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Barbarians at the Gate (1993)

Barbarians at the Gate (1993)
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This TV movie recounts the true-life story of a corporate takeover in the greed-driven 1980s. James Garner is F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR-Nabisco. Having just been burned by an expensive failure of a smokeless cigarette product, Johnson doesn't wish to incur the wrath of the stockholders. He begins drawing up plans to buy RJR-Nabisco outright so he'll have no one to answer to but himself. Unfortunately for Johnson, his company is also being coveted by sharkish "buyout king" Henry Kravis (Jonathan Pryce), who turns out to have $25 billion at his beck and call. Barbarians at the Gate was adapted by Larry Gelbart from the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. Advertised as a "docucomedy", the film premiered March 20, 1993, over the HBO cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
James GarnerJonathan Pryce, (more)
Director(s):
Glenn Jordan
Theatrical MPAA Rating:
R
Format(s):
DVD
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Synopsis of Barbarians at the Gate

This TV movie recounts the true-life story of a corporate takeover in the greed-driven 1980s. James Garner is F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR-Nabisco. Having just been burned by an expensive failure of a smokeless cigarette product, Johnson doesn't wish to incur the wrath of the stockholders. He begins drawing up plans to buy RJR-Nabisco outright so he'll have no one to answer to but himself. Unfortunately for Johnson, his company is also being coveted by sharkish "buyout king" Henry Kravis (Jonathan Pryce), who turns out to have $25 billion at his beck and call. Barbarians at the Gate was adapted by Larry Gelbart from the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. Advertised as a "docucomedy", the film premiered March 20, 1993, over the HBO cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
107 mins

Complete Cast of Barbarians at the Gate


Director(s):
Glenn Jordan
Writer(s):
Larry Gelbart
Producer(s):
Raymond Stark
Theatrical MPAA Rating:
R(Not For Children)
Barbarians at the Gate Awards:
  • 1993 - Academy of Television Arts and Sciences - Outstanding Made for Television Movie
Warning:  This product is intended for mature audiences only. It may contain violence, sexual content, drug abuse and/or strong language. You must be 17 or older to purchase it. By ordering this item you are certifying that you are at least 17 years of age.

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Member Reviews
 
Lisa N.

Not at all like the book. Johnson/Garner's history prior to RJR is completely omitted and he is portrayed sympathetically with only the slightest acknowledgement that he initiated the whole chain of events. With that in mind it's still a decent movie. Jonathon Pryce's portrayal of Mr. Kravis as a greedy, selfish, narcissist is the highlight of the film even though he didn't get much screen time.

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Richard D.

Worth seeing Jonathan Pryce as the evil-obsessive Kravis and James Garner as the good old boy CEO. But if you are not interested in Wall Street wheeling and dealing, you will probably be bored to tears.

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Jay E.

This was an enjoyable movie with lots of insights about the workings of Wall Street and the people there. As a true movie about a well know leveraged buy out it kept me deeply interested to get a better feel for how it played out.

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