Men in Black (1997)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Barry Sonnenfeld

Writers (WGA):

Lowell Cunningham (comic)
Ed Solomon (screen story)

Release Date:

2 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Protecting the earth from the scum of the universe

Plot:

Two men who keep an eye on aliens in New York City must try to save the world after the aliens threaten to blow it up.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Men In Black | Bug | New York City | Technology

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 17 wins & 28 nominations

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones	...	Kay
Will Smith	...	Ofcr. James Darrel Edwards III
Linda Fiorentino	...	Laurel
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Edgar
Rip Torn	...	Chief Zed
Tony Shalhoub	...	Jack Jeebs
Siobhan Fallon	...	Beatrice
Mike Nussbaum	...	Gentle Rosenburg the Arquillian Jeweler
Jon Gries	...	Nick the Van Driver
Sergio Calderón	...	Jose
Carel Struycken	...	Arquillian
Fredric Lehne	...	INS Agent Janus (as Fredric Lane)
Richard Hamilton	...	D
Kent Faulcon	...	1st Lt. Jake Jensen
John Alexander	...	Mikey

Also Known As:

MIB (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
Люди в Чёрном (Russia) [ru]
Adamianebi shavebshi (Georgia) [ka]
Barbati în negru (Romania) [ro]
Faceci w czerni (Poland) [pl]
Gvarim B'Shahor (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Hombres de negro (Argentina) [es]
Homens de Negro (Portugal) [pt]
Homens de Preto (Brazil) [pt]
Homes de negre (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Hommes en noir (Canada: French title) [fr]
Ljudi u crnom (Croatia) [hr]
MIB - Miehet mustissa (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
MIB - Svartklädda män (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Men in Black (France) [fr]
Men in Black (Germany) [de]
Men in Black (Sweden) [sv]
Men in Black (Italy) [it]
Men in Black (Norway) [no]
Men in Black - Sötét zsaruk (Hungary) [hu]
Men in Black: hombres de negro (Spain) [es]
Men in black - miehet mustissa (Finland) [fi]
Mozje v crnem (Slovenia) [sl]
Oi andres me ta mavra (Greece) [el]
Siyah giyen adamlar (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Vishwa-Rakshak (India: Hindi title) (dubbed version) [hi]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and sci-fi violence.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | DTS | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Denmark:11 | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:AL (1999 video rating) | Australia:PG (re-rating on appeal) (rejected) | UK:PG (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 | South Africa:10V | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

54 Macdougal Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

Chris O'Donnell was first offered the role of J.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Edwards moves the table during the "best of the best" test, the scraping sound begins before the table is moved.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nick the Van Driver: Goddamn bugs!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Sopranos: 46 Long (#1.2)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Men In Black

One of my favorites!

I avoided this movie for a while because of all the hype, so the first time I saw it was on video (and I only watched it then because my husband wanted to see it). I was very pleasantly surprised, to the point that this is now one of my top ten movies. I love the deadpan humor in this, and Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are perfect in their roles. MIB turned me into a Will Smith fan, in fact. I think the people who didn't like it were expecting an "epic" scifi film a la "Independence Day" (which I thought was way overrated) or "Deep Impact" or any of those other late 90s special effects films. But this movie is a comedy, first and foremost, and it does a wonderful job being funny. I give it a 9 out of 10 for executing perfectly what it set out to do.