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Joe Gould's Secret

  • 20002000
  • RR
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Ian Holm in Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
Home Video Trailer from USA Films
Play trailer2:00
1 Video
10 Photos
  • Drama

Around 1940, The New Yorker staff writer Joe Mitchell meets Joe Gould, a Greenwich Village character, who is writing a voluminous Oral History of the World, a record of twenty thousand conve... Read allAround 1940, The New Yorker staff writer Joe Mitchell meets Joe Gould, a Greenwich Village character, who is writing a voluminous Oral History of the World, a record of twenty thousand conversations he's overheard.Around 1940, The New Yorker staff writer Joe Mitchell meets Joe Gould, a Greenwich Village character, who is writing a voluminous Oral History of the World, a record of twenty thousand conversations he's overheard.

IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Stanley Tucci
  • Writers
    • Joseph Mitchell(books "Professor Seagull" and "Joe Gould's Secret")
    • Howard A. Rodman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ian Holm
    • Stanley Tucci
    • Hope Davis
Top credits
  • Director
    • Stanley Tucci
  • Writers
    • Joseph Mitchell(books "Professor Seagull" and "Joe Gould's Secret")
    • Howard A. Rodman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ian Holm
    • Stanley Tucci
    • Hope Davis
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 43User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
    • 74Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Joe Gould's Secret
    Trailer 2:00
    Joe Gould's Secret

    Photos10

    Ian Holm and Stanley Tucci in Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
    Ian Holm and Stanley Tucci in Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
    Ian Holm and Stanley Tucci in Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
    Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
    Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
    Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
    Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
    Susan Sarandon, Ian Holm, Stanley Tucci, and Hope Davis in Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
    Joe Gould's Secret (2000)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ian Holm
    Ian Holm
    • Joe Gouldas Joe Gould
    Stanley Tucci
    Stanley Tucci
    • Joe Mitchellas Joe Mitchell
    Hope Davis
    Hope Davis
    • Therese Mitchellas Therese Mitchell
    Sarah Hyland
    Sarah Hyland
    • Elizabeth Mitchellas Elizabeth Mitchell
    Hallee Hirsh
    Hallee Hirsh
    • Nora Mitchellas Nora Mitchell
    Celia Weston
    Celia Weston
    • Sarahas Sarah
    Patrick Tovatt
    • Harold Rossas Harold Ross
    Susan Sarandon
    Susan Sarandon
    • Alice Neelas Alice Neel
    Patricia Clarkson
    Patricia Clarkson
    • Vivian Marquieas Vivian Marquie
    John Tormey
    John Tormey
    • Harry Kolisas Harry Kolis
    Jack O'Connell
    Jack O'Connell
    • Chefas Chef
    Jerry Mayer
    Jerry Mayer
    • Minetta Bartenderas Minetta Bartender
    Nell Campbell
    Nell Campbell
    • Tamar (Hostess)as Tamar (Hostess)
    Ron Ryan
    • Jackas Jack
    Allan Corduner
    Allan Corduner
    • Francis McCruddenas Francis McCrudden
    Merwin Goldsmith
    Merwin Goldsmith
    • Monsieur Gerardas Monsieur Gerard
    Laura Hughes
    • Dr. Kim Maxwellas Dr. Kim Maxwell
    Steve Martin
    Steve Martin
    • Charlie Duellas Charlie Duell
    • Director
      • Stanley Tucci
    • Writers
      • Joseph Mitchell(books "Professor Seagull" and "Joe Gould's Secret")
      • Howard A. Rodman(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Around 1940, The New Yorker staff writer Joe Mitchell meets Joe Gould, a Greenwich Village character, who cadges meals, drinks, and contributions to the Joe Gould Fund, and who is writing a voluminous Oral History of the World, a record of twenty thousand conversations he's overheard. Mitchell is fascinated with this Harvard grad, and writes a 1942 piece about him, "Professor Seagull", bringing Gould some celebrity, and an invitation to join the Greenwich Village Ravens, a poetry club he's often crashed. Gould's touchy, querulous personality and his frequent dropping in on Mitchell for hours of chat, lead to a break-up, but the two Joes stay in touch until Gould's death, and Mitchell's unveiling of the secret. —<jhailey@hotmail.com>
    • new yorker magazine
    • greenwich village manhattan new york city
    • washington square manhattan
    • oral history
    • secret
    • 143 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for some language and brief nudity
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Based on a true story from Mitchell's book, Up in the Old Hotel (1992). The book is a collection of stories of oddball characters in New York City from the mid-20th century.
    • Quotes

      Joe Gould: In the winter, I'm a Buddhist; in the summer, I'm a nudist!

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: U-571/Love & Basketball/Joe Gould's Secret/Gossip/Pups (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      The Wearing of the Green
      Traditional

      Performed by Bunny Berigan

      Courtesy of Drive Entertainment

    User reviews43

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Its power sneaks up on you
    This quiet and gentle movie sneaks up on you and by the end you are left with an appreciation of how little difference there is between the quite disparate lives of the two protagonists. With a few differemt turns, circumstances, and choices an intelligent man can easily become a bohemian. I think it is for this reason that Joseph Mitchell, a staff writer for "The New Yorker" magazine, became drawn to Joe Gould, a somewhat mad homeless man with occasional flashes of unique insight and a flare for histrionics. Gould claims to be writing an "Oral History of the World." Mitchell admits to sympathizing with Gould's statement that he is at home "among the cranks and the misfits and the one-lungers and the has beens and the would-bes and the never wills and the god knows whats." Indeed, how could you not be a little interested in a man who could write that? And Mitchell comes to identify with Gould in another significant way, and that way is in fact Joe Gould's secret.

    In the process of writing a profile of Gould for his magazine Mitchell develops a relationship with Gould that results in Gould's ultimately becoming somewhat of a pest. As Gould says, "When you lie down with dogs, you have to live with fleas." In a dramatic scene Mitchell gives Gould an honest appraisal of the status of his "history" that creates a rift in their relationship. But the bond is never completely severed as some of the final scenes indicate.

    The period setting of New York City in the early 1940s lends an air of nostalgia. This is a movie that Woody Allen could have made if he could ever dial his nervous anxiety back several notches. The music is suitably subdued and melancholic. The casting is perfect and the performances are excellent. Every aspect of the filming gives evidence to a loving commitment.

    This is a movie about dreams realized and unrealized. In a letter to Mitchell, one of Gould's friends states that, "the City's unconscious may be trying to speak to us through Joe Gould. The people who have gone underground in the City, the City's living dead. People who never belonged any place from the beginning, people sitting in dark bar-rooms, the ones who are always left out, the ones who were never asked." Such words leave you with an unspecified yearning. Maybe a yearning to read Mitchell's original "New Yorker" articles "Professor Seagull" and "Joe Gould's Secret" upon which this movie was based.
    helpful•3
    0
    • bandw
    • Dec 3, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 26, 2000 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Joe Goulds hemlighet
    • Production companies
      • Bohemian Productions
      • First Cold Press Productions
      • October Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $468,684
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $38,760
      • Apr 9, 2000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $494,150
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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