An unbalanced but alluring former mental patient takes a porn star prisoner in the hopes of convincing her to marry him.An unbalanced but alluring former mental patient takes a porn star prisoner in the hopes of convincing her to marry him.An unbalanced but alluring former mental patient takes a porn star prisoner in the hopes of convincing her to marry him.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 19 nominations
Loles León
- Lola
- (as Loles Leon)
María Barranco
- Berta
- (as Maria Barranco)
Montse García Romeu
- Montse
- (as Montse G. Romeu)
Alberto Fernández
- Productor
- (as Alberto Fernandez)
José María Tasso
- Anciano Psiquiátrico
- (as Jose Maria Tasso)
Virginia Díez
- Bailarín Tango
- (as Virginia Diez)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe sex scene between Ricky (Antonio Banderas) and Marina (Victoria Abril) took nine takes to get right and about nine hours to film. Pedro Almodóvar chose to use the ninth and last take as, by that time, the two actors had worked themselves up into a sweat, making the scene appear to be even more authentic. Elia Kazan later remarked that he thought it was one of the best sex scenes in a film that he had ever witnessed.
- GoofsWhen Ricky accepts the offer to take Marina out to search for painkillers for her toothache, she puts on a tiny white dress that only goes down to the tops of her thighs and only just barely conceals her crotch and buttocks in order to cover her completely naked body underneath it. When they both return to Marina's apartment, she takes off the dress, but now she is naked except for a pair of white panties that were not there before.
Featured review
Crazy for you
Pedro Almodovar's "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" from 1989 is an earlier film from this quirky director. Almodovar's characters are inevitably off the wall and in bizarre situations. This film and its characters are no exception.
"Tie Me Up!" was given an X rating (later NC-17) for a couple of scenes and in the United States at least, it was quite controversial.
The story concerns a recently-released mental hospital patient, Ricky (Antonio Banderas) who kidnaps an ex-porn star, Marina (Victoria Abril) currently making a low-budget horror film. Though the title suggests S&M, there isn't any. Ricky ties her up when he needs to leave the apartment.
An expert in carpentry, locksmithing, and other usable occupations, Ricky had actually been leaving the mental hospital when he felt like it and then returning. During one of those times, he had a one-night stand with Marina.
Deeply in love with her, he stalks her on the film set and, when she doesn't speak to him, confronts her in her apartment, declaring his love and his intention of marrying her and fathering her children. Marina, of course, would like to escape him, but Ricky makes that difficult. A former heroin addict, Marina has a toothache and explains that nothing will help except strong medicine from her doctor up the street. So Ricky handcuffs her to him and they walk to the doctor's apartment, where Marina receives an injection and a prescription.
Later, when she needs more drugs, Ricky goes to the town square to score some and ends up beaten to a pulp. When he returns, Marina is horrified and begins to have real feelings for him.
Meanwhile, her sister Lola (Loles Leon) is worried, believing Marina to have disappeared.
There is a very long sex scene in this film that took 9 hours to film, with Almodovar using the last take.
"Tie Me Up!" launched Banderas in the United States, and this is his last film with Almodovar. He plays Ricky beautifully - as an innocent from a troubled background who will do anything to convince this woman to love him. Abril is a sexy and feisty Marina, and, like Ricky, she is a lost soul trying to find her way. Ricky is an orphan; Abril has a mother, sister, and nephew, but both of them are alone in their worlds.
Despite the title and the sex, this is actually a sweet tale with likable characters. Almodovar often has a bizarre way of telling a story and making a point, but the results, with few exceptions, are well worth it.
"Tie Me Up!" was given an X rating (later NC-17) for a couple of scenes and in the United States at least, it was quite controversial.
The story concerns a recently-released mental hospital patient, Ricky (Antonio Banderas) who kidnaps an ex-porn star, Marina (Victoria Abril) currently making a low-budget horror film. Though the title suggests S&M, there isn't any. Ricky ties her up when he needs to leave the apartment.
An expert in carpentry, locksmithing, and other usable occupations, Ricky had actually been leaving the mental hospital when he felt like it and then returning. During one of those times, he had a one-night stand with Marina.
Deeply in love with her, he stalks her on the film set and, when she doesn't speak to him, confronts her in her apartment, declaring his love and his intention of marrying her and fathering her children. Marina, of course, would like to escape him, but Ricky makes that difficult. A former heroin addict, Marina has a toothache and explains that nothing will help except strong medicine from her doctor up the street. So Ricky handcuffs her to him and they walk to the doctor's apartment, where Marina receives an injection and a prescription.
Later, when she needs more drugs, Ricky goes to the town square to score some and ends up beaten to a pulp. When he returns, Marina is horrified and begins to have real feelings for him.
Meanwhile, her sister Lola (Loles Leon) is worried, believing Marina to have disappeared.
There is a very long sex scene in this film that took 9 hours to film, with Almodovar using the last take.
"Tie Me Up!" launched Banderas in the United States, and this is his last film with Almodovar. He plays Ricky beautifully - as an innocent from a troubled background who will do anything to convince this woman to love him. Abril is a sexy and feisty Marina, and, like Ricky, she is a lost soul trying to find her way. Ricky is an orphan; Abril has a mother, sister, and nephew, but both of them are alone in their worlds.
Despite the title and the sex, this is actually a sweet tale with likable characters. Almodovar often has a bizarre way of telling a story and making a point, but the results, with few exceptions, are well worth it.
helpful•90
- blanche-2
- Oct 5, 2017
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,087,361
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $65,299
- May 6, 1990
- Gross worldwide
- $4,089,145
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjExMDM0OTItY2E1YS00N2Y4LWFlNGMtOTgyNmFlMjIyOTgxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA0MjU0Ng@@._V1_QL75_UY133_CR2,0,90,133_.jpg)