Home Alone (1990)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Chris Columbus

Writer (WGA):

John Hughes (written by)

Release Date:

16 November 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Family

Tagline:

A Family Comedy Without The Family.

Plot:

An eight year-old, who is accidentally left behind while his family flies to France for Christmas, has to defend his home against idiotic burglars.

Plot Keywords:

House | Christmas | Vacation | Holiday | Booby Trap

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Macaulay Culkin	...	Kevin McCallister
Joe Pesci	...	Harry
Daniel Stern	...	Marv
John Heard	...	Peter McCallister
Roberts Blossom	...	Marley
Catherine O'Hara	...	Kate McCallister
Angela Goethals	...	Linnie
Devin Ratray	...	Buzz
Gerry Bamman	...	Uncle Frank
Hillary Wolf	...	Megan
John Candy	...	Gus Polinski
Larry Hankin	...	Officer Balzak
Michael C. Maronna	...	Jeff (as Michael C. Maronna)
Kristin Minter	...	Heather
Daiana Campeanu	...	Sondra
Jedidiah Cohen	...	Rod
Kieran Culkin	...	Fuller
Senta Moses	...	Tracy
Anna Slotky	...	Brooke
Terrie Snell	...	Aunt Leslie
Jeffrey Wiseman	...	Mitch Murphy
Virginia Smith	...	Georgette
Matt Doherty	...	Steffan
Ralph Foody	...	Johnny - Gangster #1
Michael Guido	...	Snakes - Gangster #2
Ray Toler	...	Uncle Rob
Billie Bird	...	Woman in Airport
Bill Erwin	...	Man in Airport
Gerry Becker	...	Officer #1
Victor Cole	...	Officer #2
Porscha Radcliffe	...	Cousin
Brittany Radcliffe	...	Cousin
Clarke Devereux	...	Officer Devereux
Dan Charles Zukoski	...	Pizza Boy
Lynn Mansbach	...	French Woman
Peter Siragusa	...	Lineman
Alan Wilder	...	Scranton Ticket Agent
Hope Davis	...	French Ticket Agent
Dianne B. Shaw	...	Airline Counter Person
Tracy J. Connor	...	Check Out Girl
Jim Ryan	...	Stock Boy
Ken Hudson Campbell	...	Santa
Sandra Macat	...	Santa's Elf
Mark Beltzman	...	Stosh
Ann Whitney	...	Drugstore Clerk
Richard J. Firfer	...	Store Manager
Jim Ortlieb	...	Herb the Drugstore Clerk
Kate Johnson	...	Police Operator
Michael Hansen	...	Airport Driver
Peter Pantaleo	...	Airport Driver
Jean Claude Sciore	...	French Gate Agent
Monica Devereux	...	Flight Attendant
Edward Bruzan	...	Polka Band Member
Frank Cernugel	...	Polka Band Member
Eddie Korosa	...	Polka Band Member
John Hardy	...	Polka Band Member
Robert Okrzesik	...	Polka Band Member
Leo Perion	...	Polka Band Member
Vince Waidzulis	...	Polka Band Member
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Larry Nazimek	...	Airline Pilot (uncredited)
Luciano Saber	...	Airport Traveler (uncredited)
Linda Wylie	...	Stewardess (uncredited)

Directed by
Chris Columbus

Writing credits (WGA)
John Hughes		(written by)

Produced by
Tarquin Gotch	....	executive producer
John Hughes	....	producer
Mark Levinson	....	executive producer
Mark Radcliffe	....	associate producer
Scott M. Rosenfelt	....	executive producer

Original Music by
John Williams

Cinematography by
Julio Macat

Film Editing by
Raja Gosnell

Casting by
Janet Hirshenson
Jane Jenkins

Production Design by
John Muto

Art Direction by
Dan Webster

Set Decoration by
Eve Cauley
Daniel B. Clancy		(as Dan Clancy)

Costume Design by
Jay Hurley

Makeup Department
Dominic Mango	....	assistant hair stylist
Linda Melazzo	....	assistant makeup artist
Kimberly Phillips	....	key makeup artist (as Kim Phillips)
Linda Rizzuto	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Mack Bing	....	unit production manager
Ron Payne	....	post-production supervisor
Jeanne Van Cott	....	executive production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Giovannetti Jr.	....	second assistant director
Geoffrey Hansen	....	second second assistant director
Mark Radcliffe	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Troy Borisy	....	lead person
William Dambra	....	property manager
Edward England	....	construction coordinator
Karen Fletcher Trujillo	....	set designer
William B. Fosser	....	set designer
Joeseph H. Gilmartin	....	construction foreman
Randy Gordon	....	construction foreman
Mark Haack	....	assistant to production designer
Kim S. Hobbs	....	assistant set decorator
Bill Jackson	....	art department
Cyril A. Matthys	....	set dresser (as Cyril Matthys)
Amie McCarthy	....	buyer
John Mikels	....	stand-by painter
Pat Raney	....	construction foreman
Sam Ruggiero	....	buyer
Barb Schuppert	....	assistant props
Paul Stanwyck	....	painter
Robert Bernacchi	....	art department production assistant (uncredited)
David J. Chamerski	....	props (uncredited)
Robert E. Knight	....	signwriter (uncredited)
Troy Osman	....	construction foreman (uncredited)

Sound Department
James R. Alexander	....	sound mixer
Robert Batha	....	assistant sound editor
Chris Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin E. Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tim Chau	....	sound editor
Chris Connelly	....	sound recordist
Dino Dimuro	....	sound editor
Victor Ray Ennis	....	assistant sound editor (as Victor Ennis)
Scott Martin Gershin	....	sound designer
Stan Gilbert	....	supervising adr editor
Rick Hart	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin Hearst	....	sound editor (as Raoul)
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley mixer
Glenn T. Morgan	....	sound editor
Alan L. Nineberg	....	adr editor
Kelly Oxford	....	sound editor
Dan M. Rich	....	sound editor
Bob Ryan	....	cable person
Jill Smith	....	assistant sound editor
Wylie Stateman	....	supervising sound editor
Alicia Stevenson	....	foley artist
Kim Waugh	....	digital sound effects recordist
Tim Webb	....	sound recordist
Jeffrey Wilhoit	....	foley artist
Michael D. Wilhoit	....	supervising sound editor
Jeffrey A. Williams	....	boom operator
Corey Coken	....	additional adr recordist (uncredited)
Bill Henderson	....	sound re-recording engineer (uncredited)
Steve Mann	....	sound editor (uncredited)
David Young	....	digital sound technician (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Sam Barkan	....	special effects foreman
Fran Beirs	....	first special effects
Kenny Myers	....	special effects makeup
William Purcell	....	special effects coordinator (as Bill Purcell)
Ron Wild	....	assistant special effects makeup

Visual Effects by
Kevin Nordine	....	optical effects

Stunts
Troy Brown	....	stunts (as Troy James Brown)
Tim A. Davison	....	stunts (as Tim Davison)
Leon Delaney	....	stunts
Freddie Hice	....	stunt coordinator
Rick Le Fevour	....	stunts
Larry Nicholas	....	stunts
Manny Perry	....	stunts (as Manuel Perry)
William Purcell	....	stunts
Troy Brown	....	stunt double: Joe Pesci (uncredited)
Leon Delaney	....	stunt double: Daniel Stern (uncredited)
Larry Nicholas	....	stunt double: Macaulay Culkin (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
William Allen Jr.	....	grip
Art Bartels	....	key grip
Rick Brown	....	grip (as Richard D. Brown)
Michelle Crenshaw	....	second assistant camera
Vincent Donohue	....	chief lighting technician
Lex DuPont	....	first assistant camera
John P. Friday	....	electrician
Brian C. Glover	....	assistant camera: "b" camera
Mark R. Lindberg	....	electrician
Gregory Lundsgaard	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Daniel A. Miller	....	dolly grip
Dick Oakes	....	best boy electric
Brad Ruby	....	camera loader
Dick Sayers	....	grip
Ronald Sherman	....	generator operator
Don Smetzer	....	still photographer
Dennis Smith	....	camera operator
Tama Takahashi	....	first assistant camera
Nick Thomas	....	best boy electric
Joe Tomko Jr.	....	best boy grip

Casting Department
Catherine Holzer-Ballowe	....	extras casting (as Holzer-Roche)
Jacqueline King	....	casting assistant: Los Angeles (as Jackie King)
Barbara L. Roche	....	extras casting (as Holzer-Roche)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mickey Antonetti	....	costume supervisor
Jane Blank	....	seamstress
Jennifer Jobst	....	costumer
Cathy Newport-Logan	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Jerrie Fowler	....	assistant editor
Kathryn Himoff	....	assistant editor
Mike Milliken	....	color timer
Tim Silano	....	first assistant editor
Steve Kraus	....	editing systems technician (uncredited)
L. James Langlois	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Charles Mose Brown	....	composer: song "Please Come Home For Christmas"
Terry Brown	....	scoring crew
John Bruno	....	scoring crew
Chuck Garsha	....	scoring crew
Albert Hague	....	composer: song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"
Jo Ann Kane	....	music copyist
Southside Johnny Lyon	....	music producer: "Please Come Home for Christmas"
John Neufeld	....	orchestrator
Herbert W. Spencer	....	orchestrator
Armin Steiner	....	score mixer
Jorge Vdovichenko	....	scoring crew
Kenneth Wannberg	....	music editor
John Williams	....	music producer: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)
Angela Morley	....	additional orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Frank Brichetto	....	driver
John Hardy	....	transportation captain
James F. Hogan	....	transportation captain
Patrick Lynn	....	driver
Kevin Maxwell	....	driver
Tom O'Malley	....	driver (as Thomas O'Malley)
Armand Paoletti	....	transportation coordinator
Arnie Plutz	....	driver
George Voss	....	driver

Other crew
Jacolyn Baker	....	location manager
Craig Bernstein	....	assistant: Mr. Rosenfelt
Raymond Bulinski	....	craft service
Kathleen Caton	....	production coordinator
Andrew Charlton	....	set production assistant
Elizabeth Devereux	....	assistant: Mr. Columbus
Heather Ehret	....	location production assistant
Jan Evans	....	script supervisor
Adam Goodman	....	office production assistant
Charmian Jago	....	assistant: Mr. Levinson
Tammy Karabas	....	assistant production coordinator
Aimee Kohn	....	set production assistant
Ernie Malik	....	unit publicist
Mark Mamalakis	....	assistant location manager
Dianne Mapp-Cheek	....	production accountant (as Dianne Cheek Blasco)
William Ryan	....	assistant: Mr. Hughes (as Bill Ryan)
Gayle Sandler	....	assistant production accountant
Bob Saunders	....	office production assistant
Robert Schick	....	set production assistant
Seth Vamos	....	set production assistant
Jane Vickerilla	....	assistant: Mr. Hughes
Judith Walder	....	accounting assistant
Cathy Weiss	....	production secretary
Kevin Bassett	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Mark Gulbrandsen	....	dailies projectionist (uncredited)
Mark Gulbrandsen	....	dailies technician (uncredited)
Ross L. Kulma	....	set paramedic (uncredited)
Bailey Pryor	....	assistant to producer (uncredited)
Bailey Pryor	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Lieutenant Billy Gallagher	....	special thanks
Charles Geocaris	....	special thanks
Lisa Howard	....	special thanks
Colleen McShane	....	special thanks
Lt. Joe Sumner	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Hughes Entertainment
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1990) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (1990) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1991) (Japan) (theatrical) (Far East)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (1990) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (1991) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Fox Film (1990) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Fox Video (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Gativideo (199?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1993) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2001) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• CBS Records  soundtrack released by
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Jo Anne Kane Music Services  copying
• Otto Nemenz International  camera equipment provided by
• R/Greenberg Associates  titles
• Sony Classical  soundtrack published by
• Tux Wagon Catering  catering

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Iceland:L | Australia:PG | South Korea:All | Portugal:M/6 | New Zealand:PG | Netherlands:AL (original rating) | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:12 | Norway:10 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

656 Lincoln Avenue, Winnetka, Illinois, USA

Company:

Hughes Entertainment

Trivia:

In the scene where Harry bites Kevin's finger, Joe Pesci actually bit Macaulay Culkin, leaving a scar on his finger

Goofs:

Continuity: Harry protects his burnt hand with a handkerchief when he climbs along the rope towards the tree house, but alternating shots show the tail of the handkerchief either sticking out or not.

Quotes:

Kate McCallister: Heather, did you count heads?
Heather McCallister: Eleven, including me. Five boys, six girls, four parents, two drivers, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 305 (2008)

Soundtrack:

You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Surreal and hilarious

"Home Alone" is both one of the best holiday films of all time and one of the most popular movies from the 90's. Its success was phenomenal and it's a movie that stayed in the history of cinema. This movie also made Macaulay Culkin a superstar.

The plot is quite original and surreal: a child who is home alone and is capable of making the bandits's lives miserable? Sure, it's an impossible story, but who cares? The movie is simply hilarious, very pleasant to watch, full of amusement, very entertaining and contains slapstick humor too.

Our story takes place in Chicago at Christmas time, which makes this a Christmas film. In fact, the movie has lots of Christmas decorations, lights, snow and many other details which create the feeling and magic so characteristic of Christmas. To accent the Christmas atmosphere even more, there are a cup of nice Christmas carols such as "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (performed by Brenda Lee), "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch", "White Christmas", "Carol of the Bells", "Oh Holly Night" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".

Kevin McCallister is the hero of the story. He's not just a kid, he's a very smart one. In fact, although at first he's a little afraid of some things in his house after being accidentally left alone, he gets over it soon. He also knows about the intentions of the "wet bandits" Harry and Marv and prepares them lots of unexpected "surprises". Their lives won't be easy with Kevin defending his house. Sure, they are the villains and as such they get what they deserve, but they do suffer a lot too. We almost feel sorry for them.

The "wet bandits" were nicknamed like that by Marv because their "calling card" (according to him) was to let the water running in every houses they robbed. That said, both "wet bandits" are hilarious. Harry is the most serious and cranky of the two and he often swears words I can't understand. I know this movie (and the 2nd one either) since my childhood days and I always wondered what is Harry swearing. To this day, I still don't understand what is he swearing. For what it's worth, it's always hilarious to see him swearing like that. As for Marv, he is the most stupid of two (although both of them are stupid) and maybe that's why people tend to sympathize more with him. Marv's stupidity also makes him the funniest of the two. Marv is the typical tall and clumsy guy with no brain, a bit like Averell Dalton from the Lucky Luke comics.

The funniest parts of this movie are so many. It would take forever to number all of them. As such, I will only tell quickly some of the most hilarious parts for me. Whenever Kevin fools the bandits in a try to make them believe the whole family is at home when Kevin is all alone. Most moments with Marv are always a full plate. Whenever the traps for the bandits are in action is always hilarious too, especially the one with the barrel of the air rifle - that one is hysterical! For some reason, I also find funny whenever Kevin screams maniacally. It's also funny when Kevin fools the Little Nero's Pizza boy and Marv with the gangster film "Angels with Filthy Souls", although in the case of the Pizza boy is unfair for him - poor guy.

Old Marley is an interesting character. I always felt bad for him because of the lies Buzz tells about him. Buzz is a jerk and Uncle Frank isn't any less. Buzz is mean for Kevin and Uncle Frank openly shows he doesn't like Kevin.

This movie is a classic. We can also feel a certain "pizza taste" while watching this movie because pizza appears more than once in this movie.

Macaulay Culkin is terrific as the clever kid Kevin McCallister. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are awesome as the "wet bandits". The others actors are great in their roles as well. It's also delightful to see John Candy as Gus Polinski - «Polka, polka, polka...».

This should definitely be on Top 250.