel Four Films, Figment Films, The Noel Gay Motion Picture Company,
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Angelo’s Burgers – 10990 Atlantic Avenue, Lynwood, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence and strong language
Year of Release
1993
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 55m
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Language(s):English, Spanish, Korean
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 26, 1993 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2000
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
Falling Down, Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Joel Schumacher, Ebbe Roe Smith, Action, $40.4M, R, Warner Bros., Timothy Hyde Harris, Arnold Kopelson, Herschel Weingrod, reviewed by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Richard Schickel, Variety Staff, David Ansen, Caryn James, Ali Barclay, Richard Propes, Barbara Shulgasser, Tom Meek, Sergio Benítez, Mark Amory, directed by Joel Schumacher, written by Ebbe Roe Smith, produced by Timothy Hyde Harris, Arnold Kopelson, Herschel Weingrod, divorce, unemployment, Los Angeles, birthday party, violence, social alienation, urban landscape, gang, veteran cop, disassociation, Michael Douglas’ best, original character, bleakly entertaining, complex themes, mean-spirited black comedy, powerful portrait, social satire, kick-ass fantasy, damsel-in-distress melodrama, worrying, unnerving reflection, quality of life, modern man’s disassociation, sobering snapshot, oblivious, crossed the line, slow deterioration, mentality, changing weapon of choice
Worldwide gross: $40,903,593
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $84,967,201
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,094
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 9,265,780
US/Canada gross: $40,903,593
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $84,967,201
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 831
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,724,452
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $18,122,913
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 703
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $25,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $51,931,380
Production budget ranking: 766
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $27,965,048
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,070,773
ROI to date (est.): 6%
ROI ranking: 1,369
Robert Duvall – Prendergast
Barbara Hershey – Beth
Rachel Ticotin – Detective Sandra
Tuesday Weld – Amanda Prendergast
Frederic Forrest – Nick, Surplus Store Owner
Director – Joel Schumacher
Producers – Timothy Hyde Harris, Arnold Kopelson, Herschel Weingrod
Writer – Ebbe Roe Smith
Director(s)
Joel Schumacher
Writer(s)
Ebbe Roe Smith
Producer(s)
Timothy Hyde Harris, Arnold Kopelson, Herschel Weingrod
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (55) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (14)
None of the characters ever rises beyond the level of his or her generic functions, and by the end the overall emptiness of the conception becomes fully apparent.
July 18, 2011
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Let’s face it, there is an element of truth in the character of D-FENS. But it is, finally, tabloid truth.
July 18, 2011
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
At first comes across like a mean-spirited black comedy and then snowballs into a reasonably powerful portrait of social alienation. The tone is unremittingly dour, however.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
A real artist could make something incisive or darkly hilarious out of this moral tightrope act. Schumacher, veering recklessly between social satire, kick-ass fantasy and damsel-in-distress melodrama, plays the game for opportunistic cheap thrills.
March 31, 2008
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
It turns one man’s slide toward madness into a wickedly mischievous, entertaining suspense thriller.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 3/4
Caryn James
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
It is a worrying and unnerving reflection of our society, which will certainly make you wonder about the quality of life you strive to maintain.
April 17, 2001 | Rating: 3/5
Ali Barclay
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
Falling Down,” a stellar film, is Joel Schumacher’s miracle.
September 7, 2020 | Rating: 4.0/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Disturbing ’90s crime thriller has violence and language.
July 17, 2020 | Rating: 2/5
Barbara Shulgasser
Common Sense Media
This is probably Schumacher’s most accomplished work besides Tigerland and, interestingly, shot in L.A. around the time of the riots.
July 8, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
Tom Meek
Cambridge Day
Even decades later, It is still as a very actual film. [Full Review in Spanish]
July 27, 2019
Sergio Benítez
Espinof
It’s a somewhat high-concept premise that’s employed to consistently engrossing effect by filmmaker Schumacher…
December 6, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
We cannot make out if we are meant to like him or not, or why he is so angry, and this is intriguing.
July 24, 2018
Mark Amory
The Spectator…
Plot
On the day of his daughter’s (Joey Singer) birthday, William “D-Fens” Foster (Michael Douglas) is trying to get to his estranged ex-wife’s (Barbara Hershey) house to see his daughter. He has a breakdown and leaves his car in a traffic jam in Los Angeles and decides to walk. Along the way he stops at a convenience store and tries to get some change for a phone call but the owner, Mister Lee (Michael Paul Chan), does not give him change. This destabilizes William who then breaks apart the shop with a baseball bat and goes to an isolated place to drink a coke. Two gangsters (Agustin Rodriguez & Eddie Frias) threaten him and he reacts by hitting them with the bat. D-FENS continues walking and stops at a phone booth. The gangsters hunt him down with their gang and shoot at him but crash their car. William goes nuts and takes their gym bag with weapons proceeding in his journey of rage against injustice. Meanwhile Sergeant Martin Prendergast (Robert Duvall), who is working on his last day before retirement, is following the wave of crimes and believes that the same man is responsible but the other detectives do not pay attention to him.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Michael Douglas’ performance as “a very original character” in Falling Down.
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