Barbarians at the Gate (1993)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Boring

Best movie of this year hands down!

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

"Barbarians at the Gates" is the insane true story of the leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco. The stars are James Garner, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Riegert, Joanna Cassidy, Fred Dalton Thompson, Jeffrey DeMunn, Tom Aldredge, and David Rasche.Upset that the stock price for RJR Nabisco isn't rising, and realizing that new item that was to raise it, Premier Cigarettes, taste and smell horrible, F. Ross Johnson (Garner), the CEO, decides to buy the company at $75 a share, which is $4 more than the stock's highest price. He gets the idea after talking to an expert in the LBO field, Henry Kravis (Pryce). When Kravis finds out that he's not involved in this LBO, he becomes upset. Soon, thanks to press releases that come out too soon, and embarrassing information hitting the papers, there are not only many players in the field, but the price being bid has gone up to $112 a share, meaning that the company will be put into billions and billions of dollars in debt.The battle of egos is outrageous and all too believable in this story of what became a gigantic takeover contest. The film compresses some of the incidents, but the characters and behind the scenes happenings make it an intriguing, entertaining, and ultimately depressing story. Outside the New York office, one is shown countless homeless people while inside, people are talking about billions of dollars. A true '80s story of greed.James Garner is fantastic and funny as good old boy, F. Ross Johnson, who gets into a game of oneupmanship with the elegant, quietly intense Kravis - Jonathan Pryce gives a tremendous performance as a man seething underneath while speaking very softly. Peter Riegert, as the man trying to put together the deal for Shearson Lehman is wonderful, as are two actors I've had the privilege of seeing on stage, Tom Aldredge as the head of the board of RJR Nabisco, and David Rasche, as a banker trying to get in on the deal. Fred Dalton Thompson and Joanna Cassidy are a married couple - she's the publicist for the LBO, and he's the CEO of American Express.After seeing the documentary about Enron, I really thought nothing could top it. This does. If you want to be appalled by corporate behavior, don't miss it.

This was my first HBO made for TV film and holds a dear place in my film collection. Not only that, "Barbarians at the Gate" holds a dear place among the explanation of greed in the 1980's - right next to my other favorite depiction of greed in the 80's film, Oliver Stone's "Wall Street".But this isn't too much pulp fiction, it's based on a real tale of the sale of RJR Nabisco where its CEO (played brilliantly by James Garner), his financiers at American Express, the board and all the other barbarians who find out its for sale wanting a piece of it. Doesn't sound funny? Oh, but it is. When you have something as popular as a profitable tobacco company which owns several other family oriented divisions such as cookies and crackers, the fight for ownership becomes very real and very profitable.And the fight is played out well within the 1980's theme of The Regan/Bush era of greed and is very funny. Sad, true and funny. From the CEO's greed of private jets, several homes, humongous salary and failed product introductions to the CEO's obviously younger, trophy wife who is just about to have her husband buy her a PhD so she can be seen as 'serious' and not be called 'cupcake' all the time; to the public relations expert who wants the account-if not from her neighbor/friend then from the person who will eventually give the winning offer, to the brokers who put together buying plans to usurp his offers, to the board that never liked the CEO's extravagances but if his money deal was big enough, who cares?; to the CEO's family dog who's spoiled rotten while you know during that time there were people starving in the streets -- you'll watch in some shock and awe but can't help but laugh at how all of this comes together. And how everyone will mess over everyone just to get it. All for the top prize: Ownership of RJR Nabisco.Excellent, excellent film.

A story of greed, F. Ross Johnson's attempt to rid himself of troublesome shareholders who bug him with cries to curb his excessive management and lifestyle ignites a bidding war for ownership of RJR-Nabisco. Through sessions of number-crunching, men's room meetings, and personal loyalties and competitions, the fate of the company and those involved is decided and standards set for what will be allowed or punished by the captains of industry of the 1980's heyday.For a movie dealing with such despicable and probably in real life boring characters, the final product is delightful, entertaining, and almost educational. While the level of greed and excess is appalling, you can't help getting caught up in the wheeling and dealing and the competition, rooting for one side or the other while knowing you shouldn't like either one. The greedy CEO or the heartless junk-bond trader (Henry Kravis), take your pick and enjoy. No one is immune to the satire of the film, down to the trophy wives and their manicurists who know more about Wall Street than they do. Still, the comic tone is maintained; as much as you want to hate them, the film avoids moralizing, content just to ridicule and make the audience laugh.The attention to detail in the movie is simply brilliant. Whenever there is a TV screen or someone lighting a cigarette in the background, pay attention or you may miss a good laugh. It boasts clearly the best costumes of any Wall Street movie, from costume parties to Bush-Quayle hoedowns. Witty and satirical dialogue is accompanied by a well-chosen score. Details and incidents with little to do with the actual plot add to the entertainment value while not distracting from the story. Overall a great movie, funny and cool, makes you think a little: would you really want to be one of them?

HBO Films has done it again. This 1993 release is yet another example of why they are one of the greatest producers of telefilms. In this film, James Garner portrays F. Ross Johnson, a crafty CEO who tests the many theories and predictions of the possible success that RJR Nabisco Corporation can have with a "smokeless cigarette" product. A satrical tale that's based on a true story.