herican Flops

Do our European frinds

brow sometbing we don't)
IT DIDN'T PLAY IN PEORIA. Big deal. There's always Paris, Palermo, and
SO Prague. Europe is a movie Mecca, the touts all say, the land where they truly revere fine cinema. Not Iike those audiences here, in the land of mall-rats, who don't appreciate the.bouquet, the nuances, or the textures of a Heoven's Gote, an Ishtor, or a Nutty Professor. Are European audiences really that

Tltqr

loue tbe t'ilms we hatet

Hoir, which earned more critical

Denmark. Three Men ond o Bobv was a blockbuster everywhere but in France, where even one of the most expensive campaigns lavished on any French-film remake in history couldn't make a dent.
ac-

key can fly across the Atlantic and find its rightfui roost. However, Europe is not EUROPE, but a conglomeration of different countries and cultures. "There's no singie European market," says Myron Karlin, president of the MPAA export division. "South Pacific was an enormous success here [in America]. And in England, it played for five years straight!
But in Italy, people walked out." At one ofthe first screenings, he recalls, shaking his head, "within the first half hour, the theater was empty!" The Sicilion, in its uncut cinemaphile version, although something of a criti-

much more sophisticated, inteiligent, and blind in both eyes? To hear film people tell it, iust about any movie tur-

claim here than monev, was a massive hit in Spain and Switzerland. In a strange, ironic twist on the muchvaunted universality of Art with a capital A, the big hits in Europe are usually
the same dumb comedies and potboilers as here: "Crocodile" Dundee. Three Men ond o Boby. Fotdl Attroction. Yet some-

how, the number-one box-office movie

in Italy for 1986-1987, beating out Top

Rose. In Spain's all-time top-twenty, set-

Gun and Plotoon, was The Nome of the

tled comfortably among E.T. The Extraterrestriol, Rombo; First Blood Pqrt II, and Bock to the Future, is the Gene Wilder-Kelly LeBrock sex farce, The
Womon r'n Red. Yet on the other side of

the coin, filmmakers underappreciated here, like Monte Hellman, Bob Rafelson,
and, for the longest time, Buster Keaton, have been European gods from the word

cal hit, was a commercial flop in Paris. It was however, a big hit in ._ Rome. Ishtor, inexplicably, found its audience in !|-

"European audiences iook at the whole more so than parts of the whole," says Hy Smith, senior vice-president of marketing for United International Pictures (UIP), the giant European distributor for Paramount, MGM/UA, Universal, and other studios. "Set design, lighting, direction-all that's on par with the actors, whereas thatt not generally so in the U.S. In many European countries, reviews are much more important than in America. Teenagers in European countries read newspapers," he notes dryly. The most gratifying phenome-

8o.

is the worthwhile fiim

''rer:!fl*

European Hits
try's Oscar equivalent) for Best Foreisr Film and did big box office all over. Henri Herv6, the director of Audiovi-

W hirlvind, were completely ignored here in their time, yei they earned high praise at festivals from Edinburgh to Cannes. The bravura The Nome o/ of the Rose Rose, which

different languages as well. Film lore is filled with examples of the first trend, the solid, artistic movie that Americans either "don't understand" or else ignore. The former case generally does well at the European box office, and the latter wins awards. Mainstream America didn't "get" The Lost Emperor; until it was nominated for nine Academy Awards, the $23.5-million film had grossed $11.7 million after seventythree days in release. {Compare that io the flop Brighr Lighrs, Big City, which managed to earn $tz million in ten days.) Yet all over Europe, The Last Emperor was an immediate hit. Monte Hellman's psycho-westerns with jack Nicholson, The Shooting and Ride in the

These movies bomb fluently in several

that gets ignored in the U.S. but hits big overseas. Another situation, almost as gratifying, is the opposite: the big,' bumbling American smash that beily flops in Europe. And finally, there is thb failout from America's critical and commercial bombs: Who's That Girl?, A Prayer for the Dying, and Leonord Port 6.

By

FMNK LOVECE

for this appreciation of our noble rot

may be Europeans' love-hate relation-

sual Communications at the French Embassy in New York City, says one reason

ship with the U.S.-their view of us, culturally, as provincial,

"Europeans are influenced by

classical theater," Herv6 asserts.

iunk-food-addicted hicks.

action." This may help explain why Fotal - -e Attroction and WaiJ Street did well in Europe, but it leaves a question mark about such Euro hits as Rombo, The Untouchobles, and Innerspoce.

chological themes than to its'

"By the tradition of psychodramal We respond more to a movie's psy-

ORick&om.

lS

'.^ 1

wilted in the U.S., '

won France's Cesar 7 Award (the coun-

\Mbfle tbe myth of tbe Eur{pean film sanctuary pmists, tbae is no predidabllity ooer what utill be a bn in Europe.
"Europeans love the Hollywood machine," Herv6 confesses. "It is very efficient, very controlled. The film machine
is very beautiful. Most French films sim-

ply do not look as good." The two impulses-a desire for psychological insight and an appreciation of

TheUK
.1. "Crocodile" Dundee ', 2. The living Daylights*

animai-rights demonstrators out from the first." On the other hand, Alan Parker's Angel Heart, which also flopped here, was
indeed a European box-office hit, especially in Denmark and West Germany.
Part of the reason is the nihilistic quality of star Mickey Rourke, who could easily

cinematic slickness-often meet each

other halfway. Despite Eddie Murphy's overwhelming popularity in Europe, Eddie MurphyRAW and other comedy con-

cert-films rarely even

Dubbing is out of the question, and how are you going to subtitle inflections and timing? (Subtitles are problematic even in the best of circumstances. An exasperated William Friedkin recalls that, "They mistranslated a line in The Exorcist. It was supposed to be'The mystery of faith.' The way it came out was 'The mystery offote,' " which is quite a different thing. "Since then," he adds with a sigh, "I've learned to supervise all my foreign transfers closely. ") Finally, there is the pattern of Europe as cultural lifeguard, rescuing American

lry to go over.

have wandered into a Rainer Werner Fassbinder picture without changing his coat. Rourke also helped buoy the American dud A Prayer for the Dytng, which did well on the Continent. One
reason may be the attenUon it received

3. Beverly Hills Cop ll 4. The Golden Child 5. Platoon 6. Police Academy lV 7. The Witches of Eastwick 8. Labyrinth. 9. The Mission*
10. Superman lV*
' U.S.-U.K. co-productions Source: Variety

when the film, about a guilt-ridden IRA guerilla, was pulled from the London Film Festival in response to the IRA ter-

rorist attack at Enniskillen, Northern

Ireland.

While the myth of the European film sanctuary persists, there is no predictability over what will be a hit in Europe, This doesn't stop eager marketing executives from trying anything-onything create one. "I was the MGM manager in Germany after World War II," relates Karlin. "Al1 American pictures were dubbed then [rather than subtitled]. And there was a wonderful action

-to

classics from drowning in a pool of nondairy creamer and Velveeta processed cheese food. Yet like many lifeguard stories, there were far fewer dra-

matic rescues
imagination.

in real life than

in

Heoven's Gote, the epic Michael Cimino disaster that became in the U.S. a de-

Take the archetypical example of

spised symbol both of bloated Hollywood and of extravagant directorial excess. Europe took great pride in "rediscovering" the thing. Igrrited by the showing of the uncut, 219-minute version at France's Cinematheque, European crit-

dealt with Nazis in [what was then] Maiaya, and you iust couldn't depict Nazis

picture called Moioyo [19a9], with Spencer Tracy and James Stewart. But it

Denmark

ics explodeil in their assessments. With few exceptions, they hailed the uncut Heoven's Gate.(unseen in the U.S. up to then, except at the infamous industry

West Cermany

premiere two.years eariier) as a masterpiece. The complete version then resurfaced in America on cable, in art houses,

and on video to mixed judgment. Yet

1. "Crocodile" Dundee 2. The Living Daylights s 3. Coeurc Flambes 4. Beverly Hills Cop ll 5. Platoon 6. Police Academy lV 7. The Golden Child 8. Nine th Weeks 9. The Fight lor the Red Gow
10.
Forever Friends
Source: Govemment ol oenma*/Varkty

critical iaudits or not, Heoven's Gote

bombed in Europe. "l was part of the Heoven's Gote debacle," remembers Hy Smith, a United Art-

ists advertising executive at the time.

"Heoven's Gote didn't make money overseas. It gol critical acclaim in certain parts of the up-market press, but it made far less than a million dollars. It's 'big success'in Europe is just a myth." Barry Toberman, a London journalist, recalls that "the word-of-mouth was, 'It's not as bad as you think, but . . . If you've got to clean out the cooker, you might consider going to see it instead.'It played about three days," he says. "And there were

1. 0tto-The New Movie 2. "Crocodile" Dundee 3. Beverly Hills Cop ll 4. The Living Daylights 5. Asterix.in Britain 6. Platoon 7. Police Academy lV
B. The Golden Child

9.

10. ' Sourcs Vuiety

The Great Mouse Detective Dirty Dancing

46

AMERICAN FILM

"Europeans loue the llollywood machine . . . Frencb Jilms simply

do not look as !ood," says lfenri Ileru| of the Frencb Embassy,

willingness to be laughed at, it is the French love affair with Jerry Lewis. Smith, who was with Paramount when
remembers that "the first four movies were tough sledding in. Europe. Then suddenly critics in France embraced jerry Lewis and said he was a comic genius. We reissued his movies and his
success continued for quite some time"

Lewis broke with Dean Martin to go soio,

Switzerland

1. Platoon 2. The Name of the Rose 3. "Crocodile'Dundee 4. The Untouchables 5. LethalWeapon 6. Children of a Lesser God 7. The Witches of Eastwick 8. ElLute 9. Beverly Hills Cop ll
10. Angel Heart
Source: Gowrnment ot Spain^fadety

constant sniggers from the U.S. A comment from a Los Angeles Times reporter in 1982, putting the French adulation of Heoven's Gote into perspective: "So as not to get too lofty in realms cinematic, be it known that the hospitalization of ferry Lewis was a major news

-to

1. 'Crocodile' Dundee 2. The l{ame ol the Rose'*

"In France," Herv6 explains, "we had a comedian named Louis De Funes," a French superstar from the fifties to the
seventies, whose rare appearances stateside include the popular French import The Mod Adventures o/ Robbi /acob. "Louis De Funes comes from the mime

storyhere...."

3. 4. 5, 6.

Jean de Florette* The Living Daylights

les Fugititsi
lUlanon Oes Sources

(lllanon of the Spring$ 7. Children of a Lesser Gsd 8.

9,"

that soon after the war in Germany.

So

Lewis, we also see a comedian from the mime tradition. |erry Lewis satirizes American values, He's always chaileng-

tradition," says Herv6, "and in ferry

The 10. Beverty Hills Cop ll "

Platoon Mission
Made in Francer

'

we had to write a different script to

match the action of the picture, making the Nazis smugglers or something. This was forty years ago, so I don't remember precisely, but it was very successful." By 1965, however, circumstances had changed in both Germany and Hollywood. When Twentieth Century-Fox's local manager tried to snip The Sound of Music to delete uniformed Nazis, producer-director Robert Wise abruptly put a stop to it. More recently, Bernardo Bertolucci successfully fought Japanese attempts to edit the "Rape of Nanking" sequence from The Lost Emperor, which proved a hit in |apan even with its depiction of that notorious battle. Most changes for the various European markets are less extreme. In fact, American directors are often allowed to put back those few seconds of graphic violence (Dressed to Kill, Blode Rurter) or whole sequences of graphic sex (Nine lzWeeks) they had to cut from the American release to get an R rating.

ing, ridiculingthings of achievement: He is a lousy surgeon or a lousy busindssman or a lousy professor. I don t think

Mufthatbnal producrion

Source: Assn. Cioomabgraphi$p Suise6 RomandeAlarbty

Americans

like being satirized that

way," he suggests,

Tunisian-financed |erry Lewis film around 1984 or 1985," recalls Steven Landis, an American photoSapher in Paris. "I doubt it was ever distributed in America. It was really horrible. The
highlight was fifteen bathing beauties by someone's pooi. Reaily an embarrassment. I oniy went to see it," he says sheepishly, "because my French girlfriend wanted to."

Though he's still admired, Lewis's popularity in France isn't what it used to be, and he hasnt released a successful comedy there in years. "There was a

1i, 'Crocodile'Dundeg

2. The Living Daylights 3. Leil

If there is any one icon of Europe's rebuttal of American movie values, any one thing that symbolizes Europe's capacity for both open-minded appreciation of pop cuiture and self-flagellhting

THEN THERE'S JERRY LEWIS.

4. Platoon 5. Beverly Hills Cop ll 6. LethalWeapon 7. Mio in the Land of Faraway 8. Police Academy lV
9.
10. The Golden
The Untouchables Child
Sourca: Gowmment ol SwettmAfarieg

Is there any surefire way of telling what will or won't hit in Europe? Even with blockbusters, nothing's guaranteed: The failure in France of Three Men
ond o Boby wasn't all that predictable or

much money into trying to sell it. "If I couid predict which American films would do well in Europe," says the MPAA's Karlin, "l d hang a sign on my
door: 'Expert Advice Here.i "
Fronk Lovece is o New-York bosed entertoinment writer, ond lhe coouthor of Hailing "TAXT'!

the studio wouldn't have poured

so

SEPTEMBER

198s

47