Steal This Movie!

Theatrical Release Date: 2000 08 18 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 031398756729

Studio: Lions Gate

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Nudity, Adult Language, Substance Abuse]

Summary: Steal This Movie! is a dramatic account of the tumultuous life and times of Abbie Hoffman, one of the most visible and influential figures of America's 1960s counter-culture. (Its title was inspired by Hoffman's irreverent "survival guide," Steal This Book.) Hoffman's founding of the Youth International Party (better known as the "Yippies") and inventive acts of street theater -- including an "exorcism" of the Pentagon and the riotous protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago -- made him a household name and a star of the anti-war movement. They also earned him enemies, and he was eventually arrested for trying to sell cocaine to an undercover cop, a bust that he contended was a set-up meant to discredit him. Rather than face a long prison sentence, Hoffman went underground, leaving behind his wife and children and posing as "Barry Freed," who became a respected environmental activist. In time, Freed acknowledged that he was Hoffman, spent two months in jail, and returned to activism full-time until his 1989 death. Steal This Movie stars Vincent D'Onofrio as Hoffman, Janeane Garofalo as his wife Anita, Kevin Corrigan as Jerry Rubin, Troy Garity as Tom Hayden, and Jeanne Tripplehorn as Joanna Lawrenson, who became romantically involved with Barry Freed. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Historical Film

Features: Widescreen
5.1 Dolby Digital
Production commentary tracks
Cast, crew, and subject interviews
Bobby Seale interview
Pig for president spots
Deleted scenes
Production artwork
Scene access
Interactive menus
Storyboard comparisons
Trailer
English, French, Spanish subtitles

Steal This Movie!

Format: DVD

Release Date: 01/23/2001

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 107 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish,French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Scene Index
0. Scene Index
1. Main credits [2:56]
2. Exclusive [3:26]
3. Political theatre [4:09]
4. Ambition [3:31]
5. Living room [3:01]
6. Violence [4:55]
7. Misinformation [4:02]
8. Lawyer [4:04]
9. Chicago [3:45]
10. Third party [2:19]
11. Activist [4:37]
12. Admonishment [2:44]
13. Thoughts [3:40]
14. Freedom [3:54]
15. Book [3:51]
16. America [3:22]
17. Bad Karma [3:31]
18. Nightmare [2:57]
19. Love story [2:49]
20. Home [2:19]
21. Bodyguard [2:35]
22. Male bonding [3:45]
23. Sorry [4:14]
24. Homework [3:55]
25. Diagnosis [3:42]
26. Important [2:50]
27. Cointelpro [4:12]
28. Time [3:02]
29. Youth [4:44]
30. End credits [4:41]

Derek Armstrong

As with many biopics, Steal This Movie is a competently made "greatest hits" that fails to penetrate emotionally. What's dispiriting here is that the life in question is joyously ostentatious, yet the film comes across as comparatively limp. Vincent D'Onofrio has long been considered a cinematic chameleon, subjugating his true self to whatever the role requires. You'd think he'd be a great choice to don Abbie Hoffman's jester hat, but his performance suffers compared to other cinematic versions of the infamous yippie, specifically the vocal gusto Hank Azaria brings to an animated Hoffman in Chicago 10. D'Onofrio does well with the more serious moments of Hoffman's later life, when he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and went underground to elude the feds. But the scenes that are supposed to represent the essential Hoffman -- such as him getting married nude in a public park, wearing a pig mask -- are a bit pale. Two other creative choices share the blame for that impression: 1) Cinematographer Denis Lenoir decided to go for retro period accuracy, using washed-out and grainy film stock, which drives a bit of a wedge between the style and the performances; 2) Bruce Graham's script starts out structured as a series of flashbacks based on interviews that took place in 1977, which removes some urgency from the events depicted, then catches up with the movie's present tense, which leaves the narrative feeling scattershot. More than anything, Steal This Movie gives the sense of having failed the spirit of its subject. Abbie Hoffman would have wanted a movie about his life to be outrageous and outside-the-box, but Steal This Movie is too conventional to have won his approval. Michael Cera fans, take note: In his first feature film performance, he plays Hoffman's eight-year-old son, america Hoffman, spelled with a lower-case "a." ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Vincent D'Onofrio  Executive Producer 
Jon Avnet  Executive Producer 
Bruce Graham  Screenwriter 
Robert Greenwald  Director 
Robert Greenwald  Producer 
Mader  Composer (Music Score) 
Jacobus Rose  Producer 
Ken Christmas  Executive Producer 
Vincent D'Onofrio  Actor 
Janeane Garofalo  Actor 
Jeanne Tripplehorn  Actor 
Kevin Pollak  Actor 
Donal Logue  Actor 
Alan Van Sprang  Actor 
Troy Garity  Actor 
Ingrid Veninger  Actor 
Kevin Corrigan  Actor 

Country: USA