Meet Joe Black is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film directed and produced by Martin Brest, and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani. The screenplay by Bo Goldman, Kevin Wade, Ron Osborn, and Jeff Reno is loosely based on the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday, an adaptation of the 1924 Italian play La morte in vacanza by Alberto Casella.

It was the second pairing of Hopkins and Pitt after their 1994 film Legends of the Fall.

Plot

Media mogul Bill Parrish is contemplating a merger with another media giant. Meanwhile, his eldest daughter, Alison, is planning an elaborate 65th birthday party for him. His younger daughter Susan, a resident in internal medicine, has a relationship with Drew, one of Bill s board members.

Considering marriage, as Bill sees Susan is not deeply in love, he suggests she wait to be swept off her feet, suggesting lightning could strike . When the company helicopter lands, he hears a mysterious voice, which he tries to ignore. Arriving in his office, Bill has sharp pains in his chest and hears the voice again, saying, Yes.

While studying in a coffee shop, Susan meets a vibrant young man who also says lightning may strike a relationship between them. Stunned, she departs without getting his name. Unbeknownst to her, directly afterward, he is struck fatally by multiple cars.

That evening, Bill hears the voice again and it summons him so Bill meets him alone in a room. Slowly materializing, it identifies itself as Death and is now in the body of the young man. Death explains that his impassioned speech to his daughter piqued his interest. Given Bill s competence, experience, and wisdom , Death says that for as long as Bill will be his guide on Earth, Bill will not have to die. They both return to the dinner table and under pressure to make an introduction, clumsily make up a name for Death, introducing him to the family as Joe Black. Joe Black, having no sophisticated human qualities, doesn t seem to know how to drink or eat, or how to use food and utensils. He later wanders through the palatial house to adapt. Susan tries to understand his intentions, noting that his character is not the same as that of the man she met in the coffee shop.

Bill fails to keep events from going rapidly out of his control. Drew secretly conspires with Parrish Communications, capitalizing on Bill s strange behavior and reliance on Joe to convince the board of directors to vote Bill out as chairman. Using information from Bill s son-in-law, Quince, Drew pushes for merger approval which Bill now opposes.

Intrigued by Joe s naivete, Susan sees he s very different from the young man she met in the coffee shop. She falls deeply in love, while Joe is now under the influence of human desires and a magnetic attraction to her, and they make love. After they dress, Joe asks Susan, What do we do now? She replies, It ll come to us. Bill inadvertently walks in and sees them kissing.

Bill angrily confronts Joe about his relationship with his daughter, and Joe declares his intention to take Susan with him. But at Susan s hospital, Joe interacts with a terminally ill old woman who wishes to die. Understanding who he is, when he tells her he loves Susan, they discuss the meaning of life and she helps him understand he is dangerously meshing two worlds.

As Bill s birthday arrives, he asks Joe to recognize the meaning of true love, especially honesty and sacrifice. Joe realizes he must set aside his own desire and allow Susan to live her life. Joe helps Bill regain control of his company, exposing Drew s underhanded business dealings to the board by claiming to be an agent of the Internal Revenue Service and threatening to put Drew in jail.

At the party, understanding his death is imminent, Bill makes peace with his daughters. Susan tells Joe she has loved him since the day in the coffee shop and he hints that his time is coming to an end. Realizing Susan loves the unknown man, not him, crushes him. He doesn t tell her who he really is, but she seems to intuit something mystical about his identity. Struggling to comprehend the magnitude of their attraction, Susan declines to comprehend Joe as Death. She sputters, You re… you re Joe. He promises, You will always have what you found in the coffee shop. Thank you for loving me.

In their father/daughter dance, Susan and Bill also say goodbye. Then, on a hilltop above the party, Bill asks Joe if he should be afraid. He replies, Not a man like you. Fireworks explode in the distance while Susan watches Joe and her father cross a bridge at the top of the hill and descend out of sight on the other side.

Susan stands stunned as Joe reappears alone and bewildered. He is again the young man from the coffee shop, uninjured and not comprehending where he is. Susan intuits that her father is gone, and the magnetism that she had shared with this young man has returned. What do we do now? she asks. It ll come to us, he replies, as they descend hand-in-hand toward the party.

Cast

• Brad Pitt as Death / Joe Black / Young Man In Coffee Shop
• Anthony Hopkins as Bill Parrish
• Claire Forlani as Susan Parrish
• Jake Weber as Drew
• Marcia Gay Harden as Allison Parrish
• Jeffrey Tambor as Quince, Allison Parrish s Husband
• David S. Howard as Eddie Sloane
• Lois Kelly Miller as Jamaican Woman
• Marylouise Burke as Lillian
• June Squibb as Helen

Production

Filming

Most of William Parrish s country mansion scenes were shot at the Aldrich Mansion in Rhode Island.

The penthouse interiors and Parrish Communications offices were sets built at the 14th Regiment Armory in the South Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.

The place where Susan and the Young Man from the Coffee Shop first meet is Broadway Restaurant, at 2664 Broadway and West 101st Street, Manhattan.

Versions

A two-hour version was made to show on television and airline flights, by cutting most of the plotline involving Bill Parrish s business. Since Brest derided this edit of his film and disowned it, the director s credit was changed to the Hollywood pseudonym Alan Smithee.

Reception

Box office

Meet Joe Black opened on November 13, 1998, and grossed $15,017,995 domestically upon its opening weekend (11/13-15) at #3, behind The Waterboy s second weekend and the opening of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

While the film had a disappointing domestic box office return of $44,619,100, it fared much better internationally. Taking in an additional $98,321,000, the movie grossed a worldwide total of $142,940,100.

As Meet Joe Black was one of the few films showing the first trailer for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, it was reported that droves of Star Wars fans bought tickets for the film, only to leave after the trailer showed.

Critical response

Meet Joe Black received mixed reviews from critics, with most complimenting the performances but criticizing the film s three-hour length, the slow pacing and the screenplay. Ebert gave it three stars, but disliked the peripheral story lines and overly drawn-out ending. He concluded that despite its flaws, there s so much that s fine in this movie . Travers wrote Rolling Stone that most of the characters were one-dimensional. Anthony Hopkins received uniform praise for his performance, with Travers opining that Hopkins Bill Parrish was the only fully realized character in the film; LaSalle commented that Hopkins acting is so emotionally full that the tiniest moments … ring with complexities of thought and feeling. Brad Pitt, on the other hand, received a mixed response, with Mick LaSalle calling the performance so bad it hurts and James Berardinelli calling it execrable .

Meet Joe Black earned a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Remake.

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of a 45% based on reviews from 49 critics. The site s consensus states: Meet Joe Black is pretty to look at and benefits from an agreeable cast, but that isn t enough to offset this dawdling drama s punishing three-hour runtime. On Metacritic it has a score of 43% based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews . Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.

Meet Joe Black is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film directed and produced by Martin Brest, and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani. The screenplay by Bo Goldman, Kevin Wade, Ron Osborn, and Jeff Reno is loosely based on the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday, an adaptation of the 1924 Italian play La morte in vacanza by Alberto Casella.

It was the second pairing of Hopkins and Pitt after their 1994 film Legends of the Fall.

Plot

Media mogul Bill Parrish is contemplating a merger with another media giant. Meanwhile, his eldest daughter, Alison, is planning an elaborate 65th birthday party for him. His younger daughter Susan, a resident in internal medicine, has a relationship with Drew, one of Bill s board members.

Considering marriage, as Bill sees Susan is not deeply in love, he suggests she wait to be swept off her feet, suggesting lightning could strike . When the company helicopter lands, he hears a mysterious voice, which he tries to ignore. Arriving in his office, Bill has sharp pains in his chest and hears the voice again, saying, Yes.

While studying in a coffee shop, Susan meets a vibrant young man who also says lightning may strike a relationship between them. Stunned, she departs without getting his name. Unbeknownst to her, directly afterward, he is struck fatally by multiple cars.

That evening, Bill hears the voice again and it summons him so Bill meets him alone in a room. Slowly materializing, it identifies itself as Death and is now in the body of the young man. Death explains that his impassioned speech to his daughter piqued his interest. Given Bill s competence, experience, and wisdom , Death says that for as long as Bill will be his guide on Earth, Bill will not have to die. They both return to the dinner table and under pressure to make an introduction, clumsily make up a name for Death, introducing him to the family as Joe Black. Joe Black, having no sophisticated human qualities, doesn t seem to know how to drink or eat, or how to use food and utensils. He later wanders through the palatial house to adapt. Susan tries to understand his intentions, noting that his character is not the same as that of the man she met in the coffee shop.

Bill fails to keep events from going rapidly out of his control. Drew secretly conspires with Parrish Communications, capitalizing on Bill s strange behavior and reliance on Joe to convince the board of directors to vote Bill out as chairman. Using information from Bill s son-in-law, Quince, Drew pushes for merger approval which Bill now opposes.

Intrigued by Joe s naivete, Susan sees he s very different from the young man she met in the coffee shop. She falls deeply in love, while Joe is now under the influence of human desires and a magnetic attraction to her, and they make love. After they dress, Joe asks Susan, What do we do now? She replies, It ll come to us. Bill inadvertently walks in and sees them kissing.

Bill angrily confronts Joe about his relationship with his daughter, and Joe declares his intention to take Susan with him. But at Susan s hospital, Joe interacts with a terminally ill old woman who wishes to die. Understanding who he is, when he tells her he loves Susan, they discuss the meaning of life and she helps him understand he is dangerously meshing two worlds.

As Bill s birthday arrives, he asks Joe to recognize the meaning of true love, especially honesty and sacrifice. Joe realizes he must set aside his own desire and allow Susan to live her life. Joe helps Bill regain control of his company, exposing Drew s underhanded business dealings to the board by claiming to be an agent of the Internal Revenue Service and threatening to put Drew in jail.

At the party, understanding his death is imminent, Bill makes peace with his daughters. Susan tells Joe she has loved him since the day in the coffee shop and he hints that his time is coming to an end. Realizing Susan loves the unknown man, not him, crushes him. He doesn t tell her who he really is, but she seems to intuit something mystical about his identity. Struggling to comprehend the magnitude of their attraction, Susan declines to comprehend Joe as Death. She sputters, You re… you re Joe. He promises, You will always have what you found in the coffee shop. Thank you for loving me.

In their father/daughter dance, Susan and Bill also say goodbye. Then, on a hilltop above the party, Bill asks Joe if he should be afraid. He replies, Not a man like you. Fireworks explode in the distance while Susan watches Joe and her father cross a bridge at the top of the hill and descend out of sight on the other side.

Susan stands stunned as Joe reappears alone and bewildered. He is again the young man from the coffee shop, uninjured and not comprehending where he is. Susan intuits that her father is gone, and the magnetism that she had shared with this young man has returned. What do we do now? she asks. It ll come to us, he replies, as they descend hand-in-hand toward the party.

Cast

• Brad Pitt as Death / Joe Black / Young Man In Coffee Shop
• Anthony Hopkins as Bill Parrish
• Claire Forlani as Susan Parrish
• Jake Weber as Drew
• Marcia Gay Harden as Allison Parrish
• Jeffrey Tambor as Quince, Allison Parrish s Husband
• David S. Howard as Eddie Sloane
• Lois Kelly Miller as Jamaican Woman
• Marylouise Burke as Lillian
• June Squibb as Helen

Production

Filming

Most of William Parrish s country mansion scenes were shot at the Aldrich Mansion in Rhode Island.

The penthouse interiors and Parrish Communications offices were sets built at the 14th Regiment Armory in the South Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.

The place where Susan and the Young Man from the Coffee Shop first meet is Broadway Restaurant, at 2664 Broadway and West 101st Street, Manhattan.

Versions

A two-hour version was made to show on television and airline flights, by cutting most of the plotline involving Bill Parrish s business. Since Brest derided this edit of his film and disowned it, the director s credit was changed to the Hollywood pseudonym Alan Smithee.

Reception

Box office

Meet Joe Black opened on November 13, 1998, and grossed $15,017,995 domestically upon its opening weekend (11/13-15) at #3, behind The Waterboy s second weekend and the opening of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

While the film had a disappointing domestic box office return of $44,619,100, it fared much better internationally. Taking in an additional $98,321,000, the movie grossed a worldwide total of $142,940,100.

As Meet Joe Black was one of the few films showing the first trailer for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, it was reported that droves of Star Wars fans bought tickets for the film, only to leave after the trailer showed.

Critical response

Meet Joe Black received mixed reviews from critics, with most complimenting the performances but criticizing the film s three-hour length, the slow pacing and the screenplay. Ebert gave it three stars, but disliked the peripheral story lines and overly drawn-out ending. He concluded that despite its flaws, there s so much that s fine in this movie . Travers wrote Rolling Stone that most of the characters were one-dimensional. Anthony Hopkins received uniform praise for his performance, with Travers opining that Hopkins Bill Parrish was the only fully realized character in the film; LaSalle commented that Hopkins acting is so emotionally full that the tiniest moments … ring with complexities of thought and feeling. Brad Pitt, on the other hand, received a mixed response, with Mick LaSalle calling the performance so bad it hurts and James Berardinelli calling it execrable .

Meet Joe Black earned a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Remake.

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of a 45% based on reviews from 49 critics. The site s consensus states: Meet Joe Black is pretty to look at and benefits from an agreeable cast, but that isn t enough to offset this dawdling drama s punishing three-hour runtime. On Metacritic it has a score of 43% based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews . Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.

Year	1998
ReleaseDate	1998-11-13
RuntimeMins	178
RuntimeStr	2h 58min
Plot	Death, who takes the form of a young man, asks a media mogul to act as a guide to teach him about life on Earth, and in the process, he falls in love with his guide’s daughter.
Awards	Awards, 3 wins & 6 nominations
Directors	Martin Brest
Writers	Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, Kevin Wade
Stars	Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani
Produced by	Martin Brest,Celia D. Costas,Ronald L. Schwary,David J. Wally
Music by	Thomas Newman
Cinematography by	Emmanuel Lubezki
Film Editing by	Joe Hutshing,Michael Tronick
Casting By	Ellen Lewis,Juliet Taylor
Production Design by	Dante Ferretti
Art Direction by	Robert Guerra
Set Decoration by	Leslie Bloom
Costume Design by	Aude Bronson-Howard,David C. Robinson
Makeup Department	Stephen G. Bishop,Jean Ann Black,Lynn Campbell,Jane Choi,Richard Dean,Jerry DeCarlo,Tricia Heine,Brenda McNally,Randy Houston Mercer,Beth Buckwalter Miller,Lyndell Quiyou,Joe Rossi,Rob Fitz,Trish Seeney
Production Management	Debbi Bossi,Celia D. Costas,Jessie Ward Dugan,Ray Quinlan,Donna Smith
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Laura Cercone Fiorino,Terry Ham,Keith J. Knight,Amy Sayres,Christopher Surgent
Art Department	Joseph Alfieri,David H. Allen,Tommy Allen,Henry Antonacchio,William Armstrong,JoAnn Atwood,Karla J. Bailey,Meredith Barchat,Paula Bird,Tommy Boles,Steve Brennan,Roland Brooks,Garf Brown,Diana Burton,Jeff Butcher,Rick Cardillo,Ronald Carreiro,Mickey Carter,Dennis Causey,Ed Check,Eric Cheripka,Christine Kaseta Cornelius,Robert Currie,John Davis,John S. DeSimone,Chris DeTitta,Robert DiGrigoli,James Donahue,Thomas C. Dragna Jr.,William Durnin,Edward J. Egan III,Jennifer Engel,Marcus Epps,Ray Fisher,James Fitzpatrick,John J. Flugel,Chris Fousek,Rafael Fraguada,Bobbie Frankel,Charles H. Furey,Gerard J. Furey,Paul Gaily,Shawn Gamache,Julia Garrison,Emily Gaunt,Jim Gilmartin,Tobias Haller,Jay Halligan,Paul Halligan,Sandy Hamilton,Richard Hebrank,Michael Herlihy,John Holland,Jessica Johnson Tavenner,Timothy Joliat,Darrell K. Keister,Andrew W. Kenah,Philip Kennedy,Julius Kozlowski,Steve Krieger,Carl Landi,Gary Levitsky,Timothy Lewis,Gus Magalios,Peter T. Malone,Etienne Martine,Butch McCarthy,Thomas McGrath Woods,Silvija L. Moess,Lyvan A. Munlyn,Robert Murphy,Charles A. Nastacio,John Oates Jr.,Vincent J. Orofino,Susan Peterson,Richard Pfaff,Elizabeth Popiel,Gennaro Proscia,John Ralbovsky,Sonny Rea,Catherine Rooney,David Rotondo,Michael Saccio,Michael Scarola,Kevin Sciotto,Clarissa Shanahan,Kurt Smith,Tyris Smith,Haven Storey,Michael Tavani,Lynn Tonnessen,Mitch Towse,Sylvia Trapanese,Ron von Blomberg,Thomas White,Charlie Whitney,Peter Wilcox,Paul J. Wilson,Joan Winters,Nancy Winters,Michael E. Allegretto,Marc Ameruso,Victoria Krasnakevich,Ross La Terra,Peter Letzelter-Smith,Byron K. Lovelace,Alexandra Mazur,Paul Robotti,Ginny Walsh,Patricia Woodbridge
Sound Department	Ron Bartlett,Benjamin Beardwood,John Benson,Carmen Flores De Tanis,Joe Dorn,Dean Drabin,Joe Earle,Don Givens,Marilyn Graf,Susana Guardiola,Robin Harlan,Allen Hartz,Scott Hecker,Barbara Issak,Chris Jenkins,Kenneth L. Johnson,Samuel F. Kaufman,Linda Keim,James P. Lay,Gary Lewis,Larry Mann,David Melhase,Danny Michael,Chris Miller,Sarah Monat,John Murray,Mark Narramore,Eric A. Norris,Ralph Osborn,Lauren Palmer,Jeff Rosen,Geoffrey G. Rubay,Matt Sawelson,Andrew Schmetterling,Brian Schwary,Mark Smith,Anthony Starbuck,James S. Stewart,Cary Stratton,Bill Ward,Dan Yale,John Soukup
Special Effects by	Robert DeVine,Franco Goss,John Ruggieri,Brian Van Dorn,Noel Brevick
Visual Effects by	Jon Alexander,Chrissie England,Jack Mongovan,Jim Morris,Michael Owens,David Tanaka,Ginger Theisen,Marc Wilhite
Stunts	Bill Anagnos,Nick Brett,Troy Brown,Paul Bucossi,Peter Bucossi,Chris Cenatiempo,John Cenatiempo,Steve M. Davison,Frank Ferrara Jr.,Frank Ferrara,Ralph Ferrara,Tony Guida,Greg Harris,Buddy Joe Hooker,Gino Lucci,Steve Mack,Ralph W. Odum,Michael Russo,Tommy Trama,Scott Wilder,Steve Wooten,Eddie Yansick,Steve Mack,Scott Wilder
Camera and Electrical Department	Lee Ayrton,Eric Boyle,Arnold F. Brown,James J. Callahan,Dave Cambria,Phillip V. Caruso,Michael Cassidy,Jack Coffen,William Coleman,Meredith Collins,Ray Collins,Howard Davidson,Craig DiBona,Bryan Dolan,Thomas Dolan,Tim Driscoll,Michael Dynice,Glen Engels,Gregory Farrell,Kevin Fitzpatrick,William L. Flanagan,Thomas Ford,Jay Fortune,Raymond Fortune,Kenneth Fundus,Dennis Gardner,Stephen Girouard,Dennis Green,Richard Guinness Jr.,Tim Hogan,Andrew Holliday,Richard J. Houpeke Jr.,Victor Huey,Fred Johanns,Robert B. Jones,Billy Kerwick,Edward T. Kerwick,Roger Kimpton,Paul Lambiase,Sal Lanza,Vincent Lanza,Dave Lowry,James Malone,Bobby Mancuso,Jim Manzione,Frances Buddy McBride,Peter A. Mian,James R. Mitchell,Tim Norman,John L. Oates,Phil Pastuhov,Brian A. Pitts,Joseph E. Pytel,Brendan Quinlan,Collin Quinlan,James Quinlan,Ed Quinn,William Randall,Peter Rowan,Michael Rudolph,Igor Srubshchik,Robert Tompkins,Joseph Viano,James F. Walsh Jr.,Rick Whitfield,Chris Bangma,Joe Collins,Dylan Goss,Guy Holt,Stephen Kaye,Sean Malone,Robert Mehnert,Darren Ryan,Irving Smith
Casting Department	Sophia M. Costas,Patricia DiCerto,Lee Genick,Barbara Harris,Vivian Hasbrouk,Ann Kiker
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Timothy Alberts,Susan Anderson,Joanna Brett,Margaret Codola,Kassandra D Alessandro,Marta Font,Sheila Grover,Barbara Hause,Joni M. Huth,Dain I. Kalas,Lisa Lesniak,Emily Loreto,Cassy McEvoy,Arthur Rowsell,Hartsell Taylor,Susan J. Wright,Michael Anzalone
Editorial Department	Gary Burritt,Laurie Ann Castonguay,Richard Conkling,Tritia Espinoza,Chris Gennarelli,Heather Goodwin Floyd,Phil Hetos,Mark Livolsi,Michael Matzdorff,Greg Parsons,Amanda Pollack,Michael Arlen Ross,Gabriel Wrye,Ofe Yi
Location Management	Trish Adlesic,Robert Ahern,Declan Baldwin,Nathaniel Bonini,Francis R. Brennan,Laura Franses,Stefan Gesek,Deren Getz,Shawn Mihill,Ron Rogers,Sam Rohn,Jen Roskind,Mike S. Ryan,Bernadine Vida,Linda Marshall-Smith,Jennifer L. Pearlman
Music Department	Bill Bernstein,Chris Boardman,Julian Bratolyubov,Tom Brown,Jordan Corngold,Sandy DeCrescent,George Doering,Sean M. Hickey,Jim Hoffman,Leslie Morris,Thomas Pasatieri,Angie Rubin,Marni Sanders,Dennis S. Sands,Steven L. Smith,Curt Sobel,Paul Wertheimer,Richard F.W. Davis,Michael Jay
Script and Continuity Department	Lisa Katcher
Transportation Department	Mike Buckman,Joseph Buonocore,Michael Buonocore,Francis Connolly Jr.,Brendan P. Connolly,Ronald Gildea,Brian Hogan,Herb Lieberz,Jimmy Mahr,Scott Mundy,Timothy Paustian,Frank Röth,Timothy Shannon,Stephen Silva,José Tejada,James Patrick Whalen Jr.
Additional Crew	Eric Agopian,Tamsin Anstey,John M. Antonacchio,Tamara Bally,Melanie Bell,Jeff Berger,Margaret Braun,Cyndi Brenner,Al Cerullo,Remy Chong,Susan Christy,Amy Clark,Jennifer Cogswell,Jeffrey Corazzini,Sara Corrigan,Marianne Crescenzi,Paul Dallanegra,Johnny Egan,Wayne Forman,Steve Ginsburg,Jae Stein Grainger,Brendan Gunn,Tina Hamilton,Cheryl Hendrickson,Rebecca Henriques,Brandon Hollyer,Jay Johnson,Larry Kaplan,Takahide Kawakami,Chad Keller,Linda Krauss,Keri Lederman,Monica Levinson,Kate D. Lewis,David Lindsay,Karen Lockhart,Todd Lubin,Anthony S. Maggiacomo,Pierre Makhoul,Erik Malkovich,Kara Malkovich,Mike Martin,James Maull,Terry McAllister,Frank McKenna,Michael McKenna,Peter McKernan,Robert Mehnert,Frank Metzger,Jerry Mitchell,Julia Morgan,Jamie Mullins,Edmund Nardone,Malve O Meara,Wayne Petrucelli,Douglas Plasse,Matt Power,Jeremy D. Pratt,Doug Pursley,Judy Pursley,Kim Quam,Jodi Reiner,Julio Ribot,Heather Riccabona,Olimpia T. Rinaldi,Vernon Rodriquez,Sharon M. Segal,Darryl A. Smith,Ron Smith,Amanda Taylor,Irapaul Turner,Kim Villanueva,David Wenzel,Stephen Whelan,William W. Wilson,Terrence Beasor,Edoardo Ferretti,Melvin James,Karen Mahan,George A. Parker
Thanks	Lincoln Chafee,Delia E. McDermott,Paulette M. Turcotte
Genres	Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Companies	Universal Pictures, City Light Films
Countries	USA
Languages	English, Dutch
ContentRating	PG-13
ImDbRating	7.2
ImDbRatingVotes	239986
MetacriticRating	43
Keywords	death,birthday,wealth,death personified,fear of death
Year	1998
ReleaseDate	1998-11-13
RuntimeMins	178
RuntimeStr	2h 58min
Plot	Death, who takes the form of a young man, asks a media mogul to act as a guide to teach him about life on Earth, and in the process, he falls in love with his guide’s daughter.
Awards	Awards, 3 wins & 6 nominations
Directors	Martin Brest
Writers	Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, Kevin Wade
Stars	Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani
Produced by	Martin Brest,Celia D. Costas,Ronald L. Schwary,David J. Wally
Music by	Thomas Newman
Cinematography by	Emmanuel Lubezki
Film Editing by	Joe Hutshing,Michael Tronick
Casting By	Ellen Lewis,Juliet Taylor
Production Design by	Dante Ferretti
Art Direction by	Robert Guerra
Set Decoration by	Leslie Bloom
Costume Design by	Aude Bronson-Howard,David C. Robinson
Makeup Department	Stephen G. Bishop,Jean Ann Black,Lynn Campbell,Jane Choi,Richard Dean,Jerry DeCarlo,Tricia Heine,Brenda McNally,Randy Houston Mercer,Beth Buckwalter Miller,Lyndell Quiyou,Joe Rossi,Rob Fitz,Trish Seeney
Production Management	Debbi Bossi,Celia D. Costas,Jessie Ward Dugan,Ray Quinlan,Donna Smith
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Laura Cercone Fiorino,Terry Ham,Keith J. Knight,Amy Sayres,Christopher Surgent
Art Department	Joseph Alfieri,David H. Allen,Tommy Allen,Henry Antonacchio,William Armstrong,JoAnn Atwood,Karla J. Bailey,Meredith Barchat,Paula Bird,Tommy Boles,Steve Brennan,Roland Brooks,Garf Brown,Diana Burton,Jeff Butcher,Rick Cardillo,Ronald Carreiro,Mickey Carter,Dennis Causey,Ed Check,Eric Cheripka,Christine Kaseta Cornelius,Robert Currie,John Davis,John S. DeSimone,Chris DeTitta,Robert DiGrigoli,James Donahue,Thomas C. Dragna Jr.,William Durnin,Edward J. Egan III,Jennifer Engel,Marcus Epps,Ray Fisher,James Fitzpatrick,John J. Flugel,Chris Fousek,Rafael Fraguada,Bobbie Frankel,Charles H. Furey,Gerard J. Furey,Paul Gaily,Shawn Gamache,Julia Garrison,Emily Gaunt,Jim Gilmartin,Tobias Haller,Jay Halligan,Paul Halligan,Sandy Hamilton,Richard Hebrank,Michael Herlihy,John Holland,Jessica Johnson Tavenner,Timothy Joliat,Darrell K. Keister,Andrew W. Kenah,Philip Kennedy,Julius Kozlowski,Steve Krieger,Carl Landi,Gary Levitsky,Timothy Lewis,Gus Magalios,Peter T. Malone,Etienne Martine,Butch McCarthy,Thomas McGrath Woods,Silvija L. Moess,Lyvan A. Munlyn,Robert Murphy,Charles A. Nastacio,John Oates Jr.,Vincent J. Orofino,Susan Peterson,Richard Pfaff,Elizabeth Popiel,Gennaro Proscia,John Ralbovsky,Sonny Rea,Catherine Rooney,David Rotondo,Michael Saccio,Michael Scarola,Kevin Sciotto,Clarissa Shanahan,Kurt Smith,Tyris Smith,Haven Storey,Michael Tavani,Lynn Tonnessen,Mitch Towse,Sylvia Trapanese,Ron von Blomberg,Thomas White,Charlie Whitney,Peter Wilcox,Paul J. Wilson,Joan Winters,Nancy Winters,Michael E. Allegretto,Marc Ameruso,Victoria Krasnakevich,Ross La Terra,Peter Letzelter-Smith,Byron K. Lovelace,Alexandra Mazur,Paul Robotti,Ginny Walsh,Patricia Woodbridge
Sound Department	Ron Bartlett,Benjamin Beardwood,John Benson,Carmen Flores De Tanis,Joe Dorn,Dean Drabin,Joe Earle,Don Givens,Marilyn Graf,Susana Guardiola,Robin Harlan,Allen Hartz,Scott Hecker,Barbara Issak,Chris Jenkins,Kenneth L. Johnson,Samuel F. Kaufman,Linda Keim,James P. Lay,Gary Lewis,Larry Mann,David Melhase,Danny Michael,Chris Miller,Sarah Monat,John Murray,Mark Narramore,Eric A. Norris,Ralph Osborn,Lauren Palmer,Jeff Rosen,Geoffrey G. Rubay,Matt Sawelson,Andrew Schmetterling,Brian Schwary,Mark Smith,Anthony Starbuck,James S. Stewart,Cary Stratton,Bill Ward,Dan Yale,John Soukup
Special Effects by	Robert DeVine,Franco Goss,John Ruggieri,Brian Van Dorn,Noel Brevick
Visual Effects by	Jon Alexander,Chrissie England,Jack Mongovan,Jim Morris,Michael Owens,David Tanaka,Ginger Theisen,Marc Wilhite
Stunts	Bill Anagnos,Nick Brett,Troy Brown,Paul Bucossi,Peter Bucossi,Chris Cenatiempo,John Cenatiempo,Steve M. Davison,Frank Ferrara Jr.,Frank Ferrara,Ralph Ferrara,Tony Guida,Greg Harris,Buddy Joe Hooker,Gino Lucci,Steve Mack,Ralph W. Odum,Michael Russo,Tommy Trama,Scott Wilder,Steve Wooten,Eddie Yansick,Steve Mack,Scott Wilder
Camera and Electrical Department	Lee Ayrton,Eric Boyle,Arnold F. Brown,James J. Callahan,Dave Cambria,Phillip V. Caruso,Michael Cassidy,Jack Coffen,William Coleman,Meredith Collins,Ray Collins,Howard Davidson,Craig DiBona,Bryan Dolan,Thomas Dolan,Tim Driscoll,Michael Dynice,Glen Engels,Gregory Farrell,Kevin Fitzpatrick,William L. Flanagan,Thomas Ford,Jay Fortune,Raymond Fortune,Kenneth Fundus,Dennis Gardner,Stephen Girouard,Dennis Green,Richard Guinness Jr.,Tim Hogan,Andrew Holliday,Richard J. Houpeke Jr.,Victor Huey,Fred Johanns,Robert B. Jones,Billy Kerwick,Edward T. Kerwick,Roger Kimpton,Paul Lambiase,Sal Lanza,Vincent Lanza,Dave Lowry,James Malone,Bobby Mancuso,Jim Manzione,Frances Buddy McBride,Peter A. Mian,James R. Mitchell,Tim Norman,John L. Oates,Phil Pastuhov,Brian A. Pitts,Joseph E. Pytel,Brendan Quinlan,Collin Quinlan,James Quinlan,Ed Quinn,William Randall,Peter Rowan,Michael Rudolph,Igor Srubshchik,Robert Tompkins,Joseph Viano,James F. Walsh Jr.,Rick Whitfield,Chris Bangma,Joe Collins,Dylan Goss,Guy Holt,Stephen Kaye,Sean Malone,Robert Mehnert,Darren Ryan,Irving Smith
Casting Department	Sophia M. Costas,Patricia DiCerto,Lee Genick,Barbara Harris,Vivian Hasbrouk,Ann Kiker
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Timothy Alberts,Susan Anderson,Joanna Brett,Margaret Codola,Kassandra D Alessandro,Marta Font,Sheila Grover,Barbara Hause,Joni M. Huth,Dain I. Kalas,Lisa Lesniak,Emily Loreto,Cassy McEvoy,Arthur Rowsell,Hartsell Taylor,Susan J. Wright,Michael Anzalone
Editorial Department	Gary Burritt,Laurie Ann Castonguay,Richard Conkling,Tritia Espinoza,Chris Gennarelli,Heather Goodwin Floyd,Phil Hetos,Mark Livolsi,Michael Matzdorff,Greg Parsons,Amanda Pollack,Michael Arlen Ross,Gabriel Wrye,Ofe Yi
Location Management	Trish Adlesic,Robert Ahern,Declan Baldwin,Nathaniel Bonini,Francis R. Brennan,Laura Franses,Stefan Gesek,Deren Getz,Shawn Mihill,Ron Rogers,Sam Rohn,Jen Roskind,Mike S. Ryan,Bernadine Vida,Linda Marshall-Smith,Jennifer L. Pearlman
Music Department	Bill Bernstein,Chris Boardman,Julian Bratolyubov,Tom Brown,Jordan Corngold,Sandy DeCrescent,George Doering,Sean M. Hickey,Jim Hoffman,Leslie Morris,Thomas Pasatieri,Angie Rubin,Marni Sanders,Dennis S. Sands,Steven L. Smith,Curt Sobel,Paul Wertheimer,Richard F.W. Davis,Michael Jay
Script and Continuity Department	Lisa Katcher
Transportation Department	Mike Buckman,Joseph Buonocore,Michael Buonocore,Francis Connolly Jr.,Brendan P. Connolly,Ronald Gildea,Brian Hogan,Herb Lieberz,Jimmy Mahr,Scott Mundy,Timothy Paustian,Frank Röth,Timothy Shannon,Stephen Silva,José Tejada,James Patrick Whalen Jr.
Additional Crew	Eric Agopian,Tamsin Anstey,John M. Antonacchio,Tamara Bally,Melanie Bell,Jeff Berger,Margaret Braun,Cyndi Brenner,Al Cerullo,Remy Chong,Susan Christy,Amy Clark,Jennifer Cogswell,Jeffrey Corazzini,Sara Corrigan,Marianne Crescenzi,Paul Dallanegra,Johnny Egan,Wayne Forman,Steve Ginsburg,Jae Stein Grainger,Brendan Gunn,Tina Hamilton,Cheryl Hendrickson,Rebecca Henriques,Brandon Hollyer,Jay Johnson,Larry Kaplan,Takahide Kawakami,Chad Keller,Linda Krauss,Keri Lederman,Monica Levinson,Kate D. Lewis,David Lindsay,Karen Lockhart,Todd Lubin,Anthony S. Maggiacomo,Pierre Makhoul,Erik Malkovich,Kara Malkovich,Mike Martin,James Maull,Terry McAllister,Frank McKenna,Michael McKenna,Peter McKernan,Robert Mehnert,Frank Metzger,Jerry Mitchell,Julia Morgan,Jamie Mullins,Edmund Nardone,Malve O Meara,Wayne Petrucelli,Douglas Plasse,Matt Power,Jeremy D. Pratt,Doug Pursley,Judy Pursley,Kim Quam,Jodi Reiner,Julio Ribot,Heather Riccabona,Olimpia T. Rinaldi,Vernon Rodriquez,Sharon M. Segal,Darryl A. Smith,Ron Smith,Amanda Taylor,Irapaul Turner,Kim Villanueva,David Wenzel,Stephen Whelan,William W. Wilson,Terrence Beasor,Edoardo Ferretti,Melvin James,Karen Mahan,George A. Parker
Thanks	Lincoln Chafee,Delia E. McDermott,Paulette M. Turcotte
Genres	Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Companies	Universal Pictures, City Light Films
Countries	USA
Languages	English, Dutch
ContentRating	PG-13
ImDbRating	7.2
ImDbRatingVotes	239986
MetacriticRating	43
Keywords	death,birthday,wealth,death personified,fear of death