The Landlord

The Landlord (1970)

  • 100% of critics liked it
    (12 reviews)

  • 72% of users liked it
    (680 ratings)

Wealthy, insensitive young Beau Bridges buys an inner-city tenement, planning to evict the present occupants and construct a luxury home for himself. But once he ventures into the tenement, he grows quite fond of the low-income ethnic types who dwell within. He even kicks over the traces of his WASP… More

PG, 1 hr. 53 min.
Directed By
Hal Ashby
Genres
Comedy, Romance
In Theaters
Jan 1, 1970 Wide
On DVD
Oct 25, 1995

Critic Reviews

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    Beau Bridges heads the uniformly excellent cast as a bored rich youth who buys a black ghetto apartment building and learns something about life.

  • J. Hoberman, Village Voice

    The Landlord remains one of the funniest social comedies of the period, as well as the most human.

  • Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

    It's a compelling and adventurous spectacle, which feels simultaneously like a time capsule and a crucial influence on such recent films as The Royal Tenenbaums and Half Nelson.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    It adds up to a more honest, if less optimistic, portrait of American race relations than we usually see in the movies.

  • Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

    Hal Ashby's feature directing debut is a poignant social satire about racial tensions in New York, extremely well acted by Beau Bridges and Lee Grant in an Oscar-nominated role.

Read all 9 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Pierluigi P


    Hal Ashby's debut film is very honest, witty and funny. The dramatic twist is poignant, though for me it disembalances the perfect farcical tone it had at first.

  • AJ V


    This comedy is very funny, but at the same time tries to get across the fact that people of different racial backgrounds can get along and live together. I really enjoyed this movie.

  • Mister C


    One of the first early gigs featuring Louis Gossett,Jr,this movie was Hal Ashby's directorial debut and it became one of the top ten films of 1970 and for a very good reason. This was also produced by Norman Jewison who also served as executive producer. This was a film that… More

  • Adam M


    one of the most honest movies I've seen about the relationship between blacks and whites in America

  • Walter M


    [font=Century Gothic]In "The Landlord," 29-year old Elgar Enders(Beau Bridges), wanting to do something with his life, buys a tenament in Park Slope, Brooklyn. His intent is to evict all of the tenants, tear out all of the floors and hang a chandelier. When he first… More

Cast

See full cast

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