The Score
Directed by	Frank Oz
Produced by	Gary Foster
Written by	Daniel E. Taylor, Kario Salem
Starring	Robert De Niro Edward Norton Marlon Brando Angela Bassett
Music by	Howard Shore
Editing by	Richard Pearson
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	13 July 2001 (USA)
Running time	124 min
Language	English
Budget	~ US$68,000,000
Gross revenue	$113,579,918

The Score is a 2001 crime drama directed by Frank Oz and starring Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Angela Bassett and Marlon Brando.

It was the final film performance for Brando and the only time he and De Niro appeared in a film together (although they had previously portrayed the same character, Vito Corleone, in The Godfather Part II).

The screenplay was based upon a story by Daniel E. Taylor and Emmy-winner Kario Salem.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Reception 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Plot

In Montreal, a professional safe cracker who wants to retire, Nick Wells (De Niro), is persuaded to engage in one last heist by his friend Max (Brando), who plans the caper and recruits a younger thief, Jack Teller (Norton).

They intend to steal a priceless French scepter, once thought lost but rediscovered as it was brought into Canada illegally. However the job requires getting the artifact out of the heavily-guarded Customs House, where Teller has taken a maintenance job. In order to avoid suspicion, Teller pretends to be Brian, who is mentally challenged.

Nick intends to retire to spend more time with his girlfriend (Angela Bassett) and run his jazz club full-time. But he knows that he is in danger of being apprehended by the law as well as being double-crossed by his untrustworthy partners.

[edit] Production

During the production, Brando repeatedly argued with Oz and called him "Miss Piggy".^[1] Oz later blamed himself for the tension and cited his tendency to be confrontational rather than nurturing in response to Brando's acting style.^[2]

Most of the conversations between De Niro and Brando are improvised. Norton later admitted he wasn't very fond of the script and only did the film to work with De Niro and Brando.

This film was Brando's final completed film before his death in 2004. Two years after his death, he appeared in the film Superman Returns in archive footage as Superman's father Jor-El, a role he played in the original 1978 film Superman and in the 1980 sequel Superman II.

[edit] Reception

The film received a mix of positive and critical reviews, due to some critics expecting more from a film with such a celebrated cast. Peter Travers, a film critic for Rolling Stone, pointed out that when "two Don Corleones team up", he expected "the kind of movie that makes people say, 'I'd pay to see these guys just read from the phone book.'"^[3] Instead, what he had to say about it was: "There's nothing you can't see coming in this flick, including the surprise ending. Quick, somebody get a phone book." However, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it three and a half stars out of four, calling it "the best pure heist movie in recent years."^[4]

Frank Oz on the DVD commentary defends the film as one in which he desired to take risks. Therefore, they started filming with an incomplete script and used several shooting methods that are usually frowned upon in the industry.

After a July 13, 2001 opening, the sixty-eight million dollar film earned a gross domestic box office take of $71,107,711. Combined with the foreign box-office, the worldwide total is $113,579,918. ^[5]

Angela Bassett won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her portrayal of Wells' girlfriend, Diane.

The film received a rating of 74% fresh on rottentomatoes.com.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Score at the Internet Movie Database
• The Score at Rotten Tomatoes

v • d • e Films directed by Frank Oz 1980s The Dark Crystal (1982) • The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) • Little Shop of Horrors (1986) • Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) 1990s What About Bob? (1991) • HouseSitter (1992) • The Indian in the Cupboard (1995) • In & Out (1997) • Bowfinger (1999) 2000s The Score (2001) • The Stepford Wives (2004) • Death at a Funeral (2007)