{{short description|1988 film directed by Barry Levinson}} {{Other uses}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox film | name = Rain Man | image = Rain Man poster.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster by John Alvin | director = Barry Levinson | producer = Mark Johnson | screenplay = {{plainlist| * Barry Morrow * Ronald Bass }} | story = Barry Morrow | starring = {{plainlist| * Dustin Hoffman * Tom Cruise * Valeria Golino }} | music = Hans Zimmer | cinematography = John Seale | editing = Stu Linder | studio = {{plainlist| * United Artists * Guber-Peters Company<ref name=afi>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/55772|title=Rain Man (1988)|work=AFI Catalog of Feature Films|access-date=November 5, 2018|archive-date=November 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105160540/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/55772|url-status=live}}</ref> * Star Partners II, Ltd.<ref name=afi/> }} | distributor = MGM/UA Communications Co. | released = {{Film date|1988|12|12|Premiere|1988|12|16}} | runtime = 134 minutes<ref name=afi/> | country = United States<ref name=afi/> | language = English | budget = $25{{nbsp}}million<ref name=bom/> | gross = $354.8–429.4{{nbsp}}million<ref name=bom/><ref name="numbers">{{cite web|title=Rain Man (1988) - Financial Information|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rain-Man#tab=summary|website=The Numbers}}</ref><ref name=VarietyBO/> }}
'''''Rain Man''''' is a 1988 American road comedy-drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive and selfish wheeler-dealer Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), an autistic savant of whose existence Charlie was unaware. Morrow created the character of Raymond after meeting real-life savant Kim Peek; his characterization was based on both Peek and Bill Sackter, a good friend of Morrow who was the subject of ''Bill'', an earlier film that Morrow wrote.<ref name="DVD">Barry Morrow's audio commentary for ''Rain Man'' from the DVD release.</ref>
''Rain Man'' competed at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the highest prize: the Golden Bear.<ref name="Berlinale">{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1989/03_preistr_ger_1989/03_Preistraeger_1989.html |title=Berlinale: 1989 Prize Winners |access-date=March 13, 2011 |work=berlinale.de |archive-date=June 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609015427/https://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1989/03_preistr_ger_1989/03_Preistraeger_1989.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The film was released theatrically by MGM/UA Communications Co. under the United Artists label in the United States on December 16, 1988, to critical and commercial success. Praise was given to Levinson's direction, the performances (particularly Cruise and Hoffman), the screenplay, the musical score, the cinematography, and the film's portrayal of autism. The film grossed $354–$429.4{{nbsp}}million on a $25 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1988, and received a leading eight nominations at the 61st Academy Awards, winning four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Hoffman), and Best Original Screenplay.<ref name="Oscars1989"/>
==Plot== <!-- The following is a summary of the narrative: please do not add detailed descriptions of every scene. In addition, per WP:FILMPLOT, the plot summary should be kept between 400-700 words. --> Charlie Babbitt is an arrogant collectibles dealer in the middle of importing four grey market Lamborghinis to Los Angeles for resale. He needs to deliver the cars to impatient buyers who have already made down payments to repay the loan he took out to buy them, but the EPA is holding the cars at the port because they have failed emission tests. Charlie directs an employee to lie to the buyers while he stalls his creditor.
When Charlie learns that his estranged father Sanford Babbitt has died, he and his girlfriend Susanna travel to Cincinnati to settle the estate. He inherits only a group of rosebushes and a classic 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible over which he and Sanford had clashed, while the remainder of the $3 million estate is going to an unnamed trustee. He learns that the money is being directed to a local mental institution, where he meets his elder brother Raymond, of whom he was unaware.
Raymond is an autistic savant and follows strict routines. He has superb recall, but he shows little emotional expression, except when in distress. Charlie spirits Raymond out of the mental institution and into a hotel for the night. Disheartened with the way Charlie treats Raymond, Susanna leaves him. Charlie asks Raymond's doctor, Dr. Gerald Bruner, for half the estate in exchange for Raymond's return, but Dr. Bruner refuses. Charlie decides to attempt to gain custody of Raymond to get control of the money.
After Raymond refuses to fly to Los Angeles, he and Charlie resort to driving there instead. They make slow progress because Raymond insists on following his routines, which include watching ''The People's Court'' on television every day, getting to bed by 11:00 p.m., and refusing to travel when it rains. He also objects to traveling on the Interstate after they encounter a car accident.
During the course of the journey, Charlie learns more about Raymond, including his ability to instantly perform complex calculations and count hundreds of objects at once, far beyond the typical range of human abilities. He also realizes that Raymond had lived with the family as a child and was the "Rain Man" (Charlie's infantile pronunciation of "Raymond"), a comforting figure Charlie had remembered as an imaginary friend. Raymond had saved an infant Charlie from being scalded by hot bathwater one day, but Sanford blamed Raymond for nearly injuring Charlie, and committed him to the institution, as he was unable to speak up for himself and correct the misunderstanding.
Charlie's creditor repossesses the Lamborghinis, forcing him to refund his buyers' down payments and leaving him deeply in debt. Having passed Las Vegas, he and Raymond return to Caesars Palace and devise a plan to win the needed money by playing blackjack and counting cards with Raymond's abilities. Although the casino bosses obtain videotape evidence of the scheme and ask them to leave, Charlie successfully wins $86,000 to cover his debts. He also reconciles with Susanna, who has rejoined the brothers in Las Vegas.
Returning to Los Angeles, Charlie meets with Dr. Bruner, who offers him $250,000 to walk away from Raymond. Charlie refuses, saying he is no longer upset about being cut out of Sanford's will, but he wants to have a relationship with Raymond. At a meeting with a court-appointed psychiatrist, Raymond proves to be unable to decide for himself what he wants. Charlie stops the questioning and tells Raymond he is happy to have him as his brother. As Raymond and Dr. Bruner board a train to return to the institution, Charlie promises to visit in two weeks.
==Cast== {{Multiple image | total_width = 300 | direction = horizontal | align = right | footer = (left-to-right) Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise (pictured in 1989) played the Babbitt brothers, Raymond and Charlie respectively. | image1 = Dustin Hoffman cropped.jpg | alt1 = A photograph of Dustin Hoffman | image2 = Tom cruise 1989.jpg | alt2 = A photograph of Tom Cruise }} {{div col}} * Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt * Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt * Valeria Golino as Susanna * Jerry Molen as Dr. Gerald Bruner * Jack Murdock as John Mooney * Michael D. Roberts as Vern * Ralph Seymour as Lenny * Lucinda Jenney as Iris * Bonnie Hunt as Sally Dibbs * Kim Robillard as Small Town Doctor * Beth Grant as Mother at Farm House * Barry Levinson as Doctor * Bob Heckel as Sheriff Deputy {{div col end}}
==Production== ===Development=== [[File:Cogar Kelly.jpg|thumb|A now-abandoned gas station and general store in Cogar, Oklahoma, was used in a scene from the film. The Colvert sign has since been removed, revealing the full name of the business.]] In drafting the story for ''Rain Man'', Barry Morrow decided to base Raymond Babbitt on his experiences with both Kim Peek and Bill Sackter, two men who had gained notoriety and fame for their intellectual disabilities and, in Peek's case, for his abilities as a savant that were evident in high speed reading and extremely detailed memory. Prior to the conception of ''Rain Man'', Morrow had formed a friendship with the intellectually disabled Sackter, and, in doing so, ended up taking some situational aspects from his friendship and using them to help craft the relationship between Charlie and Raymond. Following the success of ''Bill'', the made-for-TV movie he had written about Sackter, Morrow met Kim Peek and was wildly intrigued by his savant syndrome. Going into the creation of the film, Morrow was still essentially unaware of the intricacies of the condition, as well as of autism itself; instead deciding that the movie was less about Raymond's intellectual disability, and more about the relationship formed between Raymond and Charlie.<ref name=":24">{{Cite web |date=2018-12-13 |title=Rain Man at 30: damaging stereotype or 'the best thing that happened to autism'? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/13/rain-man-at-30-autism-hoffman-cruise-levinson |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
Roger Birnbaum was the first studio executive to give the film a green light; he did so immediately after Barry Morrow pitched the story. Birnbaum received "special thanks" in the film's credits.<ref name="afi" />
Real-life brothers Dennis and Randy Quaid were considered for the roles of Raymond Babbitt and Charles Babbitt.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SqXAAAAQBAJ&q=randy+quaid+rainman+dennis+quaid+google+books&pg=PA197|title = Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others|isbn = 9781476609768|last1 = Mell|first1 = Eila|date = January 24, 2015| publisher=McFarland }}</ref> Agents at Creative Artists Agency sent the script to Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray, envisioning Murray in the title role, and Hoffman in the role eventually portrayed by Tom Cruise.<ref name="DVD" /><ref name="Patches 2014">{{cite web |last=Patches |first=Matt |title=Remembering 'Rain Man': The $350 Million Movie That Hollywood Wouldn't Touch Today |website=Grantland |date=2014-01-09 |url=https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/remembering-rain-man-the-350-million-movie-that-hollywood-wouldnt-touch-today/ |access-date=2023-06-09}}</ref> Martin Brest, Steven Spielberg and Sydney Pollack were directors also involved in the film.<ref name="DVDBass">Bass' audio commentary for ''Rain Man'' from the DVD release.</ref> Spielberg was attached to the film for five months, until he left to direct ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'', and he would later regret the decision.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/watch-36-minute-1990-interview-with-steven-spielberg-regrets-passing-on-rain-man-for-indy-3-more-97112/|title=Watch: 36-Minute 1990 Interview With Steven Spielberg, Regrets Passing On 'Rain Man' For 'Indy 3' & More|first=Ken|last=Guidry|date=June 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/old-interview-footage-shows-spielberg-regretted-skipping-rain-man-to-do-last-crusade/ | title=» Old Interview Footage Shows Spielberg Regretted Skipping Rain Man to do Last Crusade }}</ref> Mickey Rourke was also offered a role, but he turned it down.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mickey Rourke: a life in film |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/mickey-rourke-a-life-in-film-1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509151146/https://www.timeout.com/london/film/mickey-rourke-a-life-in-film-1 |archive-date=May 9, 2018 |access-date=10 September 2015 |work=Time Out}}</ref> Mel Gibson was also offered the role of Raymond, but he turned it down.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barfield |first=Charles |date=2018-06-29 |title=Mel Gibson Wishes He Would Have Said Yes To Dustin Hoffman's Role In 'Rain Man' |url=https://theplaylist.net/mel-gibson-rain-man-20180629/ |website=The Playlist}}</ref>
For a year prior to playing Raymond Babbitt, Hoffman prepared to portray Raymond's autism by seeking out and educating himself on other autistic people, particularly those with savant syndrome. Hoffman had some experience with disabled individuals prior to filming, having worked at the New York Psychiatric Institute when he was younger. Inspiration for the portrayal of Raymond Babbitt's mannerisms was drawn from a multitude of sources, but he thanked three men in his Oscar acceptance speech.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/link/061-1#:~:text=I%20thank%20all%20the%20producers,doctors%20and%20all%20their%20help.|title=Dustin Hoffman acceptance speech for Actor in a Leading Role 1988 Academy Award|date=March 29, 1989|website=Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Database|access-date=January 14, 2024}}</ref> One was Peter Guthrie, the autistic brother of Kevin Guthrie, a Princeton football player with whom Hoffman was in touch at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lamag.com/news/autism-d-u-s-t-i-n|title=Autism: D-U-S-T-I-N|date=September 1, 2010|website=Los Angeles Magazine|access-date=January 14, 2024}}</ref> Another was autistic savant Joseph Sullivan, who was the subject of two documentary films<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.autismservicescenter.org/about/josephs_story|title=Joseph's Story|website=Autism Services Center|access-date=January 14, 2024}}</ref> and whose mother, Dr. Ruth Sullivan, was the founding president of the Autism Society of America and served as a consultant on the film. The third was savant Kim Peek, with whom Hoffman met as part of his research of the role, wherein he would observe and mimic Peek's actions, attempting to give an accurate portrayal of what an individual with savant syndrome might act like. His mimicry of Peek's savant syndrome was deemed a poor fit for the character by Hoffman, resulting in Hoffman's decision to make Babbitt not only a man with savant syndrome, but also with autism.<ref name=":24"/>
===Filming=== Principal photography included nine weeks of filming on location in Cincinnati and throughout Northern Kentucky.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wcpo.com/entertainment/local-a-e/rain-man-then-and-now-a-look-back-at-rain-man-in-cincinnati-and-northern-kentucky |title= Then and Now: A look back at 'Rain Man' in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky |author1=Alter, Maxim |author2=Maxwell, Emily |work=WCPO |date=February 28, 2014 |access-date=January 10, 2022}}</ref> Other portions were shot in the desert near Palm Springs, California.<ref name="Niemann">{{Cite book| last = Niemann| first = Greg| title = Palm Springs Legends: creation of a desert oasis| publisher = Sunbelt Publications| year = 2006| location = San Diego, CA| pages = 286| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RwXQGTuL1M0C&q=palm+springs+film+locations&pg=PA169| isbn = 978-0-932653-74-1| oclc = 61211290}}<!-- {{LCC|F869 P18 N45 2006}} {{ASIN|093265374X}}--> ([http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0516/2005021837.html here for Table of Contents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111950/http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0516/2005021837.html |date=March 4, 2016 }})</ref>{{rp|168–71}} There was originally a different ending to the movie drafted by Morrow that differed from Raymond's going back to the institution. Morrow ultimately decided to drop this ending in favor of Raymond's returning to the institution, as he felt the original ending would not have stuck with the viewers as effectively as the revised ending did.<ref name=":24"/> Almost all of the principal photography occurred during the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike; one key scene that was affected by the lack of writers was the film's final scene.<ref name="DVD" /> Bass delivered his last draft of the script only hours before the strike started and spent no time on the set.<ref name="DVDBass" />
=== Music === The original motion picture soundtrack of Rain Man was composed by Hans Zimmer and was nominated for Best Original Score at the 61st Academy Awards.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rain Man |url=https://www.allmusic.com/archive/album/rain-man-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mw0000198927 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/rain-man-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mw0000198927 |archive-date=November 2, 2025 |access-date=November 9, 2025 |website=Allmusic}}</ref>
==Release== The film had its premiere on December 12, 1988 at Loew's Astor Plaza in New York City and opened in the United States on December 16, 1988.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Film Soundtrack|magazine=Variety|date=December 7, 1988|page=19}}</ref> ==Reception== ===Box office=== {{see also|1988 in film}} ''Rain Man'' was the second highest-grossing film in its opening weekend box office (behind ''Twins''), with $7{{nbsp}}million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1988&wknd=51&p=.htm|title=Weekend Box Office: December 16–18, 1988|work=Box Office Mojo|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909174907/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1988&wknd=51&p=.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> It reached the first spot the weekend of December 30 – January 2, finishing 1988 with $42{{nbsp}}million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1988&wknd=53a&p=.htm|title=Weekend Box Office: December 30 – January 2, 1988|work=Box Office Mojo|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=September 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924105806/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1988&wknd=53a&p=.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The film would become the highest-grossing U.S. film of 1988 by earning more than $172{{nbsp}}million. Worldwide figures vary, though. Box Office Mojo claims that the film grossed over $354{{nbsp}}million worldwide,<ref name=bom>{{Mojo title|id=rainman|title=Rain Man}}</ref> while The Numbers reported that the film grossed $412.8{{nbsp}}million worldwide.<ref name=numbers/> ''Variety'' listed the overseas total at $256.6{{nbsp}}million, for a $429.4{{nbsp}}million worldwide total.<ref name="VarietyBO">{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=September 11, 1995|page=92|title=UIP's $25M-Plus Club}}</ref>
===Critical response=== On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, ''Rain Man'' holds an approval rating of 88%, based on 136 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critical consensus states: "This road-trip movie about an autistic savant and his callow brother is far from seamless, but Barry Levinson's direction is impressive, and strong performances from Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman add to its appeal."<ref>{{cite web |title = ''Rain Man'' (1988) |url = https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rain_man/ |work = Rotten Tomatoes |access-date = August 3, 2022 |publisher = Fandango Media |archive-date = June 24, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220624032441/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rain_man |url-status = live }}</ref> Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rain-man |title=''Rain Man'' Reviews |work=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=March 1, 2018 |archive-date=March 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311190043/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/rain-man |url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A", on a scale of A+ to F.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-12-20|title=Cinemascore :: Movie Title Search|url=https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/|access-date=2020-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/|archive-date=December 20, 2018}}</ref>
Vincent Canby of ''The New York Times'' called ''Rain Man'': {{cquote|becomingly modest, decently thought-out, sometimes funny film"; Hoffman's performance was a "display of sustained virtuosity ... [that] makes no lasting connections with the emotions. Its end effect depends largely on one's susceptibility to the sight of an actor acting nonstop and extremely well, but to no particularly urgent dramatic purpose.<ref name="nytimes">{{Cite web |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=December 16, 1988 |title=Review/Film; Brotherly Love, of Sorts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/16/movies/review-film-brotherly-love-of-sorts.html |access-date=February 27, 2023 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>}} Canby considered the "film's true central character" to be "the confused, economically and emotionally desperate Charlie, beautifully played by Mr. Cruise."<ref name="nytimes" />
Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four. He wrote: {{cquote|Hoffman proves again that he almost seems to thrive on impossible acting challenges. ... I felt a certain love for Raymond, the Hoffman character. I don't know quite how Hoffman got me to do it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=December 16, 1988 |title=Rain Man movie review & film summary (1988) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rain-man-1988 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206023522/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rain-man-1988 |archive-date=December 6, 2022 |access-date=2023-02-27 |website=RogerEbert.com |language=en}}</ref> }}<nowiki> </nowiki>Gene Siskel also gave the film three and a half stars out of four, singling out Cruise for praise: "The strength of the film is really that of Cruise's performance...the combination of two superior performances makes the movie worth watching."<ref>{{cite web |last=Siskel |first=Gene |date=December 16, 1988 |title=Cruise's Performance Gives 'Rain Man' Strength |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-12-16-8802250650-story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230227181315/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-12-16-8802250650-story.html |archive-date=February 27, 2023 |access-date=February 21, 2021 |website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
Amy Dawes of ''Variety'' wrote that "one of the year's most intriguing film premises ... is given uneven, slightly off-target treatment"; she called the road scenes "hastily, loosely written, with much extraneous screen time", but admired the last third of the film, calling it a depiction of "two very isolated beings" who "discover a common history and deep attachment".<ref name="variety">{{Cite news |last=Dawes |first=Amy |date=December 14, 1988 |title=Rain Man |work=Variety |url=http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=Variety100&reviewid=VE1117488019&content=jump&jump=review&category=1935&cs=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228072537/http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=Variety100&reviewid=VE1117488019&content=jump&jump=review&category=1935&cs=1 |archive-date=February 28, 2009}}</ref>
One of the film's harshest reviews came from ''The New Yorker'' magazine critic Pauline Kael, who said, "Everything in this movie is fudged ever so humanistically, in a perfunctory, low-pressure way. And the picture has its effectiveness: people are crying at it. Of course they're crying at it—it's a piece of wet kitsch."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kael |first=Pauline |title=Stunt |date=February 6, 1989 |url=https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/movies/rain-man-review-pauline-kael/ |magazine=The New Yorker |via=Scraps From The Loft |access-date=February 17, 2023}}</ref>
''Rain Man'' was placed on 39 critics' "ten best" lists in 1988, based on a poll of the nation's top 100 critics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-08-ca-257-story.html|title=100 Film Critics Can't Be Wrong, Can They? : The critics' consensus choice for the 'best' movie of '88 is . . . a documentary!|date=January 8, 1989|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=May 9, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308123835/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-08-ca-257-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Accolades=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |- ! Award ! Category ! Nominee(s) ! Result |- | rowspan="8"| Academy Awards<ref name="Oscars1989">{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 |title=The 61st Academy Awards (1989) Nominees and Winners |access-date=July 31, 2011 |work=oscars.org |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502001817/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 |url-status=live }}</ref> | Best Picture | Mark Johnson | {{won}} |- | Best Director | Barry Levinson | {{won}} |- | Best Actor | Dustin Hoffman | {{won}} |- | Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen | Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow | {{won}} |- | Best Art Direction | Ida Random and Linda DeScenna | {{nom}} |- | Best Cinematography | John Seale | {{nom}} |- | Best Film Editing | Stu Linder | {{nom}} |- | Best Original Score | Hans Zimmer | {{nom}} |- | American Cinema Editors Awards | Best Edited Feature Film | Stu Linder | {{won}} |- | American Society of Cinematographers Awards<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theasc.com/asc_news/awards/awards_history.php |title=The ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110802060537/http://www.theasc.com/asc_news/awards/awards_history.php |archive-date=2011-08-02 }}</ref> | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases | John Seale | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="2"| Berlin International Film Festival<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/archive/jahresarchive/1989/03_preistraeger_1989/03_preistraeger_1989.html |title=PRIZES & HONOURS 1989 |website=Berlin International Film Festival |access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref> | Golden Bear | rowspan="2"| Barry Levinson | {{won}} |- | Berliner Morgenpost Readers' Jury Award | {{won}} |- | BMI Film & TV Awards | Film Music Award | Hans Zimmer | {{won}} |- | rowspan="3"| British Academy Film Awards<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1990/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1990 |website=BAFTA |year=1990 |access-date=16 September 2016 |ref={{harvid|BAFTA|1990}}}}</ref> | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Dustin Hoffman | {{nom}} |- | Best Original Screenplay | Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow | {{nom}} |- | Best Editing | Stu Linder | {{nom}} |- | César Awards<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academie-cinema.org/evenements/ceremonie-des-cesar-1990/ |title=The 1990 Caesars Ceremony |publisher=César Awards |accessdate=July 10, 2021}}</ref> | Best Foreign Film | Barry Levinson | {{nom}} |- | Chicago Film Critics Association Awards<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/1988-97|title=Chicago Film Critics Awards – 1988–97|publisher=Chicago Film Critics Association|accessdate=21 July 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422075211/http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/1988-97|archivedate=22 April 2016}}</ref> | Best Actor | Dustin Hoffman | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="5"| David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Film | rowspan="2"| Barry Levinson | {{won}} |- | Best Foreign Director | {{nom}} |- | Best Foreign Actor | Dustin Hoffman | {{won}} |- | Best Foreign Producer | Mark Johnson | {{nom}} |- | Best Foreign Screenplay | Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow | {{nom}} |- | Directors Guild of America Awards<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1980s/1988.aspx?value=1988|title=41st DGA Awards |website=Directors Guild of America Awards |access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref> | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Barry Levinson | {{won}} |- | rowspan="4"| Golden Globe Awards<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/rain-man |title=Rain Man – Golden Globes |website=HFPA |access-date=July 10, 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|1989}}}}</ref> | colspan="2"| Best Motion Picture – Drama | {{won}} |- | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Dustin Hoffman | {{won}} |- | Best Director – Motion Picture | Barry Levinson | {{nom}} |- | Best Screenplay – Motion Picture | Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow | {{nom}} |- | Goldene Kamera {{small|(1989)}} | colspan="2"| Golden Screen | {{won}} |- | Goldene Kamera {{small|(1991)}} | colspan="2"| Golden Screen with 1 Star | {{won}} |- | Heartland Film | Truly Moving Picture Award | Barry Levinson | {{won}} |- | Japan Academy Film Prize | colspan="2"| Outstanding Foreign Language Film | {{nom}} |- | Jupiter Awards | Best International Film | Barry Levinson | {{won}} |- | rowspan="4"| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kcfcc.org/kcfcc-award-winners-1980-89/ |title=KCFCC Award Winners – 1980-89 |date=December 14, 2013 |access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref> | colspan="2"| Best Film | {{won}} |- | Best Director | Barry Levinson | {{won}} |- | Best Actor | Dustin Hoffman | {{won}} |- | Best Supporting Actor | Tom Cruise | {{won}}{{efn|Tied with Martin Landau for ''Tucker: The Man and His Dream'' and Dean Stockwell for ''Married to the Mob''}} |- | Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | rowspan="2"| Barry Levinson | {{won}} |- | Mainichi Film Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | {{won}} |- | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Video from a Film | "Iko Iko" – The Belle Stars | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="2"| Nastro d'Argento | Best Foreign Director | Barry Levinson | {{nom}} |- | Best Supporting Actress | Valeria Golino | {{nom}} |- | National Society of Film Critics Awards<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/about-2/ |title=Past Awards |website=National Society of Film Critics |date=December 19, 2009 |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref> | Best Actor | rowspan="2"| Dustin Hoffman | {{draw|3rd Place}} |- | New York Film Critics Circle Awards<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mubi.com/awards-and-festivals/nyfccas?year=1988 |title=1988 New York Film Critics Circle Awards |website=Mubi |access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref> | Best Actor | {{draw|2nd Place}} |- | Nikkan Sports Film Awards | colspan="2"| Best Foreign Film | {{won}} |- | People's Choice Awards<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 12, 1989 |title=People's Choice Awards honor public favorites - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/03/12/Peoples-Choice-Awards-honor-public-favorites/4676605682000/ |access-date=2023-02-27 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> | colspan="2"| Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture | {{won}} |- | Turkish Film Critics Association Awards | colspan="2"| Best Foreign Film | {{draw|2nd Place}} |- | Writers Guild of America Awards<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551|title=Awards Winners|work=wga.org|publisher=Writers Guild of America|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551|archive-date=2012-12-05|access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref> | Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen | Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow | {{nom}} |- | YoGa Awards | Worst Foreign Actor | Dustin Hoffman | {{won}} |}
== Legacy == The release of ''Rain Man'' in 1988 coincided with a tenfold increase in funding for medical research and diagnoses of individuals for autism in the US. The latter is primarily due to autism's being more broadly defined in newer editions of the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', particularly versions III-R and IV.<ref name="silber">{{cite book |last1=Silberman |first1=Steve |title=NeuroTribes |date=2015 |publisher=Avery |location=New York |isbn=978-1-58333-467-6 }}</ref>{{rp|389–401}} The movie is credited, however, with significantly increasing awareness of autism among the general public.{{r|silber|p=354-380}}
''Rain Man'' is known, in particular, for its portrayal of a man with both autism and savant skills, leading much of its viewing audience to incorrectly assume the intellectual capabilities of autistic people at large.<ref name=":24"/> Characters like Raymond Babbitt, whose characterization has been criticized for adhering to stereotypes, are portrayed as having an otherworldly intellectual ability that, rather than disable them from living a "normal" life, instead assists them in a nearly magical way. Although having savant abilities is certainly a possibility for autistic individuals, the combination is incredibly rare.<ref name="Prochnow 2014 133–149">{{Cite journal |last=Prochnow |first=Alexandria |date=2014 |title=An Analysis of Autism Through Media Representation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24761922 |journal=ETC: A Review of General Semantics |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=133–149 |issn=0014-164X |jstor=24761922}}</ref> Conversely, ''Rain Man'' has also been seen as dispelling a number of other misconceptions about autism, and improving public awareness of the failure of many agencies to accommodate autistic people and make use of the abilities they do have, regardless of whether they have savant skills or not.<ref>{{cite web |last=Treffert |first=Darold |title=Rain Man, the Movie/Rain Man, Real Life |url=https://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/professional/savant-syndrome/resources/articles/rain-man-the-movie-rain-man-real-life/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827173420/https://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/professional/savant-syndrome/resources/articles/rain-man-the-movie-rain-man-real-life/ |archive-date=August 27, 2015 |access-date=September 29, 2014 |website=Wisconsin Medical Society}}</ref>
Since Dustin Hoffman's 1989 Academy Award win for his performance in ''Rain Man'', about half of all Best Actor trophies have been awarded for portrayals of characters who are disabled in some way; none of these recipients share their characters' disabilities in real life.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moyer |first=Justin Wm |date=2021-10-25 |title=Welcome, Eddie Redmayne: Since 'Rain Man,' majority of Best Actor Oscar winners played sick or disabled |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/23/since-rain-man-majority-of-best-actor-winners-played-sick-or-disabled/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gilbert |first=Aaliya |date=2018-05-12 |title=Oscars so Abled? The Overwhelming Frequency of Non-disabled Actors Portraying Disabled Characters |url=https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2018/05/12/oscars-so-abled-the-overwhelming-frequency-of-non-disabled-actors-portraying-disabled-characters/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=The Oxford Student |language=en-GB}}</ref> Just one year after Hoffman's win, Daniel Day-Lewis (thus far the only actor to have won three awards in the category) garnered his first Best Actor win for his portrayal of cerebral palsy patient Christy Brown in ''My Left Foot''. The Academy's incentivizing of such casting practices has drawn criticism from disabled actors and self-advocates, who argue that these decisions sideline more authentic stories about disabled characters, in favor of leveraging already-established actors' prestige.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yates |first=Jessy |date=2019-02-22 |title=Dreaming of a Hollywood Ending for Actors With Disabilities (Guest Column) |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/opinion/actors-with-disabilities-opinion-1203146408/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stewart |first=Sophia |date=2018-01-30 |title=The Oscars Love Movies About Disability, Not Disabled Actors |url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/oscars-love-movies-disability-not-disabled-actors/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=Film School Rejects |language=en-US}}</ref> This pattern has even been satirized by the 2008 film ''Tropic Thunder'' (in which Tom Cruise also appears), wherein Robert Downey Jr.'s character, Kirk Lazarus, chastises a fellow actor for portraying a character whose developmental disability is deemed too alienating for a mainstream audience.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lopez |first=Kristen |date=2018-11-02 |title=Ten Years Of Missing The Point of 'Tropic Thunder's' Thoughts On Mental Disability |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristenlopez/2018/11/02/ten-years-of-missing-the-point-of-tropic-thunders-thoughts-on-mental-disability/ |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>
''Rain Man'' is also known for popularizing the misconception that card counting is illegal in the United States.<ref name="bjlaw">{{cite book |title=Blackjack and the Law |last1=Rose |first1=I. Nelson |last2=Loeb |first2=Robert A. |isbn=978-0-910575-08-9 |year=1999 |publisher=Rge Pub}}</ref>
In 2006, the film was recognized by the American Film Institute in their list of 100 Years...100 Cheers at #63.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years…100 Cheers |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-cheers/ |access-date=2023-02-27 |website=American Film Institute |language=en}}</ref>
===Stage play=== In 2008, a stage adaptation of the film by Dan Gordon premiered at the West End's Apollo Theatre in a production starring Josh Hartnett and Adam Godley.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shenton |first=Mark |date=September 19, 2008 |title=Rain Man, with Josh Hartnett and Adam Godley, Opens in London Sept. 19 |url=https://playbill.com/article/rain-man-with-josh-hartnett-and-adam-godley-opens-in-london-sept-19-com-153453 |access-date=June 28, 2025 |website=Playbill}}</ref>
== In popular culture ==<!-- Two or three prominent examples are enough to illustrate the film's role in popular culture. Popular culture sections are *not* exhaustive lists of every single reference to the subject of the article. --> The cold open sketch in the April 1, 1989, installment of ''Saturday Night Live'' spoofed both the film and the Pete Rose gambling scandal at the time. Charlie and Raymond Babbitt were played by Ben Stiller and Dana Carvey, respectively, with Phil Hartman as Rose.<ref>[https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/episode-16-pictured-kevin-nealon-as-caretaker-ben-stiller-news-photo/138422157 NBC photograph of the ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch spoofing ''Rain Man'' and the Pete Rose gambling scandal from April 1, 1989.] Retrieved May 26, 2023.</ref>
References to ''Rain Man'', Dustin Hoffman's performance in particular, have become a popular shorthand for autism and savantism. In the final episode of the first season of ''Community'', Pierce calls Abed "Rain Man" when listing members of the study group; Abed had been described previously as having Asperger's Syndrome, which is now diagnosed as autism spectrum disorder.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/community-pascals-triangle-revisited-1798165056 |title=''Community'': "Pascal's Triangle Revisited" |last=VanDerWerff |first=Emily |date=May 21, 2010 |website=The A.V. Club |access-date=May 5, 2023}}</ref>
===Qantas and airline controversy=== In June 1989, at least fifteen major airlines showed edited versions of ''Rain Man'' that omitted the scene involving Raymond's refusal to fly, mentioning the crashes of American Airlines Flight 625, Delta Air Lines Flight 191, and Continental Airlines Flight 1713, except on Australia-based Qantas. Those criticizing this decision included film director Barry Levinson, co-screenwriter Ronald Bass, and George Kirgo (at the time, the President of the Writers Guild of America, West). "I think it's a key scene to the entire movie", Levinson said in a telephone interview. "That's why it's in there. It launches their entire odyssey across country – because they couldn't fly." Although some of those airlines cited as justification avoiding having airplane passengers feel uncomfortable in sympathy with Raymond during the in-flight entertainment, the scene was shown intact on flights of Qantas, and commentators noted that Raymond mentions ''it'' as the only airline whose planes have "never crashed".<ref name=ny>{{cite news|title=Airlines Cut Scene From 'Rain Man'|date=June 29, 1989|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/29/movies/airlines-cut-scene-from-rain-man.html|access-date=June 6, 2015|archive-date=June 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613035239/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/29/movies/airlines-cut-scene-from-rain-man.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=la>{{cite news|last=Weinstein|first=Steve|title=Uneasy Airlines Get Final Cut on 'Rain Man'|date=June 29, 1989|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-29-ca-3726-story.html|access-date=June 6, 2015|archive-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616024746/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-06-29/entertainment/ca-3726_1_airlines-plane-rain-man|url-status=live}}</ref>
The film is credited with introducing Qantas's safety record to U.S. consumers.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kamenev|first=Marina|title=Qantas: Airline Safety's Golden Child No More?|date=November 24, 2010|magazine=Time|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2032492,00.html|access-date=June 6, 2015|archive-date=May 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524233906/http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2032492,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=January 7, 2014 |title=Is Qantas still the world's safest airline? |url=http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/is-qantas-still-the-worlds-safest-airline/story-e6frfq80-1226796848267 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107130955/http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/is-qantas-still-the-worlds-safest-airline/story-e6frfq80-1226796848267 |archive-date=January 7, 2014 |access-date=June 6, 2015 |publisher=News.com.au}}</ref> However, contrary to the claims made in the film, Qantas aircraft have been involved in a number of fatal accidents since the airline's founding in 1920 (although none involving jet aircraft, with the last incident taking place in December 1951).<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Palmer|first=Brian|title=Is Qantas The World's Safest Airline?|date=1 November 2011|magazine=Slate|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/11/airline_safety_does_qantas_airlines_crash_free_record_make_it_th.html|access-date=5 May 2022|archive-date=24 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524232929/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/11/airline_safety_does_qantas_airlines_crash_free_record_make_it_th.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
===The Buick convertible=== Two 1949 Roadmaster convertibles were used in the filming, one of which had its rear suspension stiffened to bear the additional load of camera equipment and a cameraman. After filming completed, the unmodified car was acquired by Hoffman, who had it restored and added it to his collection. He kept it for 34 years. ''Hemmings Motor News'' reported that the car was auctioned in January 2022 by Bonhams in Scottsdale, Arizona, and sold for $335,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.motorious.com/articles/news/rain-man-buick-roadmaster/ |title=Rain Man Buick Roadmaster Sells For $335,000 |last=Symes |first=Steven |website=motorious.com |date=31 January 2022 |access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref> The camera-carrying car was similarly acquired by Barry Levinson, who had it restored by Wayne Carini of the ''Chasing Classic Cars'' television series a few years later.
== See also == * List of films set in Las Vegas
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote|Rain Man}} * {{AFI film|55772|Rain Man}} * {{IMDb title}} * {{TCMDb title|18083|Rain Man}} * {{mojo title|rainman|Rain Man}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes}} * {{Metacritic film}}
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