Bottle Rocket
| Bottle Rocket | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Wes Anderson |
| Produced by | Polly Platt Cynthia Hargrave Barbara Boyle James L. Brooks Richard Sakai Michael Taylor David Jones Andrew Wilson |
| Written by | Owen Wilson Wes Anderson |
| Starring | Luke Wilson Owen Wilson James Caan Robert Musgrave Lumi Cavazos |
| Music by | Mark Mothersbaugh |
| Cinematography | Robert Yeoman |
| Editing by | David Moritz |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 21, 1996 |
| Running time | 92 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$7 million |
| Gross revenue | US$1,040,879[1] |
Bottle Rocket is a 1996 comedy film directed by Wes Anderson. It was co-written by Anderson and Owen Wilson. As well as being Wes Anderson's directorial debut, Bottle Rocket was the debut feature for brothers Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson, who co-starred with James Caan and Robert Musgrave.
The movie was a commercial failure but launched Anderson's career by drawing attention from critics. Director Martin Scorsese later named Bottle Rocket one of his top-ten favorite movies of the 1990s.[2]
Bottle Rocket is also the name of a short film —shot in 1992 and released in 1994— directed by Anderson upon which the feature-length film was based.
The entire film was shot in Dallas, Fort Worth and Hillsboro, Texas.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The film centers on a group of aimless young men living in Texas. Dignan (Owen Wilson) "rescues" Anthony (Luke Wilson) from a voluntary mental hospital where he has been staying for self-described exhaustion. Dignan has an elaborate escape planned and has developed a 75-year plan that he shows to Anthony. The plan is to pull off several heists and then meet Mr. Henry, a landscapist and part-time criminal known to Dignan.
The two friends break into and rob a house as a practice run, taking small, specific items from a list. When Dignan critiques the robbery, he mentions that he took earrings that were not on the list. Anthony becomes angry because the house was his family's and admonishes Dignan for stealing his mother's earrings without permission.
Anthony visits his little sister at her school so she can return the earrings. Dignan recruits Bob Mapplethorpe as a getaway driver because he is the only person they know with a car. The three buy guns and return to Bob's house to plan their next heist, a local bookstore. The group bickers as Dignan struggles to describe his intricate plan.
The group steals a small sum of money from the bookstore and "go on the lam" at a hotel. Anthony meets Inés (Lumi Cavazos), a maid, and the two spark a romance despite Inés's lack of English. Bob learns that his marijuana crop has been discovered by police and his older brother has been arrested. Bob leaves to help his brother.
Before leaving, Anthony gives Dignan an envelope for Inés. Dignan delivers the envelope to Inés while she is cleaning a room, not knowing the envelope has most of his and Anthony's money inside. Inés does not open the envelope and hugs Dignan to say goodbye. As Dignan is leaving, Inez asks an English-speaking male friend of hers to chase after Dignan and tell him she loves Anthony. When he delivers the message he says, "Tell Anthony I love him". Dignan fails to realize he is speaking for Inés and does not deliver the message.
Taking an abandoned Alfa Romeo Spider, Dignan and Anthony continue with the 75-year plan, but the car breaks down. Anthony reveals that the envelope Dignan gave to Inés contained the rest of their cash. The two get in a fight and go their separate ways.
Narrating a letter to his sister, Anthony says he and Bob have settled into a routine that is keeping them busy. Dignan, who has joined Mr. Henry's gang, tracks Anthony down and they reconcile. Dignan invites Anthony into a job with Mr. Henry and Anthony accepts on the condition that Bob is allowed in.
The trio meet the eccentric Mr. Henry (James Caan) and plan to rob a safe at a cold storage facility. Mr. Henry becomes a role model for the trio, standing up to Bob's abusive brother and tutoring Dignan on success. He invites the trio to a party at his house and visits the group at the Mapplethorpes' house, which he compliments. Anthony learns of Inés's love for him and contacts her. She has learned some English and the two rekindle their relationship.
With two accomplices from Mr. Henry's landscaping company, the group conducts their heist at the factory, but the plan quickly falls apart. As the police arrive Dignan has locked himself out of the escape van and is arrested. During the heist, Mr. Henry loads furniture from Bob's house into a truck.
Anthony and Bob visit Dignan in prison and tell him how Mr. Henry robbed Bob's house. Dignan begins rattling off an escape plan and tells his friends to get into position for a get-away. After a tense moment the two realize Dignan is joking. Dignan says to Anthony, "Isn't it funny that you used to be in the nuthouse and now I'm in jail?" as he walks back into the prison.
[edit] Reviews
The film maintains a 79% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[4]
[edit] DVD release
Bottle Rocket was first released on DVD on December 22, 1998.[citation needed]
On November 25, 2008, Bottle Rocket was the fourth Wes Anderson film to be released as part of The Criterion Collection[5] (after the Touchstone-distributed films Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - making Bottle Rocket the first non-Touchstone film from Anderson with this treatment). It was also released by Criterion on Blu-ray in December 2008.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Bottle Rocket". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bottlerocket.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ "Martin Scorsese's Best Films of the '90s". Martin Scorsese (guest host), Roger Ebert (host). Roger Ebert & the Movies. 2000-02-26. No. 26, season 1.
- ^ Seal, Mark. "Celebrated Weekend: Luke Wilson's Austin". American Way. http://americanwaymag.com/aw/travel/celebrated.asp?archive_date=6/15/2003. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bottle_rocket/
- ^ "Bottle Rocket Will Go Criterion". Big Screen Little Screen. http://bigscreenlittlescreen.net/2007/09/28/bottle-rocket-will-go-criterion/. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bottle Rocket |
- Screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson [1]
- Photos of Bottle Rocket Movie Locations As They Appear Today
- Bottle Rocket at the Internet Movie Database - 1996 Film
- Bottle Rocket at Allmovie
- Bottle Rocket at the Internet Movie Database - 1994 Short Film
|
|||||||||||
