Midnight Madness (film)

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Movie
German title Midnight Madness: A freaky bunch
Original title Midnight Madness
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1980
length 112 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Michael Nankin , David Wechter
script Michael Nankin , David Wechter
production Ron Miller
music Julius Wechter
camera Frank W. Phillips
cut Norman Palmer , Jack Sekely
occupation

Midnight Madness: A freaky bunch (also: Midnight Madness: Wahnsinnsjagd at midnight , in the original only Midnight Madness ) is an American comedy produced by Walt Disney Pictures from 1980. It is the first film role for the then 18- year old Michael J. Fox .

action

Student Leon has a thing for freaky games. His latest idea is a nightly scavenger hunt through Los Angeles . To this end, he instructs five of his fellow students to form teams. The teams meet at sunset: Each team is given an envelope with the first hint. This is how the nocturnal scavenger hunt through LA begins, always monitored by "Game Master" Leon from his apartment.

The teams always have to decipher more puzzles and clues to move forward. On their hunt they end up in an observatory, a brewery and the international airport of Los Angeles . The goal is to be the first to reach the Westin Bonaventure Hotel before sunrise .

The teams

The five teams are all made up of characters who convey clear clichés:

  • The yellow team consists of good-looking, friendly, smart and always fair playing members around the team leader Adam ( David Naughton ). In the course of the game, Adam's younger brother Scott ( Michael J. Fox ) joins the team, who always tries to get Adam's attention and has the right solution to a riddle at the crucial moment. The team's vehicle is a yellow Toyota Land Cruiser .
  • The blue team is the opposite of the yellow team. Led by the rich, overweight and extremely bored Harold ( Stephen Furst ), they only solve their puzzles through cheating. The team vehicle is a blue van equipped with a puzzle solving computer.
  • The green team consists of the college football aces. Your vehicle is a green VW Beetle Cabriolet, the Meat Machine .
  • The white team is made up of four nerds and is out and about on scooters.
  • The red team is led by Donna ( Maggie Roswell ) and is made up of rather unpopular students, including two conspicuously overweight twins, whose jokes are numerous during the night. The team's vehicle is a red pick-up.

The film mainly deals with the yellow and blue teams and their efforts to win the race. The adventures of the other three teams are just side scenes, as are the scenes of the game management in Leon's apartment.

reception

The film did not have a huge box office success. In total, he grossed around 2.9 million US dollars in the USA.

Publications

There is a German-language VHS release from 1988 . There are two releases on DVD in English-speaking countries (2001 from Anchor Bay Entertainment and 2004 from Disney).

Remarks

  • Midnight Madness was the second Disney film to receive a PG rating in the US , which means that it contains scenes that are considered unsuitable for children under the age of ten. The first Disney film with such a rating was The Black Hole .
  • Although the film was produced by Disney, the company's name does not appear in the credits.
  • As already mentioned, Midnight Madness is Michael J. Fox's first film role. Because much of the film was shot at night, the producers needed an actor of legal age who still appeared young enough to play Adam's younger brother. He is featured as Michael Fox at the beginning of the film and as Michael J. Fox in the credits .

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