Product Summary
Format: DVD
Buy.com Sku: 40114389
UPC: 00085391316626
Item#: VGMDXG
Rating: 
They took him for a fall guy... but he threw them for a hoop. A comedy of invention.
Mailroom clerk Norville Barnes is a rube, a schmoe, a grade-A ding-dong -- just what Hudsucker Industries wants in a president! With him at the top, the stock will hit bottom... and the fat cats on the board can take over. But Norville (Tim Robbins) has his own spiffy little plan. And if a snoopy reporter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) doesn't put the kibosh on the Hudsucker flimflam and finagliing big cheese Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman) doesn't squash him, Norville's idea will put a smile on the hips of all America! The Hudsucker Proxy will plaster a smile on you, too. With a nod to the rapid-fire movies of Frank Capra and Preston Sturges and lots of visual flair, filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo, The Big Lebowski) craft a comic Hiyuh Bub! to business success. You'll love the Hud!
"The [Coen Brothers'] funniest film since Raising Arizona. The New York Times
"A dazzler! You'll be wowed! Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Editor's Note
THE HUDSUCKER PROXY opens with a spectacular shot of snow falling over a beautiful city; the camera pans in slowly over the rooftops until it comes upon the Hudsucker Industries building, with a huge clock about to ring in the New Year--and a man about to jump to his death. The rest of this hilarious Coen brothers film tells in flashback the fascinating tale of Norville Barnes and what brought him to that ledge.Tim Robbins stars as Barnes, a hick from Muncie, Indiana, intent on becoming a New York City executive. His timing is magical as he enters the doors of Hudsucker Industries just as the Hudsucker board determines it needs a patsy to run the company into the ground so it can buy up shares when the company goes public in a month. He hires Amy (the fast-talking Jennifer Jason Leigh) as his assistant--but unbeknownst to him, she is a reporter trying to expose him. THE HUDSUCKER PROXY is the Coen brothers' madcap romp through 1940s screwball comedy--albeit with a darker edge. The film is highlighted by sparkling art direction, fabulolus sets, snappy dialogue, and terrific supporting turns from Paul Newman, Charles Durning, and Bruce Campbell. Oh, and beware the Blue Letter....
Features
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DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Widescreen, French, Subtitled |
Cast & Crew
Plot Summary
As Norville Barnes contemplates suicide from atop a New York skyscraper, he looks down on a city he thinks has betrayed him. Months earlier, a naive Norville traveled from his native Indiana to the Big Apple with dreams in his heart and determination on his mind. After landing a mailroom job at a big corporation, he was quickly promoted company president. The honest, unsuspecting fellow failed to realize he was simply a pawn in a plot to undermine investor confidence. Good thing he had a great invention up his sleeve, something so big it became a national sensation and saved his career in the process. But his adversaries continued to plot against him, making it so tough that he lost his lofty dreams and his faith in people. But maybe if he's lucky, someone will reach him before it's too late.
Memorable Quotes
| "Outta hope, outta rope, outta time."----Narrator in opening |
| "It's a pity to waste a whole Monte Cristo."----Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman) after Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning) takes a swan dive out the window |
| "Waring Hudsucker's abstract art on Madison Avenue."----Mussburger to the board |
| "You know...for kids."----Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins) |
Professional Reviews
Premiere
"...A spectacularly beautiful expressionist satire of '50s American capitalism..." - Recommended
11/01/1994 p.120
Sight and Sound
"...[A] wholly delightful urban parable....The Coens are the most exciting, imaginative and confident movie-makers in America..."
09/01/1994 p.39-40
New York Times
"...A shrewd comic valentine to the kind of movies they don't make anymore. It is also the Coens' funniest, most accessible film since [RAISING ARIZONA]....Robbins projects a goofy appeal..."
03/11/1994 p.C8
Entertainment Weekly
"...A more than diverting rental." -- Rating: B
11/18/1994 p.114
USA Today
"...It's the most unforgettable supernatural comedy since BRAZIL..." -- 3 1/2 out of 4 stars
03/11/1994 p.4D
Chicago Sun-Times
"...A feast for the eyes and the imagination..."
03/25/1994 p.43
Total Film
"[C]oloured by a passion for cinema, with warmth emanating from every flourish. The script is packed with zingers..."
04/01/2007 p.151
HBO 0 of 10
Likeable Tim Robbins is a decent enough choice for the Muncie, Indiana, homeboy/hero, Norville Barnes. The usually exemplary Jennifer Jason Leigh, however, gets on the nerves quickly doing a nasally Katharine Hepburn imitation in the smart-girl reporter role that was often filled by Jean Arthur. The Hudsucker Proxy is an absolute must-see, though, for the spectacular art direction and set design. Visually, it's a stunner. We all thought that this sucker would be hard to beat, but Dennis Gassner's Oscar-worthy work was ignored at award time.
- Jim Byerley
Chicago Sun-Times 0 of 10
Two little creatures are perched on my shoulders, one whispering into each ear. One carries a pitchfork. The other has gossamer wings. They are dictating this review of The Hudsucker Proxy. The Angel: This is the best-looking movie I've seen in years, a feast for the eyes and the imagination. The art direction and set design are breathtaking, re-creating the world of 1930s screwball comedy in which towering skyscrapers and vast boardrooms were the playing fields for the ambitions of corrupt executives, ambitious kids, unsung geniuses, and lady newspaper reporters with nails as sharp as their wisecracks... The Devil: But the problem with the movie is that it's all surface and no substance. Not even the slightest attempt is made to suggest that the film takes its own story seriously. Everything is style. The performances seem deliberately angled as satire... The Angel: Performances are right on target. Tim Robbins stars, as a mailroom clerk who finds himself thrust into the presidency of the giant Hudsucker Corporation. Paul Newman is the gray eminence behind the scenes, who engineers Robbins' ascendancy because he believes the kid is hopelessly incompetent, and will drive the stock price down -- just what Newman desires. And Jennifer Jason Leigh has been studying Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday, and has the part down perfect: The hard-bitten, fast-talking girl reporter who sits on your desk, lights a cigarette, and lays down the law... I want to see the movie again. There is a grandness to the very conception of The Hudsucker Proxy... One good reason to go to the movies is to feast the eyes, even if the brain remains unchallenged. And Hudsucker is a pleasure to regard. The Devil: Unless you want something more from a movie. The debate goes on. Just before they vaporized into thin air, the angel advised me to give The Hudsucker Proxy four stars, and the Devil, whispering that the Coens are talented but need to be prodded to go beyond their technical mastery, wickedly advised me to cut them off with zero. Having weighed all their advice, I have taken a middle position.
- Roger Ebert
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5 of 5 Cohen Bros Do it Again! 8/4/2008
J D Emmanuel from Shenandoah, TX 77387
What a hoot of a movie! If you liked Brother, Where Art Thou!, you will like this flick about a lowly mail clerk who takes control of a major corporation. Great ending!
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5 of 5 Coen Brother's Perfection 2/14/2002
Sean from Corvallis, Or
My favorite movie of my favorite directors, Joel and Ethan Coen; one of my favorite American films, 'The Hudsucker Proxy' is a perfect showcase of the Coen's talents. Every shot is beautiful. The sets, cinematography, lighting, all visual aspects of the movie come together to bring the mundane to life. From the jobs board flipping through "Experienced Required" positions and the clock-face office of Sydney J. Mussburger to Steve Buscemi as the beatnik bartender... just writing about this movie, I want to watch it again. There is something for everyone in this movie: complex, funny and romantic, deep without pretension, with wonderful music, containing what I believe to be the greatest falling sequence ever filmed, 'The Hudsucker Proxy' is better each time I watch it.
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5 of 5 Incredible Aesthetic Approach 1/14/2000
Lee Mackay from Woodland Hills, CA
Now a family favorite, Tim Robins is excelent. The humor is subtle and tasteful. Really a fun one to watch again and again...Two thumbs up.
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5 of 5 The Hudsucker Proxy 6/24/1999
Kurt from Maynard, MA.
Tim Robbins is fantastic as always, and Paul Newman gives the movie that extra push with a delightfully demonic, yet slightly comedic character. A rags to riches then back to rags story that can't do anything but put a smile on your face.
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