Men in Black (1997 film)
Men in Black | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Barry Sonnenfeld |
Written by | Ed Solomon |
Based on | The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Don Peterman |
Edited by | Jim Miller |
Music by | Danny Elfman |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Land | Vereinigte Staaten |
Sprache | Englisch |
Budget | $90 million[1] |
Box office | $589.4 million[1] |
Men in Black (stylized as MIB: Men in Black) is a 1997 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, produced by Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald and written by Ed Solomon. Loosely based on the Men in Black comic book series created by Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers, the film stars Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith as two agents of a secret organization called the Men in Black, who supervise extraterrestrial lifeforms who live on Earth and hide their existence from ordinary humans. The film featured the creature effects and makeup of Rick Baker and visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic.
The film was released in the United States on July 2, 1997, by Columbia Pictures, and grossed over $589.3 million worldwide against a $90 million budget, becoming the year's third highest-grossing film. It received positive reviews, with critics praising its script, set pieces, and the performances of Jones and Smith. The film received three Academy Award nominations—Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, and Best Makeup—winning the lattermost award.
The film spawned the Men in Black franchise, including two sequels, Men in Black II (2002) and Men in Black 3 (2012); a spin-off film, Men in Black: International (2019; and an animated series that ran from 1997 to 2001.
Plot
At the Mexico–United States border, two men in black suits, Agent K and Agent D, interrupt a border patrol sting. They take one of the men attempting to cross the border, who is actually an extraterrestrial in disguise. K is forced to shoot it when it tries to attack a presumptuous border patrol agent. As D believes himself to be rather weakened by many years, he decides it's time to retire.
NYPD officer James Darrell Edwards III catches an unnaturally agile fleeing criminal and sees his eyes blink in an unusual manner before he leaps from the roof of the Guggenheim museum. During his interrogation, K arrives and scouts James as a potential new partner, impressed by his ability to chase down an alien. K explains to James that their organization, the Men in Black, was founded after first contact was made with aliens in 1961; at this time Earth was established as a politically neutral zone for alien refugees.
The MIB is a secret organization that monitors and polices these aliens, and use neuralyzers to erase the memories of anyone who witnesses alien activities. James agrees to join and he is renamed Agent J, and his civilian identity is erased from government records.
Meanwhile, an alien crash-lands in upstate New York, kills a farmer named Edgar, and begins wearing his skin as a disguise. J and K investigate the crash site and discover this alien is a "bug", a species of cockroach-like alien that is extremely dangerous. The bug kills two disguised aliens that are sent to a police morgue overseen by coroner Laurel Weaver. J and K inspect the bodies and J and Laurel accidentally open the head of one, revealing a small, dying alien in a control cockpit. The alien tells them "To prevent war, the galaxy is on Orion's belt" before dying.
K neuralyzes Laurel, telling J that this man was Rosenberg, an Arquillian and one of their royal family. They question an informant, Frank the Pug, who explains that Rosenberg was the guardian of a galaxy that is a precious source of sub-atomic energy; the bug killed Rosenberg to acquire it so the bugs may destroy the Arquillians. Frank also tells them that the galaxy is on Earth and is actually very small. An Arquillian warship enters Earth's orbit, issuing an ultimatum to MIB to give them the galaxy.
J deduces the galaxy is in a jewel on the collar of Rosenberg's cat Orion, hence Rosenberg was trying to say "bell", which is in Laurel's care now. The bug has made the same deduction and arrived at the morgue first, and takes the galaxy and flees with Laurel, swallowing the galaxy. The Arquillians, who are willing to destroy the galaxy rather than let the bugs have it, warn MIB that they have one hour to recover the galaxy or they will destroy Earth.
With all other transports locked down, J realizes the bug's only escape is the observation towers of the New York State Pavilion at Flushing Meadows, which was built for the 1964 New York World's Fair to disguise two real flying saucers. The bug attempts to take off but J and K shoot down the ship, and the bug sheds Edgar's skin and reveals its true form. It swallows J and K's guns, and K goads it to swallow him as well. The bug begins to board the second ship and J steps on cockroaches from a dumpster to antagonize it, stalling until K finds his gun in its stomach and shoots it from inside. The remains of the bug attack the two, but Laurel destroys it with J's gun.
With the galaxy secure, K admits to J that he has not been training a partner, but a replacement; he is ready for retirement. J neuralyzes K, creating a cover story that he was in a coma for thirty-five years. Laurel joins MIB as J's new partner, Agent L. Meanwhile, out in the universe, an Arquillian is playing with some Galaxy jewels like marbles.
Cast
- Tommy Lee Jones as Kevin Brown / Agent K: J's grizzled and humorless mentor. Clint Eastwood turned down the part, while Jones only accepted the role after Steven Spielberg promised the script would improve, based on his respect for Spielberg's track record. He had been disappointed with the first draft, which he reportedly said "stank", feeling it did not capture the tone of the comic.[2]
- Will Smith as James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J: A former NYPD detective, newly recruited to the MIB. Smith was cast because Barry Sonnenfeld's wife was a fan of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Sonnenfeld also liked his performance in Six Degrees of Separation.[2] Chris O'Donnell turned down the role because he found the role of a new recruit too similar to Dick Grayson, whom he played in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.[3] David Schwimmer also turned down the part.[2] Like Jones, Smith said he accepted the role after meeting with Spielberg and cited his success as a producer.
- Linda Fiorentino as Dr. Laurel Weaver / Agent L: A deputy medical examiner, and later J's partner.
- Vincent D'Onofrio as the Bug: A giant alien insect who comes to earth to kidnap the Galaxy and use it to destroy the Arquillians. He conceals his identity underneath the skin of a farmer he killed. John Turturro and Bruce Campbell were both offered the role, but they turned it down due to scheduling conflicts.[2] D'Onofrio also portrays Edgar, the farmer killed by the bug.
- Rip Torn as Chief Zed: The head of the MIB.
- Tony Shalhoub as Jack Jeebs: An alien arms dealer who runs a pawn shop as a front.
- Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Beatrice: Edgar's abused wife.
- Mike Nussbaum as Gentle Rosenberg: An Arquillian jeweler who is the guardian of "the Galaxy".
- Jon Gries as Nick the van driver: the American smuggler who unknowingly carries a literal alien among his posse.
- Sergio Calderón as Jose
- John Alexander as Mikey: An alien who poses as a Mexican being snuck across the border.
- Patrick Breen as Mr. Redgick
- Becky Ann Baker as Mrs. Redgick
- Carel Struycken as Arquillian
- Fredric Lehne as Agent Janus
- Kent Faulcon as Jake Jensen
- Richard Hamilton as Agent D: K's former partner who retires after deciding he is too old for the job.
- David Cross as Newton, Morgue Attendant
- Sean Whalen as Passport Officer
- Verne Troyer as the Alien son
Voices/Puppeteers
- Tim Blaney as Frank the Pug: A smart-talking pug-like alien.
- Mark Setrakian as Rosenberg Alien
- Brad Abrell, Thom Fountain, Carl J. Johnson and Drew Massey as the Worm Guys: A quartet of worm-like aliens that work for Men in Black.
Production
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2011) |
Development
The film is loosely based on Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers's comic book The Men in Black. Producers Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald optioned the rights to The Men in Black in 1992, and hired Ed Solomon to write a very faithful script. Parkes and MacDonald wanted Barry Sonnenfeld as director because he had helmed the darkly humorous The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values. However, Sonnenfeld was attached to Get Shorty (1995), so they instead approached Les Mayfield to direct, as they had heard about the positive reception to his remake of Miracle on 34th Street; they actually saw the film later and decided he was inappropriate.[citation needed] As a result, Men in Black was delayed so as to allow Sonnenfeld to make it his next project after Get Shorty.[2]
Much of the initial script drafts were set underground, with locations ranging from Kansas to Washington, D.C. and Nevada. Sonnenfeld decided to change the location to New York City, because the director felt New Yorkers would be tolerant of aliens who behaved oddly while disguised. He also felt much of the city's structures resembled flying saucers and rocket ships.[2] One of the locations Sonnenfeld thought perfect for the movie was a giant ventilation structure for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, which became the outside of the MIB headquarters.[4]
Filming
Principal photography began in March 1996. Many last-minute changes ensued during production. First, the scene where James Edwards chasing a disguised alien was to be filmed at Lincoln Center, but the New York Philharmonic decided to charge the filmmakers for using their buildings, prompting Sonnenfeld to film the scene at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum instead. Then, five months into the shoot, Sonnenfeld decided that the original ending, with a humorous existential debate between Agent J and the Bug, was unexciting and lacking the action that the rest of the film had.[4] Five potential replacements were discussed. One of these had Laurel Weaver being neuralyzed and K remaining an agent.[2] Eventually it boiled down to the Bug eating K and fighting J, replacing the animatronic Bug Rick Baker's crew had developed with a computer-generated Bug with an appearance closer to a cockroach. The whole action sequence cost an extra $4.5 million to the filmmakers.[4]
Further changes were made during post-production to simplify the plotline involving the possession of the tiny galaxy. The Arquillians would hand over the galaxy to the Baltians, ending a long war. The Bugs need to feed on the casualties and steal the galaxy in order to continue the war. Through changing of subtitles, the images on M.I.B.'s main computer and Frank the Pug's dialogue, the Baltians were eliminated from the plot. Earth goes from being potentially destroyed in the crossfire between the two races into being possibly destroyed by the Arquillians themselves to prevent the Bugs from getting the galaxy.[2] These changes to the plot were carried out when only two weeks remained in the film's post-production, but the film's novelization still contains the Baltians.[5]
Design and visual effects
Production designer Bo Welch designed the MIB headquarters with a 1960s tone in mind, because that was when their organization is formed. He cited influences from Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, who designed a terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. As the arrival point of aliens on Earth, Welch felt the headquarters had to resemble an airport.[2]
Rick Baker was approached to provide the prosthetic and animatronic aliens, many of whom would have more otherworldly designs instead of looking humanoid. For example, the reveal of Gentle Rosenberg's Arquillian nature went from a man with a light under his neck's skin to a small alien hidden inside a human head. Baker would describe Men in Black as the most complex production in his career, "requiring more sketches than all my previous movies together".[4] Baker had to have approval from both Sonnenfeld and Spielberg: "It was like, 'Steven likes the head on this one and Barry really likes the body on this one, so why don't you do a mix and match?' And I'd say, because it wouldn't make any sense." Sonnenfeld also changed a lot of the film's aesthetic during pre-production: "I started out saying aliens shouldn't be what humans perceive them to be. Why do they need eyes? So Rick did these great designs, and I'd say, 'That's great — but how do we know where he's looking?' I ended up where everyone else did, only I took three months."[6] The maquettes built by Baker's team would later be digitized by Industrial Light & Magic, who was responsible for the visual effects and computer-generated imagery, for more mobile digital versions of the aliens.[4]
Music
Two different soundtracks for the film were released: a score soundtrack featuring music composed by Danny Elfman and an album of songs used in and inspired by the film, featuring Will Smith's original song "Men in Black" based on the film's plot.
Elfman's music was called "rousing" by the Los Angeles Times.[7] Variety called the film a technical marvel, giving special credit to "Elfman's always lively score."[8] Elfman was nominated for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score at the 70th Academy Awards for his score.[9]
Elfman recalled in 2017 how he was chosen to compose the soundtrack to be "strange." He was on the set of The Frighteners with Peter Jackson when D'Onofrio, who was shooting Men In Black on the other set, walked in and invited both men to watch him perform the final scene. Then on the way home, Elfman got a call from his agent saying that he was hired to compose the soundtrack, even though there was no discussion about it prior.[10]
Elvis Presley's cover of "Promised Land" is featured in the scene where the MIB's car runs on the ceiling of Queens–Midtown Tunnel.[11]
Release
Marketing
In advance of the film's theatrical release, its marketing campaign included more than 30 licensees.[12] Galoob was the first to license, in which they released various action figures of the film's characters and aliens.[13] Ray-Ban also partnered the film with a $5–10 million television campaign.[14] Other promotional items included Hamilton Watches[15] and Procter & Gamble's Head & Shoulders with the tagline "Keeping the Men in Black in black".[16]
An official comic adaptation was released by Marvel Comics. The film also received a third-person shooter Men in Black game developed by Gigawatt Studios and published by Gremlin Interactive, which was released to lackluster reviews in October 1997 for the PC and the following year for the PlayStation. Also, a very rare promotional PlayStation video game system was released in 1997 with the Men in Black logo on the CD lid. Three months after the film's release, an animated series based on Men in Black, produced by Columbia TriStar Television alongside Adelaide Productions and Amblin Television, began airing on The WB's Kids' WB programming block, and also inspired several games. A Men in Black role-playing game was also released in 1997 by West End Games.
Home media
Men in Black was first released on a THX certified VHS in standard and widescreen formats on November 25, 1997. A LaserDisc version was released that same day. The home video release was attached to a rebate offer on a pair of Ray-Ban Predator-model sunglasses.[17] The film was re-released in a collector's series on VHS and DVD on September 5, 2000, with the DVD containing several bonus features including an interactive editing workshop for three different scenes from the film, extended storyboards, conceptual art, and a visual commentary track with Tommy Lee Jones and director Barry Sonnenfeld; an alternate two-disc version was also released that had a fullscreen version on the first disc. The Deluxe Edition was also released on DVD in 2002.[18] A Blu-ray edition was released on June 17, 2008.[19] The entire Men in Black trilogy was released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on December 5, 2017, in conjunction with the film's 20th anniversary.[20]
Reception
Box office
Men in Black earned $4.8 million from Tuesday night previews and went on to gross $14 million on its opening day, bringing the total to $18.8 million.[21] During its opening weekend, it generated $51.1 million, making it the third-highest opening weekend of all time, behind Batman Forever and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The film then grossed $84.1 million during its five-day Wednesday opening. It surpassed Independence Day for having three records. These were the biggest three-day Fourth of July opening weekend, the largest July opening weekend and the highest opening weekend for a non-sequel film.[22] The film would hold the latter two records for three years until 2000 when X-Men took them.[23] Two years later, its successor Men in Black II broke the record for having the highest three-day Fourth of July opening weekend.[24] It would remain in the number one spot at the box office for three weeks until it was beaten by Air Force One.[25]
Men in Black grossed $250.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $338.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $589.3 million.[1] It would hold the record for being the highest-grossing Sony film until it was surpassed by Spider-Man five years later in 2002.[26] The film grossed a record $10.7 million in its opening weekend in Germany, beating the record held by Independence Day.[27]
Despite its grosses, writer Ed Solomon has said that Sony claims the film has never turned a profit, which is attributed to Hollywood accounting.[28]
Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Men in Black holds an approval rating of 92% based on 89 reviews, and an average score of 7.50/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Thanks to a smart script, spectacular set pieces, and charismatic performances from its leads, Men in Black is an entirely satisfying summer blockbuster hit."[29] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[30] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[31]
Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, praising the film as "a smart, funny and hip adventure film in a summer of car wrecks and explosions."[32] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, giving particular praise to the film's self-reflective humor and Rick Baker's alien creature designs.[33] Janet Maslin, reviewing for The New York Times, wrote the film "is actually a shade more deadpan and peculiar than such across-the-board marketing makes it sound. It's also extraordinarily ambitious, with all-star design and special-effects talent and a genuinely artful visual style. As with his Addams Family films and Get Shorty, which were more overtly funny than the sneakily subtle Men in Black, Mr. Sonnenfeld takes offbeat genre material and makes it boldly mainstream."[34]
Writing for Variety, Todd McCarthy acknowledged the film was "witty and sometimes surreal sci-fi comedy" in which he praised the visual effects, Baker's creature designs and Elfman's musical score. However, he felt the film "doesn't manage to sustain this level of inventiveness, delight and surprise throughout the remaining two-thirds of the picture."[35] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly graded the film a C+, writing "Men in Black celebrates the triumph of attitude over everything else – plausibility, passion, any sense that what we're watching actually matters. The aliens, for all their slimy visual zest, aren't particularly scary or funny (they aren't allowed to become characters), and so the joke of watching Smith and Jones crack wise in their faces quickly wears thin."[36] John Hartl of The Seattle Times, claimed the film "is moderately amusing, well-constructed and mercifully short, but it fails to deliver on the zaniness of its first half." While he was complimentary of the film's first half, he concluded "somewhere around the midpoint they run out of energy and invention. Even the aliens, once they stop their shape-shifting ways and settle down to appear as themselves, begin to look familiar."[37]
Accolades
Men in Black won the Academy Award for Best Makeup, and was also nominated for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.[38]
Award | Kategorie | Recipient | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards | Best Art Direction | Bo Welch and Cheryl Carasik | Nominated |
Best Makeup | Rick Baker and David LeRoy Anderson | Won | |
Best Original Musical or Comedy Score | Danny Elfman | Nominated | |
Golden Globe Awards | Best Comedy or Musical | Nominated | |
BAFTA Awards | Best Special Effects | Nominated | |
Saturn Awards[39] | Best Science Fiction Film | Won | |
Best Director | Barry Sonnenfeld | Nominated | |
Best Writing | Ed Solomon | Nominated | |
Best Actor | Will Smith | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Vincent D'Onofrio | Won | |
Best Music | Danny Elfman | Won | |
Best Make-Up | Nominated | ||
Best Special Effects | Nominated |
On Empire magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, "Men in Black" placed 409th.[40] Following the film's release, Ray-Ban stated sales of their Predator 2 sunglasses (worn by the organization to deflect neuralyzers) tripled to $5 million.[41]
Year-end lists
American Film Institute Lists
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs - Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
- Agent J & Agent K - Nominated Heroes
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
- "Men in Black" - Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
- "You know the difference between you and me? I make this look good." - Nominated
- AFI's 10 Top 10 - Nominated Science Fiction Film
Sequels
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Men in Black (1997)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i David Hughes (2003). Comic Book Movies. London: Virgin Books. pp. 123–129. ISBN 0-7535-0767-6.
- ^ "Summer Movie Preview". Entertainment Weekly. May 16, 1997. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e "Metamorphosis of 'Men in Black'", Men in Black Blu-ray
- ^ Donnelly, Billy (May 25, 2012). "Things Get A Bit Heated Between The Infamous Billy The Kidd And Director Barry Sonnenfeld When They Talk MEN IN BLACK 3". Ain't It Cool News. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
- ^ Steve Daly (July 18, 1997). "Men in Black: How'd they do that?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
- ^ Turan, Kenneth (July 1, 1997). "The Outer Limits of Fun". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
...its charm is in its attitude and premise (and Danny Elfman's rousing score)...
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (June 29, 1997). "Reviews: Men in Black". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
Technically, the film is a marvel... In addition to the many effects hands, special credit should go to Bo Welch's constantly inventive production design, Don Peterman's ultra-smooth lensing and Danny Elfman's always lively score.
- ^ "THE 70TH ACADEMY AWARDS 1998". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. n.d. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
MEN IN BLACK 3 NOMINATIONS, 1 WIN Art Direction - Art Direction: Bo Welch; Set Decoration: Cheryl Carasik – Music (Original Musical or Comedy Score) - Danny Elfman – * Makeup - Rick Baker, David LeRoy Anderson
- ^ People. "Composer Danny Elfman Tells All: 'Beetlejuice, Batman, The Simpsons' & More". YouTube. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ Barry Sonnenfeld, Tommy Lee Jones. Visual Commentary. Men in Black.
- ^ Kirchdoerffer, Ed (June 1, 1997). "Special Report: Licensing International '97: Men in Black dressed FOR success". Kidscreen. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ Taubeneck, Anna (May 11, 1997). "The Toys Of Summer". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ Jensen, Jim (April 14, 1997). "High Hopes For 'Men in Black,' And Ray-Bans: Tie-In Marketers Key to Summer Films". AdAge. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ "What watch does Will Smith wear? - Almost On Time". March 15, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ Dignam, Conor (August 14, 1997). "ANALYSIS: Why marketers missed out on Men in Black ties". Campaign. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ Arnold, Thomas (October 9, 1997). "The Art of The Tie-In". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ "Columbia TriStar Home Video: Men In Black Special Editions" (Press release). Internet Wire. July 26, 2000. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ "Men in Black DVD Release Date". DVDs Release Dates. Archived from the original on May 20, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
- ^ "Men in Black Trilogy 20th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray Collection". Blu-ray.com. September 26, 2017. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ "'Men in Black' Is Wearing Long Green".
- ^ Willis, Kim (July 8, 1997). "Call them 'Men in Green'". Gannett News Service. The Courier-News. p. 76. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Audiences mobbed multiplexes for the opening of "X-Men" as..." United Press International. July 16, 2000. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
- ^ "Box Office Has a Record Weekend, 'Men in Black' Leading the Way".
- ^ ""Air Force One' flies to top of list".
- ^ "'Anaconda' Showed Us A Future Stolen By Harry Potter And Spider-Man".
- ^ "'Pie' flies high in Germany". Variety. October 15, 2001. p. 9.
- ^ Butler, Tom (December 31, 2020). "1997 hit 'Men in Black' is still yet to make a profit says screenwriter". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- ^ "Men in Black". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Men in Black Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ^ "Men in Black". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ^ Siskel, Gene (July 4, 1997). "'Men In' Black' A Clever Romp". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (July 1, 1997). "Men in Black Movie Review & Film Summary (1997)". Ebert Digital LLC. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (July 1, 1997). "Oh, Aliens: Business As Usual". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (June 29, 1997). "Men in Black". Variety. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (July 11, 1997). "Men in Black". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ Hartl, John (July 1, 1997). "'Men in Black': Sci-Fi Zaniness That Finally Crash-Lands". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ "Men in Black (1997) – Awards and Nominations". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
- ^ "Past Saturn Award Recipients". www.saturnawards.org. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". Empire Magazine. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ Jane Tallim (2002). "And Now a Word From Our Sponsor... Spend Another Day". Media Awareness Network. Archived from the original on August 19, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
External links
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- Men in Black at IMDb
- Men in Black at AllMovie
- 1997 films
- 1990s buddy cop films
- 1990s English-language films
- 1997 action films
- 1997 comedy films
- 1997 science fiction films
- 1990s science fiction action films
- 1990s science fiction comedy films
- 1990s monster movies
- 1997 action comedy films
- African-American action films
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- American films
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- American buddy cop films
- American science fiction action films
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- Amblin Entertainment films
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- Fictional film duos
- Fictional-language films
- Flying cars in fiction
- Films about extraterrestrial life
- Films about insects
- Films adapted into television shows
- Films based on American comics
- Films directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
- Films with screenplays by Ed Solomon
- Films produced by Walter F. Parkes
- Films scored by Danny Elfman
- Films set in 1997
- Films set in New York City
- Films shot in New Jersey
- Films shot in New York City
- Films that won the Academy Award for Best Makeup
- Men in Black (franchise)