Hero (1992/I)

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers (WGA):

Laura Ziskin (story) &
Alvin Sargent (story) ...

Release Date:

2 October 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

One selfless act of courage can really mess up your whole day.

Plot:

A not-so-nice man rescues passengers from a crashed airliner, only to see someone else take credit.

Plot Keywords:

Disaster | Hero | Mistaken Identity | Airplane Accident | Satire

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Bernard 'Bernie' Laplante
Geena Davis	...	Gale Gayley, Channel 4 News Reporter
Andy Garcia	...	John Bubber
Joan Cusack	...	Evelyn Laplante
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Chucky, Channel 4 News Cameraman
Maury Chaykin	...	Winston, Bernie's Landlord
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	James Wallace, Channel 4 Station Manager
Christian Clemenson	...	James Conklin, Channel 4 News Reporter
Tom Arnold	...	Chick, Bartender
Warren Berlinger	...	Judge Goines
Cady Huffman	...	Flight Attendant Leslie Sugar
Susie Cusack	...	Donna O'Day, Bernie's Public Defender
James Madio	...	Joey Laplante, Bernie's Son
Richard Riehle	...	Robinson, Bernie's Boss
Daniel Baldwin	...	Fireman Denton (as Daniel Leroy Baldwin)

Also Known As:

Accidental Hero

Runtime:

117 min | Canada:75 min (Family Channel)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Germany:12 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Mariah Carey originally recorded her #1 hit single, "Hero," for this movie but the filmmakers did not think the power ballad was a good fit.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Bernie and John are driving in stop and go traffic the car they are in doesn't move, all the cars around inch up and move in reverse through the entire conversation.

Quotes:

Passenger: [the plane crashes and Bernie stares at it wide-eyed] Please help us!
Bernie LaPlante: ...these are $100 dollar shoes!

Movie Connections:

Features Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

interesting premise, well executed

This was one of my favorite movies. Its basic message is that no one is either 100% good or 100% sleazy, as Hoffman and Garcia's characters show. Hoffman plays a two-bit thief who rescues a bunch of people from a downed airplane (including news reporter Geena Davis), and Garcia, a seemingly noble Vietnam vet, winds up taking credit for it.

Basically, the movie shows the dangers of our need for a hero and the media's glorifying of such a need. I liked this movie a lot.

*** out of ****