Men Don't Leave

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Brickman directs. Bruce Surtees behind the camera. Thomas Newman scores. Richard Chew cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 136 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 2Directed by Paul Brickman, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by Thomas Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor Richard Chew shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Jessica Lange and Arliss Howard and Joan Cusack carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "A comedy about the drama of life.".
• 7IMDB entry: tt0100134 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Only 34 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Bruce Surtees

Original score

Thomas Newman

Editing

Richard Chew

Production design

Barbara Ling

Costume design

J. Allen Highfill

Makeup / hair

Susan Mayer

Runtime

115 min · 1h 55m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Box office

$6,070,752

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

Men Don't Leave (1990) ↗

Also by

Paul Brickman

• 
  Risky Business

  1983 · ★ 6.6

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Geffen Pictures

  US

• PA

  Paul Brickman Productions

• JO

  Jon Avent Productions

Key crew

• Set DecorationKaren O'Hara
• Set DecorationCricket Rowland
• Art DirectionJ. Mark Harrington
• ProducerJon Avnet
• Makeup ArtistSusan Mayer
• Costume DesignJ. Allen Highfill
• Makeup ArtistBob Mills
• HairstylistAlexis Caydan
• Casting DirectorDavid Rubin
• Special Effects SupervisorJohn E. Gray
• Music EditorCurt Sobel
• Executive ProducerPaul Brickman
• ScreenstoryBarbara Benedek
• CostumerCarolyn Schraut-Barczak
• Sound MixerCurt Frisk
• Second Unit DirectorJon Avnet
• Special EffectsRodman Kiser
• HairstylistKathe Swanson
• CostumerJoAnn Lam
• EditorRichard Chew
• CostumerGrania Preston
• Supervising Sound EditorGeorge Watters II
• HairstylistLyndell Quiyou
• Title DesignerDan Perri

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• depression
• widow
• baltimore, usa
• family relationships
• remake
• single mother

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical (limited)1990-02-02PG-13
• Theatrical1990-02-23PG-13