Let's face it, the number #1 reason this brilliant film is so underrated is, a lot of people heard that lousy title "At Close Range," figured it would be a movie just as blah as its title, and then never watched it.
"I don't deduce, I observe."
Cloverfield
shareUmmmm no. This was a brutal and bleak film where virtually every decent character gets murdered. And a vicious rape scene. Not exactly mainstream material. I'm guessing your post was facetious so I'm wasting my time here. And it sits at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, so the critics 'rated' it pretty well. Anyway.
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I must agree that "At Close Range" is just one of these general, oblique action movie titles. Just like "No Point of Return" or "Edge of Tomorrow". The makers of this movie should have come up with a more creative title. But I wouldn't go so far as to say that the title killed the movie.
shareI would've went with the title of the song that's used throughout the film, "Live to Tell", especially since, in the end, that's what Brad Jr. did.
sharejurassic park
shareAt Close Range was a good title in my opinion. But yes, Live to Tell would have been even better. I don't think it was the title though that made it a less than popular film. I think it was because of Madonna's involvement in it that put people off. She was never viewed in a very positive light back then. Anyway, it's an excellent film and should have more recognition than it does.
shareI'm fine with the "At Close Range" title as well; it's the title that I've known. A little bit generic, but it gets the job done. I just thought the film was overlooked, too bad if it was because of Madonna, since her vocals for the song are only heard through the end credits (I actually think it's Madonna's best song up to that point).
shareNever did it occur to me Madonna's involvement might have curtailed ACR's success.
I like it a lot, but it's pretty grim - I mean REALLY grim -- and a lot of people find that depressing.
That, along with it's low budget style, I believe are why the great little film is under appreciated.
Not sure about the Madonna angle.
Was Desperately Seeking Susan a flop? I'm not a Madonna fan, her career as an actor was pretty bad, but I see no reason to castigate her for being perhaps a bit overly ambitious. And her involvement with ACR seems small and incidental -- and it's a great film !
no i think it fail because the film was too dark and gloom for generic audience
it has grown into classic since because people know film with young penn and walken should be good
I looked up the Box Office for this movie because of your post and this thread in general. WOW, it was a big financial failure!
This is an amazing crime picture with great actors, a good score, fine cinematography and loosely based on a very wild true series of crimes.
You may be right, perhaps it was just too dark and gloomy to sell tix but it’s a very excellent crime drama.
It should've been a hit on paper. It had Madonna's only good song, Live to Tell, playing on rotation on MTV to promote it. It had Penn who was a household name thanks to Fast Times and his marriage to Madonna. But the film itself was too brooding and introspective for any mass appeal.
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