Made in Heaven (film)
Encyclopedia
Made in Heaven is a 1987
feature film directed by Alan Rudolph, script from Bruce A. Evans
and Raynold Gideon, and produced by Lorimar Productions
. The film stars Timothy Hutton
and Kelly McGillis
and has cameos by Tom Petty
, Ric Ocasek
, Ellen Barkin
and Neil Young
. An additional character known only as "Emmett" in the film was played by Debra Winger
(Hutton's then wife), who acted as a chain-smoking male angel.
The original music score was composed by Mark Isham
. The film was marketed with the tagline "How in Heaven did they meet? How on Earth will they find each other?"
Made in Heaven concerns two soul
s who cross paths in Heaven
and then attempt to reconnect once they are reborn on Earth.
In 2009, the film made its DVD debut as part of the Warner Archive Collection
.
But their love is abruptly interrupted because Annie has not yet earned her wings on Earth; she must leave on a tour of duty and put in time inhabiting a human body. Mike is beside himself with despair, but the heavenly powers, in the form of Emmett Humbird, chain-smoking and sporting an orange crew-cut, offers him a deal. Mike can return to Earth, with the stipulation that neither he nor Annie will remember each other. He then has thirty years in which they must find each other again.
on LP and cassette, but not on CD.
Pre-recorded songs from the film that were not on the soundtrack album:
1987 in film
-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
feature film directed by Alan Rudolph, script from Bruce A. Evans
Bruce A. Evans
Bruce Anslie Evans is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for his work on Stand by Me , Jungle 2 Jungle and Mr...
and Raynold Gideon, and produced by Lorimar Productions
Lorimar Productions
Lorimar, later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American television production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993...
. The film stars Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
and Kelly McGillis
Kelly McGillis
Kelly Ann McGillis is an American actress. Her films include Top Gun, The Accused, and Witness, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.-Career:...
and has cameos by Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
, Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....
, Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin is an American film, television and theatre actress.-Early life:She was born Ellen Rona Barkin in Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York, the daughter of Evelyn , a hospital administrator who worked at Jamaica Hospital, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman...
and Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
. An additional character known only as "Emmett" in the film was played by Debra Winger
Debra Winger
Mary Debra Winger is an American actress. Three-times an Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1983, and in A Dangerous Woman, for which she won the Tokyo International Film Festival...
(Hutton's then wife), who acted as a chain-smoking male angel.
The original music score was composed by Mark Isham
Mark Isham
Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
. The film was marketed with the tagline "How in Heaven did they meet? How on Earth will they find each other?"
Made in Heaven concerns two soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
s who cross paths in Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and then attempt to reconnect once they are reborn on Earth.
In 2009, the film made its DVD debut as part of the Warner Archive Collection
Warner Archive Collection
The Warner Archive Collection is a manufactured-on-demand DVD series. It was started by Warner Home Video on March 23, 2009 with the intention of putting previously unreleased back catalog films on DVD for the first time ever. Using recordable DVDs, they custom burn discs for each order rather than...
.
Plot summary
In a small Pennsylvania town in the 1950s, Mike Shea (Hutton) dreams of escaping small town life and moving to California with his girlfriend Brenda Carlucci. But Brenda leaves him with his motor running and Mike takes off alone. On the way, he rescues a woman and her children from a river but perishes himself. He finds himself in Heaven, where he is greeted by Aunt Lisa, who explains the rules and regulations. Once in the ethereal realm, Mike falls in love with a heavenly lass with flaxen locks named Annie Packert (McGillis).But their love is abruptly interrupted because Annie has not yet earned her wings on Earth; she must leave on a tour of duty and put in time inhabiting a human body. Mike is beside himself with despair, but the heavenly powers, in the form of Emmett Humbird, chain-smoking and sporting an orange crew-cut, offers him a deal. Mike can return to Earth, with the stipulation that neither he nor Annie will remember each other. He then has thirty years in which they must find each other again.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Timothy Hutton Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy... |
Mike Shea/Elmo Barnett |
| Kelly McGillis Kelly McGillis Kelly Ann McGillis is an American actress. Her films include Top Gun, The Accused, and Witness, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.-Career:... |
Annie Packert/Ally Chandler |
| Maureen Stapleton Maureen Stapleton Maureen Stapleton was an American actress in film, theater and television.-Early life:Stapleton was born Lois Maureen Stapleton in Troy, New York, the daughter of Irene and John P. Stapleton, and grew up in a strict Irish American Catholic family... |
Aunt Lisa |
| Ann Wedgeworth Ann Wedgeworth Ann Wedgeworth is a Tony award winning American actress, best known for her role as Lahoma Vane Lucas on the daytime dramas Another World and Somerset .-Early life:... |
Annette Shea |
| James Gammon James Gammon James Richard Gammon was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series.-Early life:... |
Steve Shea |
| Mare Winningham Mare Winningham Mare Winningham , born Mary Megan Winningham, is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Drama Desk, 7 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won an Independent Spirit Award and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.She is... |
Brenda Carlucci |
| Don Murray Don Murray (actor) Donald Patrick "Don" Murray is an American actor.-Early life and career:Murray was born in Hollywood, California on July 31, 1929, the only child of Dennis Aloisius, a Broadway dance director and stage manager and Ethel Murray, a former Ziegfeld performer... |
Ben Chandler |
| Timothy Daly Timothy Daly James Timothy "Tim" Daly is an American stage, screen and voice actor, director and producer. He is best known for his television role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom Wings and for his voice role as Superman/Clark Kent in Superman: The Animated Series, as well as his recurring role of the... |
Tom Donnelly |
| David Rasche David Rasche -Early life and career:Rasche was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was a minister and farmer. Rasche started in theatre, but also has appeared on numerous movies and television series. He became a member of the Chicago Second City, after John Belushi moved on to Saturday Night Live... |
Donald Summer |
| Amanda Plummer | Wiley Foxx |
| Ellen Barkin Ellen Barkin Ellen Barkin is an American film, television and theatre actress.-Early life:She was born Ellen Rona Barkin in Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York, the daughter of Evelyn , a hospital administrator who worked at Jamaica Hospital, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman... |
Lucille (uncredited) |
| Debra Winger Debra Winger Mary Debra Winger is an American actress. Three-times an Oscar nominee, she received awards for acting in Terms of Endearment, for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in 1983, and in A Dangerous Woman, for which she won the Tokyo International Film Festival... |
Emmett Humbird (uncredited) |
| Ric Ocasek Ric Ocasek Ric Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars.... |
Mechanic (uncredited) |
| Neil Young Neil Young Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation... |
Truck Driver (uncredited) |
Soundtrack
Made In Heaven: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released through Elektra RecordsElektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
on LP and cassette, but not on CD.
- Martha Davis (of The MotelsThe MotelsThe Motels are a New Wave music band from the Los Angeles area best known for "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Their song "Total Control" reached #4 on the Australian charts in 1980...
) - "We've Never Danced" (Neil YoungNeil YoungNeil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
) (also available on The Motels' 2001 compilation album AnthologylandAnthologylandAnthologyland is a compilation album containing material from the New Wave band, The Motels, plus work by Warfield Foxes , and solo work by Martha Davis, including a couple of duets with Sly Stone and Ivan Neville...
) - R.E.M.R.E.M.R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
- "Romance" (Bill BerryBill BerryWilliam "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....
/Peter BuckPeter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
/Mike MillsMike MillsMichael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
/Michael StipeMichael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
) (also available on the 1988 compilation album EponymousEponymous (album)Eponymous is the first greatest hits and the second compilation album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1988. It was their last authorized release on I.R.S. Records, to whom they had been contracted since 1982, having just signed with Warner Bros. Records...
) - Ric OcasekRic OcasekRic Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....
- "I Still Want You" (Ric Ocasek) - Luther VandrossLuther VandrossLuther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
- "There's Only You" (Luther Vandross) (an early demo version is available on the 2007 compilation album Love, LutherLove, LutherLove, Luther is a four disc box set chronicling the musical career highlights of the late Luther Vandross. Promoted by the single "There’s Only You," the set includes unreleased demos, full-length album versions of Vandross' hit songs, and several of his productions for other artists.-Track...
) - The NylonsThe NylonsThe Nylons are an a cappella group founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Best known for their covers of The Turtles' "Happy Together", Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and The Tokens' version of the traditional "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"....
- "Up the Ladder to the RoofUp the Ladder to the Roof"Up the Ladder to the Roof" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the first Supremes single to feature new lead singer Jean Terrell in place of Diana Ross, who officially left the group for a solo career two weeks before the recording of this song in January 1970...
" (Frank WilsonFrank Wilson (musician)Frank Wilson is an African American former songwriter and record producer for Motown Records.-Biography:He was born to James Wilson and Samantha Gibbs...
/Vincent DiMirco) (from the 1982 album One Size Fits All) - Buffalo SpringfieldBuffalo SpringfieldBuffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...
- "Mr. SoulMr. Soul"Mr. Soul" is a song written by Canadian rock musician Neil Young, and first recorded by folk rock band Buffalo Springfield and released on their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again...
" (Neil Young) (from the 1967 album Buffalo Springfield AgainBuffalo Springfield AgainBuffalo Springfield Again is the second 1967 folk rock album by Buffalo Springfield.-Production:The recording has been stated by some as tense and protracted, because Young was often absent and the band was unable to keep a permanent bass player...
) - Buffalo Springfield - "I Am A Child" (Neil Young) (from the 1968 album Last Time AroundLast Time AroundLast Time Around is the third and final album by folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, released in 1968 . The members included Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Dewey Martin, Bruce Palmer, and Jim Messina.- History :...
) - Mark IshamMark IshamMark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
- "Same Time, Another Place" - Mark Isham - "Beyond The Frames"
- Mark Isham - "Instead Of Floating"
Pre-recorded songs from the film that were not on the soundtrack album:
- Sly & the Family StoneSly & the Family StoneSly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
- "If You Want Me to StayIf You Want Me to Stay"If You Want Me to Stay" is a 1973 hit single by Sly & the Family Stone, from their album Fresh. The single was the band's final Top 20 pop hit, and is the best-known of its post-There's a Riot Goin' On recordings....
" (Sly StoneSly StoneSly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
) - Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth" (Stephen StillsStephen StillsStephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
) - Alberta HunterAlberta HunterAlberta Hunter was an American blues singer, songwriter, and nurse. Her career had started back in the early 1920s, and from there on, she became a successful jazz and blues recording artist, being critically acclaimed to the ranks of Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith...
- "Long May We Love" (Grace Freed/Roc Hillman) - Hank Williams - "Why Should We Try Anymore" (Hank Williams)
- Ernest TubbErnest TubbErnest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
& Red FoleyRed FoleyClyde Julian Foley , better known as Red Foley, was an American singer, musician, and radio and TV personality who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II....
- "Goodnight, Irene" (Lead Belly)