Hoffa - wikipedia Hoffa This article is about the 1992 film. For the American labor union leader, see Jimmy Hoffa. For other uses, see Hoffa ( disambiguation ). Hoffa Theatrical release poster Directed by Danny DeVito Produced by Caldecot Chubb Danny DeVito Edward R. Pressman Written by David Mamet Starring Jack Nicholson Danny DeVito Armand Assante J.T. Walsh Robert Prosky Music by David Newman Cinematography Stephen H. Burum Edited by Robert C. Jones Production company Canal+ Jersey Films Distributed by 20th Century Fox Release date December 25, 1992 ( 1992 - 12 - 25 ) Running time 140 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $35 million Box office $29.3 million Hoffa is a 1992 American biographical crime film directed by Danny DeVito and written by David Mamet, based on the life of Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa. Most of the story is told in flashbacks before ending with Hoffa 's mysterious disappearance. Jack Nicholson plays Hoffa, and DeVito plays Robert Ciaro, an amalgamation of several Hoffa associates over the years. The film features John C. Reilly, Robert Prosky, Kevin Anderson, Armand Assante, and J.T. Walsh in supporting roles. The film received mixed reviews and grossed just $29 million against its $35 million budget. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Release 3.1 Critical response 3.2 Box office 3.3 Accolades 4 References 5 External links Plot On July 30, 1975, Jimmy Hoffa and his longtime friend, Bobby Ciaro are impatiently waiting in the parking lot of a roadhouse diner. Moving in vignettes from his early years when Hoffa was a Teamsters union organizer who was working to organize the various trucking firms and laundries around Detroit, Michigan, Hoffa 's life over the preceding four decades gradually unfolds. In 1935, a young Hoffa approaches a parked truck, inside of which driver Ciaro is taking a nap. Hoffa pitches the benefits of joining the Teamsters and gives Ciaro a business card, on which he has written : `` Give this man whatever he needs. '' A few days later, Ciaro reports to work to find Hoffa attempting to organize the workers. Hoffa blurts out they 'd ridden 85 miles together, and Ciaro is fired. Ciaro later accosts Hoffa with a Bowie knife, but Hoffa 's associate Billy Flynn pulls a gun and Ciaro drops the knife. Ciaro joins the pair in the arson bombing of a laundry whose owner has refused to cooperate with the Teamsters. Flynn is badly burned and dies. Ciaro succeeds him as Hoffa 's right - hand man. During a Teamsters strike, strikers fight with non-union workers and police, Hoffa is taken to a local Mafia boss. Ciaro, who speaks Italian, comes along and translates. An alliance between the Teamsters and the mob is formed. Hoffa meets Carol D'Allesandro, who would become his closest mob ally. Hoffa rises to the presidency of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. His illegal activities include the use of Teamster funds to make loans to the mob. At a Congressional hearing, Hoffa is questioned by Robert F. Kennedy regarding his suspicious union activities. A loud and bitter feud between Kennedy and Hoffa grows, especially after John F. Kennedy is elected President and Bobby becomes Attorney General. Hoffa, on a hunting trip with D'Allesandro, discusses ways to exploit the union 's pension fund. Having no paper with them, the plans are sketched on the back of a hunting license. Subsequently, Hoffa is betrayed by a junior associate, Peter Connelly, who testifies at Hoffa 's trial. The critical evidence against Hoffa is the hunting license on which the plans to raid the Teamster 's pension fund were written. Hoffa surrenders to federal officials and serves time in a Pennsylvania federal prison while Connelly 's uncle, Frank Fitzsimmons, takes over as Teamsters boss. Ciaro, also convicted and imprisoned, is freed and immediately begins working for Hoffa 's release. D'Allesandro suggests that the Teamsters endorse Richard M. Nixon for President, so that in exchange for Teamster endorsement, Hoffa will receive a presidential pardon. Hoffa gets out and expects to again run the Teamsters, but learns that one of the conditions of his release is that he is ineligible to run the union for 10 years. Hoffa meets with D'Allesandro and demands to the gangster that Fitzsimmons be killed, which resulted in someone wiring Fitz 's car to explode. D'Allesandro believes that Hoffa is `` too hot '' and says, `` I ca n't get close to it. '' Hoffa leaves with the matter unresolved. Ciaro delivers a message to D'Allesandro that unless the matter of Fitzsimmons can be settled, Hoffa will go to the press. D'Allesandro says to tell Hoffa that `` everything 's gon na be all right '', and they should all meet the next day at `` the roadhouse '', a remote diner. Hoffa and Ciaro spend several hours waiting in the parking lot, but D'Allesandro never arrives. A purported union driver has been waiting for hours in the diner, allegedly for a part for his truck, engaging Ciaro in conversation. He is invited to meet Hoffa in person by bringing a cup of coffee to the car. The driver reveals himself to be a hit man as he draws a gun. Just exactly who sent this ' hit man ' is not revealed, however, the implication is that he was sent by D'Allesandro in retaliation for Hoffa 's threat to ' go to the press '. Hoffa and Ciaro are gunned down in the parking lot. Several associates arrive and dump Ciaro 's body on top of Hoffa 's and they get in the car and drive it into the back of a large truck that had driven up as the shootings were taking place. The camera focuses on the roll - up door of the truck showing the different state plates, implying a final bit of irony : that the truck driver, in all likelihood, is a Teamster driver. And it 's a truck that takes them away in secrecy. The truck drives off into the sunset. Cast Jack Nicholson as Jimmy Hoffa Danny DeVito as Robert Ciaro Armand Assante as Carol D'Allesandro J.T. Walsh as Frank Fitzsimmons John C. Reilly as Peter Connelly Kevin Anderson as Robert F. Kennedy John P. Ryan as Red Bennett Frank Whaley as Young Trucker in Diner Natalia Nogulich as Josephine Hoffa Nicholas Pryor as Hoffa 's attorney Robert Prosky as Billy Flynn Paul Guilfoyle as Ted Harmon Karen Young as Young Woman at RTA Cliff Gorman as Solly Stein Release Critical response Hoffa received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 54 % based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5 / 10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating `` mixed or average reviews ''. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of `` B '' on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 / 4 stars and wrote, `` Here is a movie that finds the right look and tone for its material. Not many directors would have been confident enough to simply show us Jimmy Hoffa instead of telling us all about him. This is a movie that makes its points between the lines, in what is not said. It 's not so much about what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, as about the fact that something eventually would. '' Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also gave the film 3.5 / 4 stars and said, `` In the more ambitious Hoffa, Nicholson plays the Detroit street fighter who rose from the ranks of trucker and labor organizer to build the Teamsters into the nation 's most powerful union. The boldness of director Danny DeVito 's violent epic is matched by Nicholson 's astonishing physical and vocal transformation into Jimmy Hoffa. The changeover might constrict another actor. Not Nicholson. '' Conversely, Alex von Tunzelmann of The Guardian gave the film a grade of C --, saying : `` The film attempts a cautious middle route between celebrating Hoffa as a working - class hero and condemning him as a gangster. But despite a watchable performance from Nicholson, after more than two hours of screentime, Jimmy Hoffa remains an enigma. '' Box office The film was released on Christmas Day 1992 in 1,066 theaters. It debuted at no. 5 at the US box office. making $6.4 million in its opening weekend. In its second weekend, it dropped at # 6 and grossed $4.8 million. It went on to gross $24.2 million in the U.S. and $5 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $29.3 million. Accolades Hoffa earned two Oscar nominations for Cinematography and Makeup. Nicholson 's performance sharply divided critics, with the actor receiving both a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor and a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor. DeVito also received a Razzie nomination for Worst Director. Ultimately, none of the nominated awards were won. The film was also nominated for the Golden Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists : 2005 : AFI 's 100 Years of Film Scores -- Nominated References Jump up ^ `` Hoffa ''. The Numbers. Jump up ^ `` Hoffa ( 1992 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 6, 2018. Jump up ^ Turan, Kenneth ( 1992 - 12 - 25 ). `` MOVIE REVIEWS : ' Hoffa ' : Negotiating a Complex Life : Saga of Teamsters Leader Is Dark, Sinister, Brooding ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012 - 06 - 05. Jump up ^ Canby, Vincent ( 1992 - 12 - 25 ). `` Review / Film ; Big Labor 's Master Of Manipulation ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2012 - 06 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Hoffa ( 1992 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 6, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Hoffa reviews ''. Metacritic. Retrieved March 6, 2017. Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( 1992 - 12 - 25 ). `` Hoffa review ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Retrieved 2012 - 06 - 05. Jump up ^ Travers, Peter ( 1992 - 12 - 25 ). `` Hoffa ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012 - 06 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Hoffa : DeVito should n't have hassled the Hoff ''. The Guardian. 2010 - 03 - 11. Retrieved 2012 - 06 - 05. Jump up ^ Fox, David J. ( 1992 - 12 - 28 ). `` Christmas Crowd Opts for the Tried and True : Box office : Holiday weekend sees expected surge in moviegoing with established hits selling most of the tickets ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012 - 06 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Berlinale : 1993 Programme ''. berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011 - 05 - 31. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 2016 - 08 - 06. External links Hoffa on IMDb Hoffa at the TCM Movie Database Hoffa at AllMovie Hoffa at Rotten Tomatoes Hoffa at Box Office Mojo Films by Danny DeVito Directed The Ratings Game ( 1984 ) Throw Momma from the Train ( 1987 ) The War of the Roses ( 1989 ) Hoffa ( 1992 ) Matilda ( 1996 ) Death to Smoochy ( 2002 ) Duplex ( 2003 ) Curmudgeons ( 2016 ) Produced Reality Bites ( 1994 ) Get Shorty ( 1995 ) Feeling Minnesota ( 1996 ) Gattaca ( 1997 ) Out of Sight ( 1998 ) Living Out Loud ( 1998 ) Man on the Moon ( 1999 ) Drowning Mona ( 2000 ) Erin Brockovich ( 2000 ) How High ( 2001 ) Camp ( 2003 ) Along Came Polly ( 2004 ) Be Cool ( 2005 ) Even Money ( 2006 ) Relative Strangers ( 2006 ) Freedom Writers ( 2007 ) Reno 911 ! : Miami ( 2007 ) A Walk Among the Tombstones ( 2014 ) David Mamet Plays written The Duck Variations Sexual Perversity in Chicago Squirrels American Buffalo Reunion The Water Engine A Life in the Theatre The Woods Lakeboat Edmond The Frog Prince Glengarry Glen Ross Vint The Shawl Speed - the - Plow Bobby Gould in Hell Oleanna The Cryptogram Boston Marriage Faustus Romance November Race The Anarchist China Doll The Penitent Films written only A Life in the Theatre ( 1979 ) The Postman Always Rings Twice ( 1981 ) The Verdict ( 1982 ) The Untouchables ( 1987 ) We 're No Angels ( 1989 ) Glengarry Glen Ross ( 1992 ) Hoffa ( 1992 ) The Water Engine ( 1992 ) A Life in the Theatre ( 1993 ) American Buffalo ( 1996 ) The Edge ( 1997 ) Wag the Dog ( 1997 ) Ronin ( 1998 ) Lansky ( 1999 ) Lakeboat ( 2000 ) Hannibal ( 2001 ) Edmond ( 2005 ) Films written and directed House of Games ( 1987 ) Things Change ( 1988 ) Homicide ( 1991 ) Oleanna ( 1994 ) The Spanish Prisoner ( 1997 ) The Winslow Boy ( 1999 ) State and Main ( 2000 ) Heist ( 2001 ) Spartan ( 2004 ) Redbelt ( 2008 ) Lost Masterpieces of Pornography ( 2010 ) Phil Spector ( 2013 ) Family Rebecca Pidgeon Lindsay Crouse Zosia Mamet Clara Mamet Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hoffa&oldid=857357235 '' Categories : 1992 films English - language films 1990s biographical films 1990s drama films 20th Century Fox films American biographical films American films American drama films Biographical films about mobsters Fictional portrayals of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Films about the labor movement Trucker films Films directed by Danny DeVito Films produced by Danny DeVito Screenplays by David Mamet Films set in Michigan Films set in New York City Films set in Pittsburgh Films scored by David Newman Cultural depictions of Robert F. Kennedy Cultural depictions of Jimmy Hoffa Films shot in Detroit Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Հայերեն Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Українська 7 more Edit links This page was last edited on 31 August 2018, at 05 : 09 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who played jimmy hoffa in the movie hoffa
Answer: Jack Nicholson