fbpx
Wikipedia

U Turn (1997 film)

December 17, 2023

U Turn is a 1997 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Oliver Stone, and starring Sean Penn, Billy Bob Thornton, Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voight, Powers Boothe, Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes and Nick Nolte. It is based on the book Stray Dogs by John Ridley, who also wrote the screenplay.

U Turn
Theatrical release poster
Directed byOliver Stone
Written byJohn Ridley
Based onStray Dogs by John Ridley
Produced byDan Halsted
Clayton Townsend
Starring
CinematographyRobert Richardson
Edited byHank Corwin
Thomas J. Nordberg
Music byEnnio Morricone
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
  • August 27, 1997 (1997-08-27) (Telluride)
  • October 3, 1997 (1997-10-03) (United States)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19 million (estimated)
Box office$6.6 million (US)

Plot edit

Bobby Cooper is a drifter in debt to a violent gangster when his red 1964½ Ford Mustang Convertible breaks down in Superior, Arizona. Stranded and broke, he meets Jake and Grace McKenna, a father and his stepdaughter who are also a married couple. They separately approach Bobby to kill the other for money.

Desperate and in fear, Bobby approaches Jake about killing Grace. He becomes attracted to Grace and agrees to kill Jake, then he and Grace can be together and use Jake's money for a new start somewhere else.

With Grace's help, Bobby kills Jake, and they leave together with $200,000. As they make their way out of Superior, the Sheriff, with whom Grace has been having an affair, stops them. Grace shoots and kills the sheriff. As they dump the bodies, Grace pushes Bobby over the cliff, severely injuring him. Grace suddenly realizes that Bobby has the car keys.

Grace makes her way down the steep incline where she and Bobby fight, and in his weakened, injured state, Bobby kills Grace, but she also shoots him in the belly. He makes the grueling journey back up the cliff with a broken leg, then starts the car, but the radiator hose bursts, and Bobby is stranded in the heat, injured and dying.

Cast edit

Production edit

U Turn was filmed during November 1996–January 1997 on location in Superior, Arizona and other areas of Arizona and California, including the Coachella Valley.[1] It was filmed entirely on Reversal stock, 5239, to give an extra harsh look to the hostile environment.[2]

Casting edit

For the Toby N. Tucker role, Joaquin Phoenix said small-town style gave him the inspiration and the idea for the haircut, which was "TNT" (the character's initials) shaved on the back of his head. "These kids in these small towns, these fads that just roll over them," he told Rough Cut Magazine in October 1998. "Like, five years pass and they still hang on to them. So, I thought it was really great if he shaves his name, he thinks he's really notorious."[3]

Reception edit

Reaction by critics to the film was mixed. Roger Ebert gave the film 1½ stars out of four, deeming it a "repetitive, pointless exercise in genre filmmaking—the kind of film where you distract yourself by making a list of the sources".[4] James Berardinelli rated the film three stars out of four, stating "for those who enjoy movies on the edge, U-Turn offers just the trajectory you might expect."[5] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that it "demonstrates a filmmaker in complete command of his craft and with little control over his impulses".[6] U Turn currently holds a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 54 reviews with the consensus: "U-Turn is a lurid, stylish lark that boasts striking moments but lacks the focus and weight of Oliver Stone's best work." On Metacritic, it has a rating of 54 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews.[7] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[8]

Later Oliver Stone said: “Certain people really liked U Turn. More than you might think claimed it was the one they “most liked” of my films. It’s certainly different, and its incest storyline was verboten to the average American viewer. Let’s just say, you need a sense of humor for this one.[9]

The film was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards: Worst Director (which went to Kevin Costner for The Postman) and Worst Supporting Actor (Jon Voight, also for Most Wanted; ultimately, he "lost" to Dennis Rodman for Double Team). It was also included on Siskel and Ebert's "Worst Films of 1997" episode.[10] In the episode, Gene Siskel reflected that "U Turn [had] the same highly stylized violence as Stone's Natural Born Killers, but without that film's intellectual content, U Turn seems like Stone's attempt at a commercial hit – and he failed, miserably."[10]

References edit

  1. ^ Palm Springs Visitors Center. . Filming in Palm Springs. Palm Springs, CA. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2012. ♦ Download[permanent dead link] (Downloadable PDF file)
  2. ^ "The Hollywood Interview: Oliver Stone: The Hollywood Interview". Thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  3. ^ "MY JOAQUIN PHOENIX PAGE". www.geocitiesarchive.org.
  4. ^ . Rogerebert.suntimes.com. 1997-10-03. Archived from the original on 2022-02-07. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
  5. ^ "U-Turn - A Film Review by James Berardinelli". ReelViews.net. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
  6. ^ LaSalle, Mick (1997-10-03). "Stone Makes Scary 'U-Turn' / Director's black comedy has style but – typically – gets carried away". Sfgate.com. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
  7. ^ "U Turn (1997)". Metacritic. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  8. ^ . CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20..
  9. ^ https://twitter.com/theoliverstone/status/1357011270671740928[bare URL]
  10. ^ a b Ebert, Roger; Siskel, Gene (17 January 1998). "The Worst Films of 1997". Buena Vista Television.

External links edit

December 17, 2023
turn, 1997, film, turn, 1997, american, noir, crime, thriller, film, directed, oliver, stone, starring, sean, penn, billy, thornton, jennifer, lopez, voight, powers, boothe, joaquin, phoenix, claire, danes, nick, nolte, based, book, stray, dogs, john, ridley, . U Turn is a 1997 American neo noir crime thriller film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Sean Penn Billy Bob Thornton Jennifer Lopez Jon Voight Powers Boothe Joaquin Phoenix Claire Danes and Nick Nolte It is based on the book Stray Dogs by John Ridley who also wrote the screenplay U TurnTheatrical release posterDirected byOliver StoneWritten byJohn RidleyBased onStray Dogs by John RidleyProduced byDan HalstedClayton TownsendStarringSean Penn Jennifer Lopez Nick Nolte Powers Boothe Claire Danes Joaquin Phoenix Billy Bob Thornton Jon VoightCinematographyRobert RichardsonEdited byHank CorwinThomas J NordbergMusic byEnnio MorriconeProductioncompaniesTriStar PicturesPhoenix PicturesDistributed bySony Pictures ReleasingRelease datesAugust 27 1997 1997 08 27 Telluride October 3 1997 1997 10 03 United States Running time125 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 19 million estimated Box office 6 6 million US Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3 1 Casting 4 Reception 5 References 6 External linksPlot editBobby Cooper is a drifter in debt to a violent gangster when his red 1964 Ford Mustang Convertible breaks down in Superior Arizona Stranded and broke he meets Jake and Grace McKenna a father and his stepdaughter who are also a married couple They separately approach Bobby to kill the other for money Desperate and in fear Bobby approaches Jake about killing Grace He becomes attracted to Grace and agrees to kill Jake then he and Grace can be together and use Jake s money for a new start somewhere else With Grace s help Bobby kills Jake and they leave together with 200 000 As they make their way out of Superior the Sheriff with whom Grace has been having an affair stops them Grace shoots and kills the sheriff As they dump the bodies Grace pushes Bobby over the cliff severely injuring him Grace suddenly realizes that Bobby has the car keys Grace makes her way down the steep incline where she and Bobby fight and in his weakened injured state Bobby kills Grace but she also shoots him in the belly He makes the grueling journey back up the cliff with a broken leg then starts the car but the radiator hose bursts and Bobby is stranded in the heat injured and dying Cast editSean Penn as Bobby Cooper Jennifer Lopez as Grace McKenna Nick Nolte as Jake McKenna Powers Boothe as Sheriff Virgil Potter Claire Danes as Jenny Joaquin Phoenix as Toby N TNT Tucker Jon Voight as Blind Indian Billy Bob Thornton as Darrell Abraham Benrubi as Biker 1 Sean Stone as Boy In Grocery Store Ilia Volok as Sergei Valery Nikolaev as Mr Arkady Brent Briscoe as Ed Bo Hopkins as Boyd Julie Hagerty as Flo Sheri Foster as Grace s Mother Liv Tyler as Girl In Bus Station Cameo Laurie Metcalf as Bus Station Ticket AttendantProduction editU Turn was filmed during November 1996 January 1997 on location in Superior Arizona and other areas of Arizona and California including the Coachella Valley 1 It was filmed entirely on Reversal stock 5239 to give an extra harsh look to the hostile environment 2 Casting edit For the Toby N Tucker role Joaquin Phoenix said small town style gave him the inspiration and the idea for the haircut which was TNT the character s initials shaved on the back of his head These kids in these small towns these fads that just roll over them he told Rough Cut Magazine in October 1998 Like five years pass and they still hang on to them So I thought it was really great if he shaves his name he thinks he s really notorious 3 Reception editReaction by critics to the film was mixed Roger Ebert gave the film 1 stars out of four deeming it a repetitive pointless exercise in genre filmmaking the kind of film where you distract yourself by making a list of the sources 4 James Berardinelli rated the film three stars out of four stating for those who enjoy movies on the edge U Turn offers just the trajectory you might expect 5 Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that it demonstrates a filmmaker in complete command of his craft and with little control over his impulses 6 U Turn currently holds a 59 rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 54 reviews with the consensus U Turn is a lurid stylish lark that boasts striking moments but lacks the focus and weight of Oliver Stone s best work On Metacritic it has a rating of 54 out of 100 based on 20 reviews indicating mixed or average reviews 7 Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of C on an A to F scale 8 Later Oliver Stone said Certain people really liked U Turn More than you might think claimed it was the one they most liked of my films It s certainly different and its incest storyline was verboten to the average American viewer Let s just say you need a sense of humor for this one 9 The film was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Director which went to Kevin Costner for The Postman and Worst Supporting Actor Jon Voight also for Most Wanted ultimately he lost to Dennis Rodman for Double Team It was also included on Siskel and Ebert s Worst Films of 1997 episode 10 In the episode Gene Siskel reflected that U Turn had the same highly stylized violence as Stone s Natural Born Killers but without that film s intellectual content U Turn seems like Stone s attempt at a commercial hit and he failed miserably 10 References edit Palm Springs Visitors Center Coachella Valley Feature Film Production 1920 2011 Filming in Palm Springs Palm Springs CA Archived from the original on March 5 2016 Retrieved October 1 2012 Download permanent dead link Downloadable PDF file The Hollywood Interview Oliver Stone The Hollywood Interview Thehollywoodinterview blogspot com Retrieved 2015 09 30 MY JOAQUIN PHOENIX PAGE www geocitiesarchive org U Turn Reviews Rogerebert suntimes com 1997 10 03 Archived from the original on 2022 02 07 Retrieved 2010 12 07 U Turn A Film Review by James Berardinelli ReelViews net Retrieved 2010 12 07 LaSalle Mick 1997 10 03 Stone Makes Scary U Turn Director s black comedy has style but typically gets carried away Sfgate com Retrieved 2010 12 07 U Turn 1997 Metacritic Retrieved November 22 2020 U TURN 1997 C CinemaScore Archived from the original on 2018 12 20 https twitter com theoliverstone status 1357011270671740928 bare URL a b Ebert Roger Siskel Gene 17 January 1998 The Worst Films of 1997 Buena Vista Television External links edit nbsp Film portalU Turn at IMDb U Turn at Rotten Tomatoes U Turn at Box Office Mojo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title U Turn 1997 film amp oldid 1189987794, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.