Last Exit to Brooklyn

"The Novel That Shocked The World Is Now A Movie"

1989 1h 43m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 126

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A gallery of characters in Brooklyn in the 1950s are crushed by their surroundings and selves: a union strike leader discovers he is gay; a prostitute falls in love with one of her clients; a family cannot cope with the fact that their daughter is illegitimately pregnant.

“The Novel That Shocked The World Is Now A Movie”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon Prime VideoSubscription

Amazon Prime Video with AdsSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Stephen Lang
Harry Black
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Tralala
Burt Young
Big Joe
Peter Dobson
Vinnie
Christopher Murney
Paulie
Jerry Orbach
Boyce
Alexis Arquette
Georgette
Stephen Baldwin
Sal

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Uli Edel
Writers: Desmond Nakano
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Uli Edel, shot by Stefan Czapsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mark Knopfler. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Przygodda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Stephen Lang and Jennifer Jason Leigh and Burt Young carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Novel That Shocked The World Is Now A Movie".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0097714 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Uli Edel directs. Stefan Czapsky behind the camera. Mark Knopfler scores. Peter Przygodda cuts. Produced in Germany, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

137 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: Germany, United Kingdom.
3Directed by Uli Edel, shot by Stefan Czapsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Mark Knopfler. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Peter Przygodda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Stephen Lang and Jennifer Jason Leigh and Burt Young carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The Novel That Shocked The World Is Now A Movie".
8IMDB entry: tt0097714 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "new york city", "prostitute", "based on novel or book", "fight".
10Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Stefan Czapsky
Original score: Mark Knopfler
Editing: Peter Przygodda
Production design: David Chapman
Costume design: Carol Oditz
Makeup / hair: Michael Maddi
Sound: Milan Bor
Stunt coordinator: Jery Hewitt
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,730,005
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)

Also by

Uli Edel

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

kevin20192025-03-14
★ 10/10
"Last Exit to Brooklyn" treats its many unseemly social and sexual issues in an unflinching and unashamedly forthright manner, but even more than this it is the generous assortment of heartless characters inhabiting this sordid and squalid depiction of Brooklyn which almost makes the whole film unwatchable while simultaneously creating the biggest impression of all. They embody the worst and the most close-minded and negative people to be found on the face of the planet. However, such unsettling repugnance is also strangely compelling and fascinating and it has been brilliantly brought to the screen with great skill and expertise to produce one of the most controversial, thought-provoking, and unforgettably assaultive motion pictures of the 1980's.
CinemaSerf2025-09-19
★ 6/10
Set amidst some fairly violent industrial turmoil, this potpourri of stories focuses on some of the diversity that existed, though it didn’t necessarily thrive, in 1950s NYC. The local factory is the centre of the troubles as the dockers take strike action, galvanised by their leaders “Harry” (Stephen Lang) and the manipulative “Boyce” (Jerry Orbach). Meantime, the striking in an altogether different manner “Tralala” (Jennifer Jason Leigh) rather menacingly plies her feminine wares on the unsuspecting but horned up military until she begins to fall a little for one of her more decent uniformed clientele and sees the glimmer of an hope she could escape this cycle of hopelessness. With tensions running high amidst their community, we also discover that the married “Harry” also has a penchant for blokes and that communism and illegitimate children are further stoking the angst in this increasingly diffuse and angry township. The story itself plays out well enough and I felt that both Leigh and Lang played their parts with quite some skill, but somehow there is just too much going on to cram into one hundred minutes and some of the more characterful subplots (i.e. “Big Joe” (Burt Young)) are sidelined or too undercooked to make enough impact on the storyline that Uli Eden has decided to focus on. That said, though, the two principal characters are exposed to the cruelties and double standards of the day in a fashion that looks authentic, gritty and is frequently violent and uncomfortable to watch. Therein lies much of the success of this quite potent look at mob rule and intolerance disguised as democracy and freedom, but on the whole, given the plethora of topics covered in the much more visceral book, I felt it disappointed.