The Brother from Another Planet (1984)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

John Sayles

Writer:

John Sayles (writer)

Release Date:

7 September 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Welcome to a world of crude beauty... of danger and excitement... of wonders, legend, and imagination... Welcome to Harlem, Brother.

Plot:

A mute alien is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem in this thought-provoking cult classic.

Plot Keywords:

Extraterrestrial | Silent Scream | Secretary Says You Can't Go In There | Drug Overdose | Eye Patch

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Joe Morton	...	The Brother
Rosanna Carter	...	West Indian Woman
Ray Ramirez	...	Hispanic Man
Yves Rene	...	Haitian Man
Peter Richardson	...	Islamic Man
Ginny Yang	...	Korean Shopkeeper
Daryl Edwards	...	Fly
Steve James	...	Odell
Leonard Jackson	...	Smokey
Bill Cobbs	...	Walter
Maggie Renzi	...	Noreen
Olga Merediz	...	Noreen's Client
Tom Wright	...	Sam
Minnie Gentry	...	Mrs. Brown
Ren Woods	...	Bernice

Also Known As:

Apo allon planiti (Greece) [el]
Brat z innej planety (Poland) [pl]
Fratello di un altro pianeta (Italy) [it]
Hermano de otro planeta, El (Spain) [es]
Muukalainen Harlemissa (Finland) [fi]
The Brother from Another Planet (France) [fr]
Typ vom anderen Stern, Der (West Germany) [de]
Um Irmão de Outro Planeta (Portugal) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some drug content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

108 min | Australia:106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-8 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Ellis Island, New York Harbor, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Anarchist's Convention Films

Trivia:

John Sayles stated that in choosing the steel drum for the music on this movie, with its unusual and technological, yet still organic, quality, he was partly influenced by the zither music from Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949).

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: At the end of the credits, it is written that the story, all names, characters and incidents portrayed in the film are "ficitious."

Quotes:

Sam: [talking about The Brother] What am I supposed to do?
Fly: You the city, Sam. Figure out where to put him.
Sam: Men's shelter.
Smokey: Too smelly.
Sam: Okay. The Hilton. You got the tab?
Smokey: What they pay you for?
Sam: I just make phone calls. You want him out, you could call the cops.
Fly: Cops? Oh, man.
Smokey: He knew the death seat when he sat down on it.
Sam: It's not like I got to drum up more business for the city, you know?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Brother from the Same Planet (#4.14)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Yomutha

Great film

I love this film! Lots of laughs, lots of humanity. It's awesome that such an unknown cast can deliver such a great performance. The guys in the bar are hysterical. Every scene is a gem, but the card trick on the subway is one of my all time favorites. Go rent this movie today. 10 out of 10.