Mad City
One man will make a mistake. The other will make it a spectacle.
Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta team with award-winning filmmaker Costa-Gavras in a fierce tale of ratings-driven TV news gone mad. Travolta is Sam, a misguided museum guard who loses his job, then tries to get it back at gunpoint. Hoffman is Max, a local TV reporter taken hostage with schoolchildren when Sam locks down the museum. It's a desperate move for Sam, a career move for Max. He's on the inside of a live exclusive. Now he must give Sam's story a heroic spin, keep a cynical network anchor at bay, and above all, keep America watching. And as Max pulls the strings, the staked grow higher, darker, madder.
Member Reviews
mad city - oldmovies
I watched this movie, just on the basis of two great actors - Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta. I didn't read any reviews and I think often that's the best way to watch a movie.
I felt that it was a gripping tale told well. The story pace was just right and you wanted to know how it would end. It really gives you a perspective on the whole tv news circus that has become even more prominent in recent times, reading some of the notes on the 'special features' menu tells you a little more about how the rating game became the way it did, how it was more economical (cheaper to produce & more advertising money) to produce a 30 minute newscast than it was to produce a comedy or a drama series for TV.not bad - GreenIvy
Interesting look at an emotionally crippled man as he goes out of control after losing his job. He holds several children and a few adults hostage in a museum after the curator refused to discuss his termination. One of the hostages is a newsman who winds up acting as the liaison between the police and the gunman. The situation leads to national prominence, drawing in an unscrupulous network newsman who only wanted to feather his own nest with the story. Good movie about a not unbelievable happening.Gripping movie - tv coverage of events is the same today (2007) if not worse - Sharpster
I watched this movie, just on the basis of two great actors - Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta. I didn't read any reviews and I think often that's the best way to watch a movie.
I felt that it was a gripping tale told well. The story pace was just right and you wanted to know how it would end. It really gives you a perspective on the whole tv news circus that has become even more prominent in recent times, reading some of the notes on the 'special features' menu tells you a little more about how the rating game became the way it did, how it was more economical (cheaper to produce & more advertising money) to produce a 30 minute newscast than it was to produce a comedy or a drama series for TV.
Member Reviews
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mad city - oldmovies
I watched this movie, just on the basis of two great actors - Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta. I didn't read any reviews and I think often that's the best way to watch a movie.
I felt that it was a gripping tale told well. The story pace was just ...not bad - GreenIvy
Interesting look at an emotionally crippled man as he goes out of control after losing his job. He holds several children and a few adults hostage in a museum after the curator refused to discuss his termination. One of the hostages is a newsman who winds ...Gripping movie - tv coverage of events is the same today (2007) if not worse - Sharpster
I watched this movie, just on the basis of two great actors - Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta. I didn't read any reviews and I think often that's the best way to watch a movie.
I felt that it was a gripping tale told well. The story pace was just ...