I hope you enjoyed my first deep dive into a single film! Next episode we’ll be taking a look at the upcoming Vertigo remake and how remaking classic films may be better than you think! If you enjoyed, consider subscribing, liking the video and letting me know what you thought! :)

Ishtar changed my life for the better. Definitely a misunderstood jewel.

Cliched as it is, I don't think it's a coincidence that out of the three key players in the story of Ishtar, the only one who was sentenced to cinema jail was the woman. This was good to watch, I've heard about Ishtar but never knew the background. Great video!!!

Great video, very well researched! It's a shame how this movie's production went, you can tell there's a lot of potential hiding between the pages. However I do think May's story is exemplary of how much women in Hollywood aren't taken seriously when it comes to directing. I mean, every single man on this crew seriously thought he could make her OWN movie better than she could?! Not to mention the disaster that went on during Mikey and Nicky's production because of that same reason.

I finally saw it last month, and I couldn't understand where all the hate came from. It's kind of fun to see Hoffman and Beatty just be silly, and that Hoffman was the ladies' man and Beatty the milquetoast. Nothing here that should have made it such the disaster it turned out to be.

Thank you very much for this! Another phenomenal work. I get happy whenever I get a notification for the channel. Never dissapointed and it always makes my day.

1:02 Actually, Hoffman and Beatty have both defended Ishtar.

Loved this video! I’ve never even heard of Ishtar and now I NEED to see it!!

This video is incorrect about _Mikey and Nicky._ May had been increasing the number of takes required from film to film, scene to scene, until even minor scenes would require 40 to 50 takes. By the end of principal photography, she was editing over one million feet of film, more than twenty times what a normal production would require. The lengthy editing phase stretched to over a year, and Paramount studio was getting impatient. To prevent studio interference on the final edit, she sabotaged the release by stealing two critical reels from the vault to hide in the garage of a friend, thinking that this would prevent a "premature" studio edit. Paramount released the butchered version anyway after taking final edit rights in a lawsuit. It was poorly edited, had serious continuity flaws, and bombed at the box office. After all the lawsuits, Elaine May finally got the rights to her final edit, and it was finally released in 1986. And that was the last movie that she ever made for Paramount.

I think A New Leaf is coming out in blu-ray just now, but none of the other three are available officially, which is a huge blow to those who want to follow up this very good video.

i would be interested in seeing the different cuts of ishtar.

Another great video! Would love one of Heaven's Gate and the after effects of Michael Cimino's career because of its failure.

It's a shame that there's no fancy Elaine May blu ray boxset from a label like Criterion, Eureka or Indicator. It's only 4 films so would be nice and compact but with the rights issues surrounding Heartbreak Kid and the already cancelled blu ray of Ishtar, I doubt it will ever happen.

History will show that Ishtar is one of the greatest films of all time

These men are pawns

I have a huge soft spot for it The songs they made together were hilariously bad 😊 Both Hoffman and Beatty have defended Ishtar

During the filming of Mikey and Nicky, May spent huge amounts of money filming continuing to film after the scene had ended. Once, she kept filming evening though the actors had gone home for the day.

Great video! Really enjoyed this and learned a lot

Another super informative video!I’d love to see a video about Heaven’s Gate 😊

"...alongside such classics as the Treaty of Versailles and new Coke". I subscribed earlier on the video but yeah, subscribed.

Great channel, my wife and I just started watching.

I’ve honestly never seen it and all I know of the movie is it’s infamy through pop culture. Is it as bad as everyone says?

It was an attempt to make an 1980's version of a Hope/Crosby movie of the 1940's.

i love ishtar!!!

This movie is just great! 😂 ok, maybe not great, but so hilarious, to me it is a Cult. (I like the kind of movie as Kiarostami's "Where Is the Friend's House?", so maybe that explains something 😅 )

Maybe Warren Beatty should have considered writing and directing the movie himself.

Love this. I quite liked Ishtar myself!

3,2,3,4-4,2,3 AND These men are PAWNS! I put a price of 20,000 dirham on their heads. Next they will be hailed as the true messenger of GOD! They were just a couple of songwriters, who came to Ishtar, to break into show business. Easy boy, easy boy, easy boy, easy boy! What the hell's the matter with him is he blind?! Well yeah he is, bu-but he's in perfect condition. So how did they wind up on everyone's hit list? Your life is in danger. Behave normally we have guns pointed at your back. No don't put your hands up you idiot! Oh little darlin'. My little darlin'. I can't believe these men may control the fate of the Middle East. Oh where, ar-are you? Do it! Ayiyiyiyiyiyi schmechahii buttahotsfayaaah! This is unbelievable. HOOPA HOOPA HOOPA Kno-ow well-a. That my love-a Are the two American messengers of god dead yet? Is this the oasis? Does this look like an oasis to you? Yeah look at the birds! Are those vultures? YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH Wa-as just fo-or you He's aiming at us! Would you stop being paranoid! Run smuck, they're trying to kill us! Warren Beatty. Dustin Hoffman. Isabelle Adjani. Your girl? How did she get to be your girl? ONLY YOU! I think they're wonderful! Ishtar: Written and directed by Elaine May Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha this is some of our best work!

I hate warren Beatty but Heaven can wait is one of the best old films I’ve ever seen. Had no idea it was written by her

The movie wasn't hated, it was only a disaster at the box office

I love this movie, it has hilarious moments. Hollywood story, too many cooks. Warren, shame on you.

It was a great movie

Just saw Ishtar for the first time pretty recently. It's definitely better than it's reputation suggests but i wouldn't call it a great film. It's just ok with a few redeeming highlights due to the acting of Beatty, Hoffman, & Grodin. i really enjoyed the first act & the leads are certainly endearing. But i felt that not far into the 2nd act, it starts losing steam. The film kind of a turns into a whole different movie going from an underdog buddy story to a fish out of water adventure flick, making it seem a little disjointed. I'd give it a C+.

Scorcese is right. The comedy is sublime. Hollywood doesn't like sublime. And Heaven's Gate is awesome - I think the audience felt it was too ethnic for a Western.

This is why they had to make laws and rules too hire women.