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Opération Shakespeare

Original title: Renaissance Man
  • 1994
  • Tous publics
  • 2h 8m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
20K
YOUR RATING
Danny DeVito in Opération Shakespeare (1994)
Watch Trailer [EN]
Play trailer0:31
2 Videos
81 Photos
Coming-of-AgeQuirky ComedyComedyDrama

A failed businessman is hired by the army to teach a group of underachieving recruits in order to help them pass basic training.A failed businessman is hired by the army to teach a group of underachieving recruits in order to help them pass basic training.A failed businessman is hired by the army to teach a group of underachieving recruits in order to help them pass basic training.

  • Director
    • Penny Marshall
  • Writer
    • Jim Burnstein
  • Stars
    • Danny DeVito
    • Gregory Hines
    • James Remar
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    20K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Penny Marshall
    • Writer
      • Jim Burnstein
    • Stars
      • Danny DeVito
      • Gregory Hines
      • James Remar
    • 83User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews
    • 44Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos2

    Trailer [EN]
    Trailer 0:31
    Trailer [EN]
    Clip
    Video 2:01
    Clip
    Clip
    Video 2:01
    Clip

    Photos81

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    Top cast67

    Edit
    Danny DeVito
    Danny DeVito
    • Bill Rago
    Gregory Hines
    Gregory Hines
    • Sergeant Cass
    James Remar
    James Remar
    • Captain Tom Murdoch
    Ed Begley Jr.
    Ed Begley Jr.
    • Jack Markin
    Lillo Brancato
    Lillo Brancato
    • Pvt. Donnie Benitez
    • (as Lillo Brancato Jr.)
    Stacey Dash
    Stacey Dash
    • Pvt. Miranda Myers
    Kadeem Hardison
    Kadeem Hardison
    • Pvt. Jamaal Montgomery
    Richard T. Jones
    Richard T. Jones
    • Pvt. Jackson Leroy
    Khalil Kain
    Khalil Kain
    • Pvt. Roosevelt Nathaniel Hobbs
    Peter Simmons
    • Pvt. Brian Davis, Jr.
    Gregory Sporleder
    Gregory Sporleder
    • Pvt. Melvin
    • (as Greg Sporleder)
    Mark Wahlberg
    Mark Wahlberg
    • Pvt. Tommy Lee Haywood
    Cliff Robertson
    Cliff Robertson
    • Colonel James
    Ben Wright
    • Private Oswald
    Ann Cusack
    Ann Cusack
    • Bill's Secretary
    Jeb Brown
    Jeb Brown
    • Young Executive #1
    Paul Abbott
    • Young Executive #2
    Nat Mauldin
    • U Love to Rent Voice
    • (voice)
    • Director
      • Penny Marshall
    • Writer
      • Jim Burnstein
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews83

    6.219.8K
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    Featured reviews

    lakergrl

    LOVED IT!!!

    I love this movie. I first saw it when I was about eight, and it inspired me to read Shakespeare. Of course, because of my age, I was unable to understand HAMLET, but I thought I would just mention it. This movie is a great portrayl of how a formerly selfish man changed himself and his students through Shakespeare. This movie is deep, but it's also very funny and entertaining. There are some great, brilliant moments in here, especially when DeVito says, "All I know is, the choices you make dictate the life you lead. To thine own self be true. " There is also an excellent scene where one of the students recites Shakespeare for Hines, the drill sergeant. This is a fantastic movie that I absolutely loved, as did my English teacher. I highly recommend it. Of course, if you only find Bruce Willis movies entertaining, this movie is not for you.
    Otter-17

    If you're old enough, this movie is brilliant

    Unless life has kicked you in the nuts as an adult a few times, then you may not appreciate the thought and point that has gone into this little masterpiece.

    This movie is about how a self serving man (typical adman in NYC) working in a self serving profession (advertising), learns to be unselfish by serving others. He does this first because he has to (get a job because the Government is stopping your welfare), but after a bit of experience, he does it because he wants to.

    Yep, it's that simple, but makes some very true and adult points. Devito's character isn't seen to have kids, isn't seen to have a wife, or anything happy in his life at all except an expensive apartment, but the expensive apartment doesn't apparently give him any contentment either.

    I for one would be interested in seeing a sequel because i would like to see if the main character reverted to type if he got a job in advertising in say, Nunchuck South Dakota, or did he end up as teacher in a prestigious East Coast finishing school. Yay, let's all throw our hats in the air!
    k_luifje

    Danny de Vito is great!

    This film is a very nice one. There are a few reasons for that. Danny de Vito (playing Bill Rago) is great and plays his role very enthusiast. De Vito's best scene is the one where he is in the office where he's going for a job. He totally does NOT want to be there because he's ashamed of being there. When he gets a teaching job offered, the look on his face,when he finds out he is supposed to teach soldiers in the army, is marvelous. All the other actors are playing (very) good, especially Gregory Hines as drill-instructor who wants Bill Rago gone. The few scenes Hines and De Vito share together are no less than hilarious, that's for sure.

    The story is not as strong as the (sometimes) brilliant acting from the whole cast. To be honest, the story of Jim Burnstein is predictable and boring. Not only is the ending something you know 30 minutes before it's there, also the most important lines of the story are predictable and because of that boring. I can't spoil the movie, but let me tell you: For this film, Jim Burnstein wanted all happy things and endings, even when it's not appropriate.

    If you have read Willliam Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' (a brilliant book, if I may say so) you'll enjoy this film a lot more.

    If you like this motion picture you should also see 'Dead Poets Society' with Robin Williams.
    7phadrs

    Truly nice, for the heartwarmer crowd

    Army recruits categorized as, shall we say, neither the best nor brightest, but they somehow get turned on when reluctant teacher DeVito reads Shakespeare's Hamlet to them and it hits a chord. The high point of the film is reached when one of those recites on command his "irrelevant" Shakespeare on a rainy night's drill to Sergeant Gregory Hines and finds in his memory from "Henry V" (with lead-in not at hand) "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me, Shall be my brother." This is a truly nice movie, about heroes but not about touting war. At a later point, my usually stoic wife shed some tears. Danny De Vito is surprising to me. He generally leaps over my expectations, no matter how far I raise them up.
    9thirdpaige

    A little cheesy, but i will never get tired of it.

    The older I get the more I realize how this movie is a little cheesy, But if you really like a feel good movie you can't go wrong with this one. Danny Devito did a wonderful job playing a teacher in the army.(a job he didn't ask for and is not looking forward to)He is brought in to teach these kids that everyone thinks are stupid. Every one of the characters left an impression in my mind. They all did a wonderful job at playing their roles.Each one of the student's are different and everyone knows someone in real life like each one of them. It is a little like dead poet's society but with more comedy and a more "happy good feeling" I am always in a GREAT mood at the end of this movie!

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    Related interests

    Elsie Fisher in Dernière Année (2018)
    Coming-of-Age
    Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Cate Blanchett, Bud Cort, Anjelica Huston, Michael Gambon, Noah Taylor, Matthew Gray Gubler, Seu Jorge, and Waris Ahluwalia in La Vie aquatique (2004)
    Quirky Comedy
    Will Ferrell in Présentateur vedette: La légende de Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to Penny Marshall's memoir "My Mother Was Nuts", the part of Sergeant Cass was originally offered to Ving Rhames. He turned it down, as a friend (Quentin Tarantino) had written a part for him specifically in Pulp Fiction. When he turned the role down, it was offered to Gregory Hines. Penny Marshall's only concern was that Gregory Hines was too nice. Even when he was yelling at the troops, he came off as nice.
    • Goofs
      Near the end of the movie, Sergeant Cass is marching a new bunch of recruits, and the group of men are supposed to be singing the "Hamlet" cadence. However, although we can hear them, none of the men's lips are moving.
    • Quotes

      Bill Rago: All I know is, the choices we make dictate the life we lead. "To thine own self be true."

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Cowboy Way/Beverly Hills Cop III/Renaissance Man/The Flintstones/Little Buddha (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)
      Performed by Us3

      Written by Mel Simpson, Geoff Wilkinson, Rahsaan Kelly and Herbie Hancock

      Courtesy of Blue Note Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc.

      Under license from CEMA Special Markets

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    FAQ18

    • How long is Renaissance Man?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 3, 1994 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Renaissance Man
    • Filming locations
      • Fort Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina, USA(Training Scenes)
    • Production companies
      • Touchstone Pictures
      • Cinergi Pictures Entertainment
      • Parkway Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $40,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $24,332,324
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $5,557,590
      • Jun 5, 1994
    • Gross worldwide
      • $24,332,324
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 8m(128 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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