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MONEY
Did you know
Shot for just $4.5M β micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#01
Desperately Seeking Susan
"Every man is desperate to have her. One woman is desperate to be her. But someone is desperate to kill her. If they can figure out who she is."
1985 1h 44m EN
π
6.1
MID
π
86%
FRESH
π
71
METACRITIC
β
6.1
IMDB
β
6.1TMDB Β· 539π
86%Rotten Tomatoesβ71Metacriticβ
6.1IMDB Β· 28,314
ComedyCrime
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
A bored New Jersey suburban housewife's fascination with a free-spirited woman she has read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself and into a chaotic adventure of amnesia and self-discovery.
βEvery man is desperate to have her. One woman is desperate to be her. But someone is desperate to kill her. If they can figure out who she is.β
Cast
Rosanna Arquette
Roberta Glass
Madonna
Susan
Aidan Quinn
Dez
Mark Blum
Gary Glass
Robert Joy
Jim
Laurie Metcalf
Leslie Glass
Anna Thomson
Crystal
Will Patton
Wayne Nolan
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Susan Seidelman
- Writers
- Leora Barish
- 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 πΏ
2 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Made its money back 6.1Γ over at the box office.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#02
3 / 8
ERA
Did you know
41 years old β old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Susan Seidelman, shot by Edward Lachman. Note their partnership β DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Thomas Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after β most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#05
6 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Andrew Mondshein shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#06
7 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Rosanna Arquette and Madonna and Aidan Quinn carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#07
8 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "Every man is desperate to have her. One woman is desperate to be her. But someone is desperate to kill her. If they can figure out who she is.".
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Susan Seidelman directs. Edward Lachman behind the camera. Thomas Newman scores. Andrew Mondshein cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Shot for just $4.5M β micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
- 2Made its money back 6.1Γ over at the box office.
- 341 years old β old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
- 4Directed by Susan Seidelman, shot by Edward Lachman. Note their partnership β DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 5Original score by Thomas Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after β most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 6Editor Andrew Mondshein shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 7Rosanna Arquette and Madonna and Aidan Quinn carry the top of the cast.
- 8Marketing tagline: "Every man is desperate to have her. One woman is desperate to be her. But someone is desperate to kill her. If they can figure out who she is.".
- 9IMDB entry: tt0089017 β still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Edward Lachman
- Original score
- Thomas Newman
- Editing
- Andrew Mondshein
- Production design
- Santo Loquasto
- Makeup / hair
- Werner Sherer
- Runtime
- 104 min Β· 1h 44m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $4,500,000
- Box office
- $27,399,597
- Return
- 609% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- PG-13
- Rotten Tomatoes
- 86% π Fresh
- Metacritic
- 71/100
- IMDB rating
- 6.1/10 Β· 28,314 votes
- MPAA
- PG-13
Awards
Won 1 BAFTA Award2 wins & 6 nominations total
Also by
Susan Seidelman
Stills Β· wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames β open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- TimtheGiantβ 10/10
I always thought this was one of Madonna's best film performance yet.
- Wuchakβ 6/10
Screwball drama in Manhattan with Rosanna Arquette and Madonna Roberta (Rosanna Arquette), a bored housewife in the New York City area, becomes obsessed with a wild child named Susan (Madonna) through the personal ads and inadvertently takes on her persona when she visits Manhattan. Unfortunately a hooligan is after Susan for priceless Egyptian earrings (Will Patton). Mark Blum plays Robertaβs jerk husband and Aidan Quinn a new friend in the city. βDesperately Seeking Susanβ (1985) is a quirky drama revolving around mistaken identity in an unlikely story. Itβs entertaining enough and also works as a window into mid-80βs New York City. How much a viewer will appreciate it depends on how smitten (or not smitten) they are with Arquette. Sheβs winsome, for sure, but I can take her or leave her. Madonna is more alluring in the lesser role, but Iβm not big on her either; still, there are a couple scenes that nicely spotlight her attractiveness. The film runs 1 hour and 43 minutes and was shot in Manhattan; Manhasset, Long Island; and Atlantic City. GRADE: B-
Production companies
Who made it
Orion Pictures
US
Key crew
- First Assistant DirectorJoel Tuber
- Second Assistant DirectorDavid Dreyfuss
- Production Office CoordinatorShelley Houis
- Additional CastingTodd M. Thaler
- Camera OperatorFrancis Kenny
- Second Assistant CameraDebbie Sarjeant
- Art DirectionSpeed Hopkins
- Art Department CoordinatorGlenn Lloyd
- GafferRay Quinlan
- GafferJames Fitzpatrick
- Key GripTom Prate
- Property MasterLeslie Bloom
- Boom OperatorLinda Murphy
- Wardrobe SupervisorWilliam A. Campbell
- Wardrobe SupervisorMelissa Stanton
- Sound EditorPeter Odabashian
- Sound EditorMark Rathaus
- Sound EditorLou Graf
- Music EditorLouis Cerborino
- ADR EditorJay Dranch
- Foley EditorBruce Kitzmeyer
- Assistant Sound EditorRandall Coleman
- Assistant Sound EditorKenton Jakub
- Assistant Sound EditorStuart Stanley
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- amnesia
- lonely hearts ad
- woman director
Release history Β· US
When it landed
- Theatrical (limited)1985-03-29PG-13
- Theatrical1985-04-12PG-13
Also known as
International titles
- Π£ Π²ΡΠ΄ΡΠ°Ρ ΡΡΠΊΠ°Ρ Π‘ΡΡΠ·Π΅Π½UA
- HledΓ‘m SuzanCZ
- Buscando desesperadamente a SusanAR
- Susan ... verzweifelt gesuchtDE
