Barbarians at the Gate (film)
| Barbarians at the Gate | |
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| Distributed by | Home Box Office |
| Directed by | Glenn Jordan |
| Produced by | Ray Stark |
| Based on | Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough John Helyar |
| Starring | James Garner Jonathan Pryce |
| Music by | Richard Gibbs |
| Editing by | Patrick Kennedy |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Release date | March 20, 1993 |
| Running time | 107 minutes |
Barbarians at the Gate is a television movie based upon the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, about the leveraged buyout (LBO) of RJR Nabisco.
The film was directed by Glenn Jordan and written by Larry Gelbart. It stars James Garner as F. Ross Johnson, the CEO of RJR Nabisco, and Jonathan Pryce as Henry Kravis, his chief rival for the company.
Joanna Cassidy, Peter Riegert and Fred Dalton Thompson co-star.
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Plot[edit]
F. Ross Johnson decides to take the tobacco and food conglomerate RJR Nabisco private after receiving advance news of the likely market failure of the company's smokeless cigarette called Premier, the development of which had been intended to finally boost the company's stock price.[1]
The free-spending Johnson's bid for the company is opposed by two of the pioneers of the leveraged buyout, Henry Kravis and his cousin. Kravis feels betrayed when, after Johnson initially discusses doing the LBO with Kravis, he takes the potentially enormous deal to another firm, American Express' former Shearson Lehman Hutton division.
Other bidders emerge, including Ted Forstmann and his company, Forstmann Little, after Kravis and Johnson are unable to reconcile their differences. The title of the movie comes from a statement by Forstmann in which he calls that Kravis' money "phoney junk bond crap" and how he and his brother are "real people with real money," and that it's necessary to stop raiders like Kravis: "we need to push the barbarians back from the city gates."
The bids for RJR Nabisco rise astronomically into the billions as the company's board encourages the competition, which Kravis ultimately wins, even though Johnson's final bid is higher.
Reception[edit]
The film won the Emmy for Made for TV movie in a tie with Stalin.
Cast[edit]
- Tom Aldredge as Charles Hugel
- Graham Beckel as Don Kelly
- Joanna Cassidy as Linda Robinson
- Matt Clark as Edward A. Horrigan, Jr.
- Jeffrey DeMunn as H. John Greeniaus
- Peter Dvorsky as George R. Roberts
- James Garner as F. Ross Johnson
- Mark Harelik as Peter Atkins
- Joseph Kell as Nick Forstmann
- Jonathan Pryce as Henry Kravis
- David Rasche as Ted Forstmann
- Peter Riegert as Peter Cohen
- Leilani Sarelle as Laurie Johnson
- Fred Dalton Thompson as Jim Robinson
- Rita Wilson as Carolyne Roehm-Kravis
In Popular Culture[edit]
On podcast Comedy Bang Bang, comedian Paul Rust refers to the film in the prologue to his popular segment "New No-Nos," while discussing a run-in with Nabisco concerning Chex Mix.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ O'Connor, John J. Review/Television; Those Good Old Takeover Days. The New York Times, New York, March 18, 1993.
- ^ "The Bisco Boys." Comedy Bang Bang: the Podcast. Earwolf Media, LLC. 21 Mar. 2013. Podcast.
External links[edit]
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- English-language films
- 1993 television films
- 1990s comedy-drama films
- American business films
- American television films
- Biographical films about businesspeople
- Films based on non-fiction books
- Films set in the 1980s
- HBO Films films
- R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie winners
- Best Miniseries or Television Movie Golden Globe winners
- Screenplays by Larry Gelbart
