Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me is a 2013 documentary film directed by Chiemi Karasawa about the life and career of Elaine Stritch.[2] Alec Baldwin and Broadway producer Cheryl Wiesenfeld served as executive producers on the film. It opened in theaters on 21 February 2014,[2] shortly before Stritch's death in July 2014.[3]
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me | |
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Film poster | |
Directed by | Chiemi Karasawa |
Produced by | Chiemi Karasawa Elizabeth Hemmerdinger |
Starring | Elaine Stritch |
Music by | Kristopher Bowers |
Cinematography | Shane Sigler Joshua Z. Weinstein Rod Lamborn |
Edited by | Kjerstin Rossi Pax Wassermann |
Distributed by | Sundance Selects |
Release date |
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Running time | 81 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $288,896[1] |
Karasawa and crew began following Stritch in 2011, she was 86 at the time.[4]
Subjects
In addition to Stritch, several of her close friends and collaborators were featured in the film:
- Alec Baldwin
- Rob Bowman
- Tina Fey
- James Gandolfini
- Paul Iacono
- Cherry Jones
- Julie Keyes
- Nathan Lane
- Tracy Morgan
- Harold Prince
- John Turturro
- George C. Wolfe
The film was also dedicated to the memory of Gandolfini, who died before it was released.[5]
Release
The film had limited release in US theaters on 21 February 2014.[2]
It has been released to video on demand[6] and was later available on Netflix. [7]
Reception
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me holds a 99% rating at Rotten Tomatoes from 67 reviews, with an average score of 7.89/10. The critical consensus reads: "Brutally honest and utterly compelling, Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me offers a riveting, vanity-free portrait of its legendary subject while offering a few essential truths about the human condition."[8]
Jake Coyle of The Associated Press called it "an irresistibly entertaining documentary that captures Stritch during what she unsentimentally calls 'almost post-time.' After seven decades performing in New York — on Broadway, in countless cabaret nights at the Cafe Carlyle — Stritch's enormous energy has been knocked by the increasing years, diabetes, and surgeries on her hip and eyes. But Shoot Me, made over the last few years, is a document not of Stritch's dwindling, but of her feisty persistence."[9]
References
- "Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
Domestic Total as of Apr. 13, 2014
- Holden, Stephen (20 February 2014). "Recalling Velvet, Pretzels and Beer, She's Still Here". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- Weber, Bruce (18 July 2014). "Elaine Stritch, Broadway's Enduring Dame, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- "Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me". Rolling Stone. February 21, 2014.
- "James Gandolfini died of cardiac arrest". News24. Associated Press. June 20, 2013. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- Hetrick, Adam (17 March 2014). ""Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me" Documentary Now Available On Demand". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- Bernstein, Paula (25 July 2014). "8 New Documentaries Streaming on Netflix Now: 'Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me,' 'Gideon's Army' and More". Indiewire. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- "Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- Coyle, Jake (26 March 2014). "Movie review: 'Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me'". Associated Press. Retrieved 15 April 2014.