Adventure musical

Ishtar (1987): Cast, Ratings, Box Office & Where to Watch

Name: Ishtar
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Musical
Released: 1987-05-15
Duration: 1 h 47 min
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani, Warren Beatty

Ishtar is a 1987 adventure musical starring Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani and Warren Beatty. It runs 1 hour 47 minutes and earned $14.4 million worldwide on a $55 million budget. Critics gave it 40% on Rotten Tomatoes and 51 on Metacritic, and IMDb users rate it 4.7/10. Rent or buy it on Amazon Video and Apple TV Store.

IMDb rating: 4.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 40%
worldwide gross: $14.4M
Metascore: 51

Where to watch Watch the trailer

Released: May 15, 1987
Runtime: 1h 47m (107 min)
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Musical
Original language: English
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Budget: $55M
After the credits: No No extra scene

The story

What Is Ishtar About?

The premise of Ishtar without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

Two musicians, a charming singer-songwriter and his cynical friend, embark on a journey through the Middle East, hoping for success. However, their simple quest quickly spirals into a complex web of international espionage. They become entangled with a mysterious and beautiful rebel, finding themselves pursued by the CIA and caught in a dangerous game of intrigue and adventure.

Ishtar Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags

cia
morocco
singer
cia agent
cold war
friendship between men
on the road
farce
exhaustion
camel riding
arab
politics

+38 more

political satire
nightclub
nightclub singer
fish out of water
bad singing
bad nightclub singer
vulture
desert
camel
title spoken by character
woman with a gun
blind animal
telling a joke
woman dresses as a man
title directed by female
cia central intelligence agency
scene during opening credits
title written by female
reference to tony bennett
reference to the beach boys
smoking tobacco
cigarette smoking
down on one's luck
wedding anniversary
flashback
songwriting duo
songwriting team
girlfriend breaks up with boyfriend
feeling like a failure
character says tomorrow is another day
rabbi
talked out of suicide
reference to honduras
reference to canary islands
archaeological dig
interrupted conversation
interrupted telephone call
woman mistaken for a man

Where to watch

Where to Watch Ishtar

Rent or buy it from Amazon Video and Apple TV Store. US availability and prices from JustWatch.

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Cast & crew

Ishtar Cast

Dustin Hoffman leads the cast, with Isabelle Adjani and Warren Beatty.

Ratings

Ishtar Reviews & Ratings

Critics gave Ishtar 40% on Rotten Tomatoes and 51 on Metacritic, and IMDb users rate it 4.7/10.

IMDb

4.7 /10
See on IMDb
Rotten Tomatoes

40% Tomatometer

Popcornmeter 39%
See on Rotten Tomatoes
Metacritic

51 Metascore

User score 6.1
See on Metacritic
TMDB

45% User score
See on TMDB

Plot

Ishtar Plot Summary

What happens in Ishtar from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 15 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 4-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

In the bustling metropolis of New York City, two aspiring singer/songwriters, Chuck Clarke and Lyle Rogers, find themselves captivated by the dream of success as they gaze into the window of a Sam Goody record store. Chuck is convinced that the only thing separating them from music legends like Simon and Garfunkel or Bruce Springsteen is the crucial presence of an agent. Eager to make their mark, he invites talent agent Marty Freed (played by Jack Weston) to see them perform at Song Mart. However, Marty’s feedback sends them reeling; he informs them that their performance lacks the necessary stage presence and “shtick.”

Full summary

The whole story of Ishtar, scene by scene

Read the full summary