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Features: Aspect Ratio 1.95:1, DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Collector's Edition, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled, Trailers
Drug Smuggling. Racketeering. Loan Sharking. Welcome to Hollywood! John Travolta leads an all-star cast in the hysterical comedy that insists it doesnt take much to make it in the movies... just a background with the mob. Loan shark Chili Palmer (Travolta) has done his time as a gangster. So when "business" takes him to Los Angeles to collect a debt from down-and-out filmmaker Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), Chili talks tough... and then pitches Harry a script idea. Immediately, Chili is swept into the Hollywood scene: he schmooses film star Martin Weir (Danny DeVito), romances "B" movie queen Karen Flores (Rene Russo) and even gets reservations at the hottest restaurants in town. In fact, all would be smooth for this cool new producer, if it werent for the drug smugglers and an angry mobster who wont leave him alone.Starring: John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, and Dennis FarinaDirector: Barry SonnenfeldProduced by Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg; written by Scott Frank, Elmore Leonard (n; running time of 105 minutes; Closed Captioned. Copyright: 1995, MGM/UASystem Requirements:Full-length feature in both Pan & Scan and 16 x 9 widescreen formats Languages, Subtitles and Captioning: English, French and Spanish Chapter Search Original Theatrical Trailer Dolby Digital 5.1 Interactive Menus, Theatrical Trailer Video Format: Widescreen (no AR specified), Standard 1.33:1 (4.3), Enhanced for 16x9 TVs Subtitles: English, Spanish, and French Track Info: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Spanish: Dolby Digital SurroundFormat: DVD MOVIE
"Ingenious plotting, tip-top performances, and some delicious digs at Hollywood..." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"...irresistibly charming lampoon of Hollywood." Hal Hinson, The Washington Post
Editor's Note
This slick adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel features John Travolta as Chili Palmer, a Miami loan shark who's been sent to L.A. to collect on a bad debt from trash movie producer Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), the maker of the stunning flops "Grotesque" and "Slime People." But this is Harry's lucky day, because Chili is also a film buff, and when he's done talking tough he starts pitching Harry a script idea. As everyone knows, the best background for the motion picture industry is the criminal underworld, and Chili is smoothly launched into the life of a producer: romancing a B-movie scream queen, schmoozing superstars, getting reservations in the hottest restaurants in town. However, Chili's not the only mobster wanting to turn producer. It seems that a thug named Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo), another of Harry's lenders, also wants a piece of the action. Add in a group of angry drug smugglers and there is an abundance of double- and triple-crosses, as well as plenty of wisecracks and Hollywood insider jokes. GET SHORTY crosses the line of life imitating art--and vice versa--many times, including the real Ernest "Chili" Palmer (on whom the character is based) playing a Mafia henchman. Barry Sonnenfeld's entertaining romp is a wild look at the celebrity life in Hollywood, featuring numerous cameos of stars playing themselves.
Plot Summary
Loan shark Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is ready for a new career, so when he's sent to L.A. to collect on a bad debt from trash filmmaker Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), he decides to get into the movie industry. The skills Chili learned in the criminal underworld launch his successful start as a film producer: schmoozing superstars, romancing B-movie bimbos, actually getting reservations at the hottest restaurants in town. It would all be easy for Chili if it weren't for the angry gangsters and the drug smugglers who keep getting in the way.
| Features | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Collector's Booklet | | Audio: English, French 5.1 Surround; SpanishStereo Surround | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Widescreen Version Enhanced For 16x9 TVs |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: MGM |
| Release Date: 6/23/2009 |
| Running Time: 105 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1995 | | Catalog ID: 906036 | | UPC: 00027616603692 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1/4:3 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Golden Globe (1996) |  | John Travolta, Winner, Best Actor |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"...Elmore Leonard's deliciously profane dialogue gives a great cast, led by John Travolta, a feast to dine upon....GET SHORTY gets it wonderfully right..." 11/02/1995 p.73-4Sight and Sound
"...GET SHORTY is certainly entertaining..." 03/01/1996 p.42-3 USA Today
"...Sizzling supporting performances by Dennis Farina and Delroy Lindo....[Travolta] oozes cool without breaking a sweat..." -- 3 out of 4 stars 10/20/1995 p.1D Entertainment Weekly
"...All the elements finally jelled, goosed by a terrific John Travolta performance..." -- Rating: A- 05/31/1996 pp.66-7 Variety
"...GET SHORTY is good, sly fun. With John Travolta putting on a dazzling demonstration of what being a movie star is all about..." 10/09/1995 Los Angeles Times
"...The film does a good job with the book's gentle digs at the inane way the movie business tends to function..." 10/20/1995 p.F1 Chicago Sun-Times
"...A small jewel..." 10/20/1995 p.43 Uncut
"[A] faithful adaptation of Elmore Leonard for a change....Memorable." 04/01/2005 p.141 San Francisco Chronicle 8 of 10
One of the pleasures of Get Shorty is watching the way the plot moves effortlessly from crime to the movies... Elmore Leonard's characters may exist in the crevices of society, but they are smart and verbal and don't take forever to get to the point... - Edward Guthmann
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
Get Shorty is exquisitely cast, with droll, well-nuanced performances from Hackman, DeVito and Russo. Each could easily be nominated for an Oscar...and deserve it. But make no mistake: It's Travolta--smooth, commanding, handsome as ever, a cool rhythmic bop in his walk--who owns the film. - Roger Ebert
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