Mad City (1997)
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37% of critics liked it
(27 reviews) -
41% of users liked it
(9,440 ratings)
Investigative TV journalist Max Brackett (Dustin Hoffman) suffers setbacks and winds up filing routine reports from Madeline, California. Max and his eager intern Laurie (Mia Kirshner) are doing a story at the local Museum of Natural History when a bigger story erupts. The Museum's director,… More Investigative TV journalist Max Brackett (Dustin Hoffman) suffers setbacks and winds up filing routine reports from Madeline, California. Max and his eager intern Laurie (Mia Kirshner) are doing a story at the local Museum of Natural History when a bigger story erupts. The Museum's director, Mrs. Banks (Blythe Danner), refuses to talk to former museum security guard Sam Baily (John Travolta) about his firing due to budget cuts. Angered, Sam shoots a shotgun, accidentally hitting another security guard. Realizing he's in the middle of breaking news, Max phones his supervisor (Robert Prosky) and goes to live coverage. A class of young children is visiting the Museum, and Sam holds them hostage. Sam's link to the outside world is the opportunistic Max, who manipulates the situation, telling Sam what to say on camera. Within hours, as the event escalates to national interest, vendors arrive to hawk products at the museum grounds, while the entire country tunes in the ongoing coverage. The screenplay by Eric Williams and Tom Matthews (former managing editor of Boxoffice) is a technological updating of the 1951 Billy Wilder classic Ace in the Hole (aka The Big Carnival) about a scheming journalist (Kirk Douglas) who delays the rescue of a man trapped by a rockfall in order to continue his newspaper reports. Acknowledging the Wilder film, the name "Brackett" is an obvious nod to Charles Brackett, Wilder's long-time collaborator. Filmed in Los Angeles and San Jose, where the San Jose Athletic Club served as the museum location site. Shown at the 1997 Denver Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Directed By
- Costa-Gavras
- Written By
- Tom Matthews
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Drama
PG-13,
- In Theaters
- Nov 7, 1997 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, Variety
This simplistic and obvious expose about the manipulative power of the news media (lazily acted by Travoilta and Hoffman) is so familiar that it's not going to upset or provoke anyone.
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Gary Brown, Houston Community Newspapers
Mad City is a waste of your time and money.
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Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...a film of mild pleasures and mild annoyances, alternately tired and clever yet ultimately dismissible.
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Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
'The media are vultures' is the prevailing point here, and it is not expressed in the most original or interesting of ways.
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Fred Topel, About.com
Compelling analysis of the modern media. Somewhat obvious, but still works.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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John Travolta
as Sam Baily
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Dustin Hoffman
as Max Brackett
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Mia Kirshner
as Laurie
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Alan Alda
as Kevin Hollander
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Robert Prosky
as Lou Potts
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Blythe Danner
as Mrs. Banks
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William Atherton
as Dohlen
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Ted Levine
as Lemke
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Jason Cottle
as Hollander's Assistant
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William O'Leary
as CTN Junior Executive
