Heaven Can Wait [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray]

Director: Warren Beatty, Buck Henry Warren Beatty

Overview

Opting for light entertainment after the critical satire of Shampoo (1975), producer-director-writer-star Warren Beatty remade the 1941 comic fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Dimly amiable L.A. Rams quarterback Joe Pendleton (Beatty) is prematurely called to Heaven by an over-eager escort (Buck Henry, who co-directed) after a traffic accident. When archangel Mr. Jordan (James Mason) discovers the error, he offers to return Joe to his body, only to find that it has been cremated. On the verge of playing in the Super Bowl, Joe demands a fit body rather than the old about-to-be-murdered industrialist Farnsworth he has been offered, but he reconsiders when he sees environmentalist Betty Logan (Julie Christie) in Farnsworth's house. Assuming Farnsworth's body while keeping his sweet self, Joe hires his beloved coach Max Corkle (Jack Warden) to get him in shape (after convincing Max who he really is), sets Farnsworth's business on an eco-friendly path, and romances Betty. Farnsworth's homicidal wife (Dyan Cannon) and secretary (Charles Grodin), however, are still determined to succeed in their plan to kill him. When Mr. Jordan finally finds the Super Bowl body Joe wanted, Joe has to trade his old self for the new life -- but will he remember his love for Betty? Heaven Can Wait offered contemporary yet old-fashioned escapism and tapped into the late-1970s vogue for nostalgic fun, becoming one of 1978's most popular summer movies after Grease. Updating the original while following its blueprint, Beatty and co-writer Elaine May switched Joe's sport and turned Joe into a man of his '70s moment, adoring Betty for her convictions and favoring "green" policies over corporate greed. Gently breathing life into a classic form, Heaven Can Wait found romantic innocence in a jaded time, and it went on to receive nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/30/2021
UPC:	0191329207819
Original Release:	1978
Source:	Paramount
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	12,534

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Warren Beatty	Joe Pendleton
Julie Christie	Betty Logan
James Mason	Mr. Jordan
Jack Warden	Max Corkle
Dyan Cannon	Julia Farnsworth
Charles Grodin	Tony Abbott
Buck Henry	The Escort
Vincent Gardenia	Lt. Krim
Joseph Maher	Sisk
Hamilton Camp	Bentley
Arthur Malet	Everett
Stephanie Faracy	Corinne
Jeannie Linero	Lavinia
Harry D.K. Wong	Gardener
George J. Manos	Security Guard
Larry Block	Peters
Frank Campanella	Conway
Bill Sorrells	Tomarken
Dick Enberg	TV Interviewer
Dolph Sweet	Head Coach
R.G. Armstrong	General Manager
Ed Peck	Trainer
John Randolph	Former Owner
Richard O'Brien	Former Owner's Adviser
Joseph F. Makel	Haitian Ambassador
Will Hare	Team Doctor
Lee Weaver	Way Station Attendant
Roger Bowen	Newspaperman
Keene Curtis	Oppenheim
William Larsen	Renfield
Morgan Farley	Middleton
William Bogert	Lawson
Robert E. Leonard	Board Member
Joel Marston	Board Member
Earl Montgomery	Board Member
Robert C. Stevens	Board Member
Bennie Massa	Coliseum Security Guard
Peter Tomarken	Reporter
Lisa Blake Richards	Reporter
William Sylvester	Nuclear Reporter
Charlie Charles	High-Wire Performer
Nick Outin	Chauffeur
Jerry Scanlan	Hodges
Jim Boeke	Kowalsky
Marvin Fleming	Gudnitz
Deacon Jones	Gorman
Les Josephson	Owens
Jack T. Snow	Cassidy
Charlie Cowan	Football Player
Joe Corolla	Football Player
Bryant Gumbel	TV Sportscaster
Jim Healy	TV Sportscaster
Curt Gowdy	TV Commentator
Al DeRogatis	TV Color Analyst
Elliott Reid	Waiter
Byron Webster	Waiter
Garrett Craig	Swimmer
Paul D'Amato	Swimmer's Friend
Robert Fortier	Wealthy Man in Restaurant
Bernie Massa	Coliseum Security Guard
Earl Montgomery, Jr.	Actor
Penelope Milford	Actor
Allison Caine	Voices
Dave Grusin	Composer

Technical Credits

Warren Beatty

Elaine May

Warren Beatty	Producer,Director,Screenwriter
Buck Henry	Director,Producer
Howard W. Koch Jr.	Executive Producer
Robert MacDonald	Special Effects
Charles Maguire	Executive Producer,Producer,Executive Producer
Elaine May	Screenwriter
John Wilkinson	Sound/Sound Designer
Tom Overton	Sound/Sound Designer
Charles McGuire	Producer

Editorial Reviews

It might be named after Ernst Lubitsch's 1943 masterpiece, Heaven Can Wait, but this 1978 Warren Beatty vehicle was actually a remake of the 1941 classic Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Not bad company for co-director, co-writer and star Beatty to keep. He may have set out to fill some pretty big shoes, but he chose his collaborators well, recruiting co-director Buck Henry and screenwriter Elaine May to help re-create an intelligent, old-fashioned story. The snappy, amiable fun remained intact, making it one of the biggest hits of the year. It took much convincing for Beatty to get his ex-girlfriend, Julie Christie, in the role as his leading lady. When she finally agreed, she wasn't happy to be doing it and the resulting performance isn't her best. Legend has it that during the filming of an actual scene -- one where the voices weren't being recorded -- she told Beatty that she couldn't believe that he was still making such vapid films as this one.

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