Meet Joe Black

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2:26

Meet Joe Black

PG-13

Released Nov 2, 1998

3h 0m

Fantasy

Romance

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

46%

Tomatometer

52 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), businessman and devoted family man, is about to celebrate his 65th birthday. However, before he reaches that landmark, he is visited by Death (Brad Pitt), who has taken human form as Joe Black, a young man who recently died. Joe and Bill make a deal: Bill will be given a few extra days of his life, and Joe will spend the same time getting to know what it's like to be human. It seems like a perfect arrangement, until Joe falls in love -- with Bill's daughter.

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Critics Consensus

Meet Joe Black is pretty to look at and benefits from an agreeable cast, but that isn't enough to offset this dawdling drama's punishing three-hour runtime.

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Joe Clay

Times (UK)

[A] glossy but overlong update of Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 comedy Death Takes a Holiday.

Mar 28, 2023

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Lisa Alspector

Chicago Reader

A savory, extralong feature whose obvious plotlines unfold with an almost painful slowness that somehow makes them deeper.

Oct 26, 2020

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Ann Hornaday

Baltimore Sun

To call the three-hour-long "Meet Joe Black" leaden would do an injustice to lead.

Rated: 1/4

Oct 26, 2020

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David Oppedisano

Radio Times

This is Hollywood at the crossroads of glossy and classy, with Hopkins at the peak of his powers and Pitt at his most transcendent.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 7, 2024

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Brian Costello

Common Sense Media

A gimmicky premise is made even worse by iffy acting, hilariously bad dialogue, and a slow pace.

Jan 17, 2024

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Ade Adeniji

AdeAdeniji.com

Meet Joe Black was a box office flub back in the late 1990s. But the three hour fantasy-romance movie isn’t all bad and like other cult classics like The Room, is so confidently ridiculous at times, you won't soon forget it.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 20, 2022

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Kian O

A wonderful and interesting story, with strong emotional beats and worthy use of its run time. I’d be happy if it were 30 mins longer

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/02/24

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Colin P

One of my favourite films of all time. I have watched it at least a dozen times, usually every couple of years. Hopkins is superb. The storyline contains a variety of themes, including romance, love, family, treachery, redemption, forgiveness, legacy and, of course, death. The acting is very good from the rest of the central characters and the music well judged. I have never felt the film was overly long and savoured every minute of it. Romantic films are not my usual thing, but this is the exception. Love it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/19/24

Full Review

Christopher P

This movie received some bad reviews which i do not understand. This was a great movie--smart, well written, well acted, incredible soundtrack--a movie that brings with it so many positive emotions. Some criticize it for the length. I guess i'm just one of those where when a movie is so good you want a little extra. Just a couple of very small things i'd take out, but other than that wouldn't change a thing. Definitely one of my all time favorite movies.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/18/24

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Troy C

A perfect Saturday afternoon flick. Stellar cast with stellar performances. Sweet, endearing and graceful.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/16/24

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Audience Member

A wonderful romantic fable where Death itself gets to experience life. The length itself doesn't seem an issue with amazing actors like Anthony Hopkins and, a young Brad Pitt and an all time mesmerising Claire Forlani. Some logical plot questions will remain unanswered, but that's the beauty of the 90's cinema.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/14/24

Full Review

Rodolfo A

Probably one of the best stories I've ever seen. The three-hour film flies by, it's slow, but it's a great watch. After 25 years, it's still enjoyable. It's worth it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/09/24

Full Review

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Martin Brest

Director

Brad Pitt

Joe Black

Anthony Hopkins

William Parrish

Claire Forlani

Susan Parrish

Jake Weber

Drew

Marcia Gay Harden

Allison

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Meet Joe Black: Official Clip - I Like You So Much

3:00

Meet Joe Black: Official Clip - Lightning Could Strike

2:58

Meet Joe Black: Official Clip - Mystery Man

2:30

Meet Joe Black: Official Clip - Joe Says Goodbye

2:51

Meet Joe Black: Official Clip - That Was Wonderful

3:00

Meet Joe Black: Official Clip - Peanut Butter Man

2:23

Meet Joe Black: Official Clip - Bill Introduces Joe

1:53

Meet Joe Black: Official Clip - Am I Going to Die?

2:34

Meet Joe Black: Official Clip - Bill's Birthday Speech

1:35

Meet Joe Black: Official Clip - Undressing Joe Black

2:35

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Meet Joe Black: Trailer 1

2:26

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Synopsis

Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), businessman and devoted family man, is about to celebrate his 65th birthday. However, before he reaches that landmark, he is visited by Death (Brad Pitt), who has taken human form as Joe Black, a young man who recently died. Joe and Bill make a deal: Bill will be given a few extra days of his life, and Joe will spend the same time getting to know what it's like to be human. It seems like a perfect arrangement, until Joe falls in love -- with Bill's daughter.

Director: Martin Brest
Producer: Martin Brest
Screenwriter: Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, Bo Goldman
Distributor: Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co: Universal Pictures, City Lights Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 2, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 18, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $44.6M
Runtime: 3h 0m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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