| Romance & Cigarettes | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | John Turturro |
| Produced by | Coen brothers John Turturro John Penotti Justin Berfield |
| Written by | John Turturro |
| Starring | James Gandolfini Susan Sarandon Kate Winslet Steve Buscemi Bobby Cannavale Mandy Moore Mary-Louise Parker Aida Turturro Christopher Walken Barbara Sukowa Elaine Stritch Eddie Izzard Amy Sedaris |
| Cinematography | Tom Stern |
| Editing by | Ray Hubley |
| Studio | GreeneStreet Films Icon Entertainment International United Artists |
| Distributed by | Boroturro |
| Release date(s) | September 6, 2005 (Venice) September 13, 2005 (TIFF) September 7, 2007 (United States) |
| Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2,935,242[1] |
Romance & Cigarettes is a 2005 American musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Turturro. The film stars an ensemble cast, including James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Aida Turturro, Christopher Walken, Barbara Sukowa, Elaine Stritch, Eddie Izzard, and Amy Sedaris.
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Nick Murder (James Gandolfini) is an iron worker who has been married for years to Kitty (Susan Sarandon), who works as a seamstress and is the mother of Nick's three daughters. While Nick loves his wife, his head is turned by Tula (Kate Winslet), a sexy lingerie salesgirl, and soon they're having a passionate affair. When Kitty discovers the infidelity, she becomes enraged and kicks him out, forcing him to decide what he really wants from life and what's most important to him. Along the way, many of the characters periodically turn to their favorite songs to explain and amplify their emotions, lip-synching along with the original recordings.
The film, initially scheduled for an August 2005 release date, was postponed, partly so it could premiere at the Venice Film Festival, partly – some speculate – so that it could be better prepared for Academy Award nomination.
The film opened in the United Kingdom on March 24, 2006, the Netherlands on March 30, 2006, and the rest of Europe in April 2006. United Artists had been scheduled to distribute the film in the United States, but when the film finally got a limited release on September 7, 2007, director Turturro decided to distribute the film himself. United Artists remains a partial rights holder to the film, but Icon International, actor Mel Gibson's company, now has full distribution rights in the U.S.[2] Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is distributing the film outside the U.S. and Sony Pictures (under license from Icon International, and ironically a cousin company to UA) released the DVD on February 12, 2008.
Romance & Cigarettes has received mixed reviews; on Rotten Tomatoes, as of October 2011, it has a score of 52%, with the consensus "This movie musical aims for fun and modern, but Romance and Cigarettes is too scattered and uneven to achieve either."[3]
On April 27, 2008, the film was viewed at the 10th Annual Ebertfest, in Champaign, Illinois. Ebertfest is Roger Ebert's film festival near his hometown of Urbana, Illinois. Aida Turturro and Tricia Brouk were scheduled to attend the event. Ebert gave the film 4 stars out of 4.
The scene of Christopher Walken performing Tom Jones's Delilah received moderate popularity on YouTube. It has 1.3 million views since 2006.[4]
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