Ishtar (film)
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Image:Ishtar 1987.jpg Ishtar is a 1987 motion picture comedy starring Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty as a duo of incredibly untalented lounge singers who stumble into a political conflict in the fictional African nation of Ishtar. It also starred Isabelle Adjani.
The movie ran significantly over budget (some $55 million) in production, due largely to unanticipated problems with desert filming, and was a financial flop (generating under $13 million in revenue). Some people find the film amusing; some find it awful; others find it mediocre. Some critics say that while the film may be undistinguished, it would not be famous as a flop without the fact that exorbitant amounts of money were spent creating the film. The theme of the movie may also have been controversial when it was released.
Ishtar was nominated for Worst Picture in the 1987 Golden Raspberry Awards. It is frequently included on lists of the worst movies ever made.
In a daily strip of Gary Larson's Farside cartoon captioned "Hell's Video Store" the entire store is stocked with nothing but copies of the movie Ishtar.
At one point early in the film, Dustin Hoffman makes a reference to not being as talented as Simon and Garfunkel, ironic because of their major addition to the soundtrack of the Graduate (1967), which was Hoffmans breakthrough performance, and a reboot for Simon and Garfunkel as well.