IMDb RATING
6.8/10
4.2K
YOUR RATING
Two men--wealthy conservative Bill and far-right factory worker Joe--form a dangerous bond after Bill confesses to Joe about murdering his daughter's drug-dealer boyfriend.Two men--wealthy conservative Bill and far-right factory worker Joe--form a dangerous bond after Bill confesses to Joe about murdering his daughter's drug-dealer boyfriend.Two men--wealthy conservative Bill and far-right factory worker Joe--form a dangerous bond after Bill confesses to Joe about murdering his daughter's drug-dealer boyfriend.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total
K Callan
- Mary Lou Curran
- (as K. Callan)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the 1980s, there were rumors that Peter Boyle might appear in a sequel. Citizen Joe, the sequel, would follow Joe as he tried to rebuild his life after spending ten years in prison and would also deal with his grown up kids who held more liberal beliefs. Cannon Films periodically took out ads for unmade sequels to Joe. In 1980, Cannon promised Joe II then, in 1985, announced the coming of Citizen Joe: The man has changed but the times have not...He's back. The film never materialized.
- GoofsMicrophone briefly visible over Joe's head in phone booth.
- Alternate versionsThe original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to heavily edit the sequence where Frank prepares and injects heroin. The 1986 Stablecane video was 15 rated and featured an edited print which ran around 10 minutes shorter and missed the scene out completely. The 2008 Optimum DVD is 18 rated and features the full uncut version.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Precious Images (1986)
Featured review
Hey, Joe...don't it make you want to go to war...once more?
Norman Wexler, who went on to encapsulate the zeitgeist in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and to create deathless, hyper-offensive camp in MANDINGO, was a prince among hot-button-pushers in JOE. When a Madison Avenue type (Dennis Patrick) throttles to death the sneering drug pusher who was the lover of his daughter (Susan Sarandon), he meets an unlikely fan and friend: Joe Curran (Peter Boyle), a racist, hippie-hating hardhat type who's as far from the genteel Mr. Compton as warm root beer is from gravlax and eggs. The movie is as flummoxing, and as weirdly elating, as a deeply abusive boyfriend. One minute it's getting you to giggle along with the no-baloney Joe; a second later, he's a Hitlerian psychopath. At times, we're touched by the friendship and mutual respect that crosses class lines; at other times, we're made to chuckle at Joe and his wife's homely ways, and at still others Compton's brand of magazine-derived good taste comes in for a beating. Like another surprise hit of its year, PATTON, JOE has that non-lecturing, read-it-this-way-or-that quality. Nearly every scene has something for an audience to cheer or boo (and oftentimes, those are the same things). The director, John G. Avildsen, has a few real winners (SAVE THE TIGER, NEIGHBORS) in his undistinguished career; this may be tops among them.
helpful•278
- nunculus
- Jul 31, 2000
- How long is Joe?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $106,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $19,319,254
- Gross worldwide
- $19,319,254
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