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| Director: Elaine May
Actors: Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani, Charles Grodin, Jack Weston
Studio: Columbia Pictures
List Price: $9.98
Buy Used: $2.50
You Save: $7.48 (75%)
Used (27) Collectible (4) from $2.50
Rating:  107 reviews
Sales Rank: 2023
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6302814146
UPC: 043396608498
EAN: 9786302814149
ASIN: 6302814146
Theatrical Release Date: May 15, 1987
Release Date: June 24, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 107
 Gutbusting, clever comedy got a bad rap. January 13, 2001
Nathan Johnson (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Ishtar is the most wrongfully maligned movie of all time. Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman are hilarious in this buddy farce about the fantastic misadventures of two passionate, sincere songwriters who can niether sing nor write, but who truly think they're great, think they're Simon and Garfunkel. The deluded duo can't get a gig anywhere but Morocco, where they become entangled in a revolutionary espionage and ride around the desert on a blind camel. Ishtar was the movie which made me decide to like Warren Beatty. He and Hoffman have dynamic charisma together, each playing their characters with endearing sincerity, which adds to the hilarity. Every scene crackles with memorable dialogue and slapstick gags. One of my personal favorite lines comes when Hoffman is threatening to kill himself because he has nothing. Beatty tells him that that's what's great about him. "You're the kind of guy who'd rather have nothing than settle for less." Ishtar was a financial failure because it went way over budget and was poorly marketed. It was doomed to "bomb" before it ever came out. But what does that matter to us, now? The fact is that this classic comedy is in league with all of your favorites, and you're only depriving yourself of a lot of good belly laughs if you don't give Ishtar a look.
 Don't Call Him Hawk March 13, 2001
Michael Lanzafame (Oklahoma City, OK)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Just like the Rocky Horror Picture Show, this film has a love or hate it attitude. Who can ever forget the Simon & Garfunkle duet wannabes that Hoffman and Beatty were in Ishtar and who can forget and not love "Hot Fudge Love...Cherry Ripple Kisses", and "Telling the Truth Can Be Dangerous Buisness". It seemed like the critics took that last song to heart during the unfair reviews of the movie after its release in 1987. I would bet half of them are closet Ishtar lovers, and hum a few of the classic song lines at Christmas parties. For those of us that got it, in my case three of my friends in a crowded theatre in Dallas, Texas. It was one of the funniest films of the decade. Tears came to our eyes when the two duped musicians working unbeknown to them for the CIA, are offered the choice of a blind camel or one that is crippled. Yes, the plot was a farce, but it was meant to be, and I actually like watching a movie in which it is clear the actors are having a fun time with it. Ishtar was not made to win an Academy Award. It was made to entertain, and that it did well in my opinion. So, if your ever in Morocco looking to buy beads that glow in the dark or simply want to overthrow the current regime in Ishtar, go by the lounge where Stevens and Clark are playing and you are sure to have a great time.
"Kareem abdul? Kareem abdul?" "Abdul Jabar!!" August 15, 2002
M (Boston, MA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
The reviews here speak for themselves. Just compare the number of absolute raves to pans. It's like 30-1. Easily one of the funniest movies of all time, which is all the more amazing due to the fact that there is no toilet humor. It takes a hell of an actor to play a total loser with the believability that Beatty and Hoffman did. It's obvious they had a lot of fun flexing their acting muscles here. Filled with more classic sequances than I can name (see other reviews) I had to add my 2 cents here because I am a hard core movie fan, and all it takes to enjoy a movie like this is to watch it with no expectations. I've seen it hundreds of times and still laugh out loud. I think it's a matter of either "getting it" or not. I get it. Plenty of other do, too. Plot? Who cares! In this case, the plot is simply a vehicle to get Beatty and Hoffman into the next absurdly comic situation. Works fine. One of my top ten favorites. You try writing songs as horrible and laughable as the ones here. Not easy!
You made us love you...... September 8, 2002
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
We have the uncanny ability to tell whether we'll like a movie by the clips the stars drag around with them on publicity tours. We have never been wrong so when "Ishtar" was making the rounds we got scared. Neither of us were huge Dustin Hoffman fans and we didn't like Warren Beatty at all.And yet, there we were guffawing at the pair of them each time we saw the clips. Well, we cautiously waited until the video came out and rented it. We were nervous. Had our powers left us? Within 5 minutes we were guffawing out loud and from then on we laughed til we hurt. When the movie was over, we just sat there, sore and out of breath 'til one of us would quote a line or mention a situation and we'd be in hysterics again. This has the same magic as a Jerry Seinfeld show in that you can't exactly explain why you love it but you know you'll love it 'til you die. So, Dustin, Warren, Elaine and Charles (Charles Grodin is always an asset in a movie) thank you for taking the chances you took to make "Ishtar"and we're truly sorry the unknowing criticals gave you such a bashing. As for the rest of you, buy this movie and we promise you won't be sorry.
Soundtrack available on Columbia Records & Tapes? I WISH! December 12, 2002
Brian Dunne (Eastern PA, United States)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The credits say that the soundtrack's available, but when I called the company about buying it, the other end of the line seemed to go dead! Perhaps they thought i was calling to see if their refrigerator was running or if they had Prince Albert in a can.I've heard a rumour that Hoffman personally bought all the copies of the CD and destroyed them. If so, it's a pity because this movie changed my life for the better. The hype surrounding its release was remarkable. Who remembers the two stars being interviewed in 120mm celluloid for "Today". A must for any comedy collection. The critics hated it? Who listens to them anyhoo?
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