Ishtar (1987)
51%RT Audience Score: 39%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 3 nominations
Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, and laughter itself get lost in the desert during a flawed spoof of classic road movies that proves ill-suited for its mismatched and miscast stars
Ishtar is like a camel that almost ambles away with the picture, but then it falls flat on its face. It’s a movie that tries too hard to be funny and ends up being a gross miscalculation. However, there are a few memorable sequences that will make you chuckle, like the purchase of the blind camel and the use of fake Arabic in an auction scene. But overall, it lacks pace and consistent tone. It’s cute, reasonably pleasant entertainment, but not a motion picture oasis for Hoffman, Beatty, or their fans. Save your time and watch something else, like a real camel race.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Morocco
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1987
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 47m
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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): May 15, 1987 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 13, 2013
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani, Charles Grodin, Jack Weston, Tess Harper, directed by Elaine May, written by Elaine May, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Gene Siskel, Sheila Benson, Richard Schickel, Dave Kehr, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jay Boyar, Brian Eggert, Ángel Luis Inurria, Jack Garner, Roger Hurlburt, People Staff, PG-13, CIA, Marrakech, New York singers, Ishtar, desert, road movies, mismatched stars, outtakes, astute vision, artistic yearning, fake Arabic, auction scene, singing performance, buddy comedy, Middle East, fame, U.S
Worldwide gross: $14,375,181
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $38,370,734
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,451
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,184,377
US/Canada gross: $14,375,181
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $38,370,734
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,184
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,331,817
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $11,562,637
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 910
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $55,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $146,807,918
Production budget ranking: 227
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $79,056,064
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$187,493,247
ROI to date (est.): -83%
ROI ranking: 1,910
Dustin Hoffman – Chuck Clarke
Isabelle Adjani – Shirra Assel
Charles Grodin – Jim Harrison
Jack Weston – Marty Freed
Tess Harper – Willa
Director(s)
Elaine May
Writer(s)
Elaine May
Producer(s)
Warren Beatty
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (55) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (34)
The film fails at every level.
March 19, 2019 | Rating: 0.5/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
It is a smart, generous, genuinely funny affair. Sometimes, like the camel who almost ambles away with the picture, it’s longish in the tooth, but it is based on an extremely astute vision of life.
March 19, 2019
Sheila Benson
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Reasonably genial and diverting.
March 19, 2019
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Ishtar is a good movie, but you can’t help but wonder if, lurking somewhere in those cans of outtakes, there isn’t a great movie, too.
March 19, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
This Elaine May comedy was the most underappreciated commercial movie of 1987. It isn’t quite as good as May’s previous features, but it’s still a very funny work by one of this country’s greatest comic talents.
March 19, 2019
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Though far from a masterpiece, the movie is often hilarious in a sly, seemingly improvisational way.
March 19, 2019
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
What works about the film is the shared sense of artistic yearning.
February 23, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
It seems too many people participated to save the unsalvageable. [Full Review in Spanish]
June 16, 2020
Ángel Luis Inurria
El Pais (Spain)
There are three or four memorable sequences in Ishtar — the purchase of the blind camel, the use of fake Arabic in an auction scene, and the first horrendous singing performance of stupid songs. But the film lacks pace and consistent tone.
March 19, 2019
Jack Garner
Gannett News Service
Ishtar is cute, reasonably pleasant entertainment, but no motion picture oasis for Hoffman, Beatty or their fans.
March 19, 2019
Roger Hurlburt
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Beatty goes along with the casting joke of playing the nerd sidekick to Hoffman’s slick loverboy. But zany antics aren’t his forte. Hoffman’s impishness serves the film better until the sheer weight of the production grinds him down
March 19, 2019
People Staff
People Magazine
One of the grossest miscalculations of the blockbuster era.
March 19, 2019 | Rating: 1/5
David Parkinson
Radio Times…
Plot
Two New York singers get lost in the desert and meet a rebel in Ishtar, causing alarm for the CIA in this flawed comedy starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film stars Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, and Isabelle Adjani.
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