Falling Down [Blu-ray]

Overview

It's just not William Foster's (Michael Douglas) day. Laid off from his defense job, Foster gets stuck in the middle of the mother of all traffic jams. Desirous of attending his daughter's birthday party at the home of his ex-wife (Barbara Hershey), Foster abandons his car and begins walking, encountering one urban humiliation after another (the Korean shopkeeper who obstinately refuses to give change is the worst of the batch). He also slowly unravels mentally, finally snapping at a fast-food restaurant that refuses to serve him breakfast because it's "too late." Running amok with an arsenal of weapons at the ready, Foster -- also known as "D-FENS" because of his vanity license plate -- rapidly becomes a source of terror to some, a folk hero to others. It's up to reluctant cop Prendergast (Robert Duvall), on the eve of his retirement, to bring D-FENS down.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/16/2010
UPC:	0883929153961
Original Release:	1993
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:52:00
Sales rank:	12,094

Special Features

Commentary by Michael Douglas and director Joel Schumacher ; A conversation with Michael Douglas; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Barbara Hershey	Beth,Beth
Robert Duvall	Prendergast,Paramedic
Rachel Ticotin	Sandra,Sandra
Tuesday Weld	Mrs. Prendergast,Mrs. Prendergast
Joey Hope Singer	Adele,Suzie the Stripper,Suzie the Stripper
Frederic Forrest	Surplus Store Owner
Michael Paul Chan	Mr. Lee,Mr. Lee
D.W. Moffett	Det. Lydecker,Detective Lydecker
Lois Smith	D-Fens' Mother,Guy on Freeway,D-Fens' Mother
Steve Park	Det. Brian,Detective Brian
James Keane	Det. Keene,Detective Keene
Macon McCalman	Det. Graham
Raymond J. Barry	Captain Yardley
Richard Montoya	Det. Sanchez,Detective Sanchez
Bruce Beatty	Police Clerk,Police Clerk
Kimberly Scott	Detective Jones
Mathew Saks	Officer at Station,Officer at Station
Agustín Rodríguez	Gang Member 1
Eddie Frias	Gang Member 2,Gang Member Two
Pat Romano	Gang Member 3,Gang Member Three
Fabio Urena	Gang Member 4,Gang Member Four,Gang Member Four
Karina Arroyave	Angie
Irene Olga López	Angie's Mother
Benjamin Mouton	Uniformed Officer at Beth's,Uniformed Officer at Beth's
Dean Hallo	Uniformed Officer's Partner,Uniformed Officer's Partner
James Morrison	Construction Sign Man by Bus Stop
John Fleck	Seedy Guy in Park,Steady Guy in Park
Brent Hinkley	Rick at Whammyburger,Rick
Dedee Pfeiffer	Sheila at Whammyburger
Carol Androsky	Woman Who Throws Up,Woman Who Throws Up
Margaret Medina	Lita the Waitress,Lita the Waitress
Vondie Curtis Hall	Not Economically Viable Man,Not Economically Viable Man
Mark Frank	Annoying Man at Phone Booth
Peter Radon	1st Gay Man,First Gay Man
Spencer Rochfort	2nd Gay Man,Second Gay Man
Carole Ita White	2nd Officer at Beth's,Second Officer at Beth's
Russell Curry	2nd Officer's Partner,Second Officer's Partner
John Fink	Guy Behind Woman Driver
Jack Kehoe	Street Worker,Street Worker
Valentino D. Harrison	Kid with Missile Launcher,Kid
Jack Betts	Frank the Golfer
Al Mancini	Jim the Golfer
Hunt Powers	Frank
John Diehl	Dad at Back Yard Party,Dad
Amy Morton	Mom at Back Yard Party,Mom
Abbey Barthel	Trina at Back Yard Party,Trina
Valisha Jean Malin	Prendergast's Daughter
Ivor Novello	Roddy Berwick
Robin Irvine	Tim Wakely
Isabel Jeans	Julia
Sybil Rhoda	Sybil Wakely
Marion Dougherty	Actor
Mary Ross	Featured
James Newton Howard	Composer
Jordan Foster	Bob

Technical Credits

Ebbe Roe Smith

Eliot Stannard

Joel Schumacher	Director,Director
Herschel Weingrod	Producer,Director
Timothy Harris	Producer,Director
Arnold Kopelson	Producer,Director
Arnon Milchan	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Alfred Hitchcock	Director
Stephen Joel Brown	Producer
Nana Greenwald	Producer
Dan Kolsrud	Producer
Stephen Brown	Producer
Michael Balcon	Producer
Ebbe Roe Smith	Screenwriter
Eliot Stannard	Screenwriter
Wayne Artman	Sound Effects
Steve Bowerman	Sound Effects
Mike Jackman	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Joel Schumacher's social commentary features an exceptional performance from Michael Douglas as D-Fens, a man who unravels under the weight of the nerve-wracking oppression of the Establishment. Balancing precariously on the edge of convention, D-Fens' sense of the "American way" is increasingly undermined as one frustration after another materializes during his mission through the urban jungle of Los Angeles. In the course of his plunge into a profound, sociopathic disillusionment, D-Fens strips away society's constructs to reveal internally flawed social and economic mechanisms. The host of caricatures he encounters, from a stingy Korean store owner to uncompromising fast-food employees, turf-conscious gangbangers and a neo-Nazi army-surplus store owner (played with gleeful ickiness by Frederic Forrest), are products of a dehumanizing social and economic system, and are used to symbolize capitalism's darker side. Schumacher does well to pinpoint the flaws of the system, but unfortunately he offers nothing in the way of solutions. Meanwhile, both Douglas and the peerless Robert Duvall nail their respective roles and find their grooves within a well-written script. This street-smart film is as entertaining as it is biting, but ultimately suffers from a denouement not nearly as spectacular as its build-up; what could have been a modern masterpiece is downgraded to exceedingly above-average cinema.