Brighton Beach Memoirs

1986 1h 48m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 54

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Eugene, a young teenage Jewish boy, recalls his memoirs of his time as an adolescent youth. He lives with his parents, his aunt, two cousins, and his brother, Stanley, whom he looks up to and admires. He goes through the hardships of puberty, sexual fantasy, and living the life of a poor boy in a crowded house.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Jonathan Silverman
Eugene Morris Jerome
Blythe Danner
Kate
Stacey Glick
Laurie
Lisa Waltz
Nora
Judith Ivey
Blanche
Bob Dishy
Jack
Brian Drillinger
Stanley
James Handy
Frank Murphy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gene Saks
Writers: Neil Simon
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CRAFT

Did you know

Part of the "Eugene Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gene Saks, shot by John Bailey. 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 Michael Small. 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 Carol Littleton 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

Jonathan Silverman and Blythe Danner and Stacey Glick carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0090774 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 54 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gene Saks directs. John Bailey behind the camera. Michael Small scores. Carol Littleton cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

140 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Eugene Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Gene Saks, shot by John Bailey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Michael Small. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Carol Littleton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jonathan Silverman and Blythe Danner and Stacey Glick carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0090774 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 54 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "great depression", "based on play or musical", "coming of age", "breaking the fourth wall".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Bailey
Original score: Michael Small
Editing: Carol Littleton
Production design: Stuart Wurtzel
Costume design: Joseph G. Aulisi
Makeup / hair: Joseph Coscia
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986)

Part of

Eugene Trilogy

Trilogy of films based on Neil Simon's "Eugene" plays.

Also by

Gene Saks

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-09-14
★ 7/10
I have seen the Golden Palace of the Himalayas. Puberty is over! Onward and upward! Brighton Beach Memoirs is directed by Gene Saks and adapted to the screen from his own play by Neil Simon. It stars Jonathan Silverman, Blythe Danner, Judith Ivey, Bob Dishy, Stacey Glick, Lisa Waltz and Brian Dillinger. Music is by Michael Small and cinematography by John Bailey. This is the first of what would become a trilogy of films detailing the adventures and learnings of Neil Simon's life trajectory. His alias in the three productions comes in the guise of Eugene Morris Jerome, here played by Silverman, and by Matthew Broderick in Biloxi Blues (1988) and Corey Parker in Broadway Bound (1992). This is set in 1937 Brooklyn, New York, and finds Eugene, a Polish-Jewish American youngster experiencing sexual awakening in a family home packed to the rafters. Having never seen a Neil Simon play before I have no frame of reference, either here or with Biloxi Blues, the latter of which is a personal favourite. So taking it on its filmic terms only, it delivers much of the requisite razor sharp humour that was a trait of the hugely talented writer. The young version of Eugene here has sporting dreams as well as that of being a professional writer, his literary bent evident in his vocal discourse with his family and us on the fourth wall. He's the family gofer, a slave to his adoring but firm handed mother, as if battling the on-set of puberty wasn't taxing enough! Though primarily humourous in narrative drive, the serious side of family values is always a strong current within. Gambling addiction also features, so to does vivid sibling rivalry later in life, while the dangling thread of Polish family members trying to exit their homeland for a better life in New York strikes a poignant chord. I can't vouch for accents or adherence to natural race standards, but the sense of the period and areas (real location filming of course) is impressive - the cast uniformly tight to the material's various themes. Obviously not for everyone, but for those not bothered by closeness to the play, and those who love the sort of zingy dialogue found in other Simon film adaptations, then this hits the spot for sure. 8/10

Production companies