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Search and Destroy

Play trailer Poster for Search and Destroy R Released Apr 28, 1995 1h 30m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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33% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 41% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A self-help guru's televised teachings inspire a down-and-out businessman to pursue his dream of making a movie.

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Search and Destroy

Critics Reviews

View All (9) Critics Reviews
Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: B- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Emanuel Levy Variety Artist David Salle makes a disappointing feature debut with a misconceived satire that poorly directed and is not much helped by a dream cast of eccentric indie actors Rated: C Dec 3, 2006 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 1/5 Jun 27, 2005 Full Review Jason Clark Matinee Magazine Rated: 0/5 Sep 18, 2002 Full Review Dragan Antulov rec.arts.movies.reviews Rated: 5/10 Aug 16, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (24) audience reviews
camille l Unique film de l'artiste David Salle, Search and Destroy ne sait jamais trop de quoi veut-il parler, au delà de la difficulté d'écrire un scénario, et surtout se perd dans des méandres qui ne valent réellement que par la qualité de l'interprétation des seconds rôles qui jalonnent le film. De ce fait, Christopher Walken, Ethan Hawke, John Turturro et Dennis Hopper ont une présence tout à fait bienvenue dans des séquences particulièrement étranges, mais l'intrigue principale n'est pas tenue et ne fait absolument aucun sens. Des films sur la créations cinématographique, les années 90 en sont remplies et force est de constater que Search and Destroy n'apporte rien au genre. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member There's a lot going on in this movie that people won't get, and I didn't really get it the first time I saw it back in the '90s. It's a movie about mythology, the Oedipus complex, and the old maxim that "Behind every great man is a great woman." The main character (Martin) goes on an adventure chasing the mythology he has become obsessed by, a self-help book written by Dennis Hopper's character, who serves as a father figure. Christopher Walken's character also serves as a father figure, While Marie, Hopper's secretary (played by the charming Illeana Douglas) does double duty as a mother figure and the woman who saves the film's protagonist in several ways. And it's really a movie about mid-life crisis. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Despite a cast of cinematic nutters to die for, David Salle's unkempt farce is notable only for their eccentric performances. Although it has moments of humour, the darker tone towards the end jars a bit and the script, rather like the group of characters themselves, doesn't really know where it's going. A bit of a dud but worth a watch for Walken and co. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member An interesting watch. Search and Destroy definitely has some great elements shown through a great cast but in the end, the whole film tends to fall flat. Salle, an unknown, has shown that he doesn't know how to capture the movie audience though he does know how to work with good dialogue and the movie elements. It is a pity that he hasn't pursued a career as a director, because if this was his first, he might've later become a modern American Kubrick. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Actually I only watched this movie because Christopher Walken is in it. Never seen Walken play a role like that before....it was entertaining. You get to see Walken sing and dance too. ;-) My favorite scene in the movie would be the "FUCK MIAMI" scene. John Turturro was hilarious in it. :))) Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Walken, Hopper, Turturro, Scorsese... Need I say more? No, but I will anyway: pretty much every character is full of shit in this super-cool and funny black comedy, with Hopper and Walken stealing the show and Griffin Dunne perfectly playing the supremely pathetic loser who learns about life the hard way Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Search and Destroy

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Movie Info

Synopsis A self-help guru's televised teachings inspire a down-and-out businessman to pursue his dream of making a movie.
Director
David Salle
Producer
Dan Lupovitz, Ruth Charny, Elie Cohn
Screenwriter
Howard Korder, Michael Almereyda
Distributor
Pioneer Entertainment, October Films
Production Co
October Films, Autumn Pictures, Millennium Films
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 28, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 12, 2017
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Stereo, Surround
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