When God appears to an assistant grocery manager as a good-natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger to the modern world.When God appears to an assistant grocery manager as a good-natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger to the modern world.When God appears to an assistant grocery manager as a good-natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger to the modern world.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 3 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film briefly interrupted Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)'s 15-week reign at the number one spot at the box office in October 1977. Star Wars returned to the top spot the following week.
- GoofsThe trial for slander would have been a civil trial and would have taken many months, if not years, to come to trial after the alleged slander took place. Neither side would be permitted to call "surprise" witnesses at the trial. The witness list would have been made known to both sides well in advance of the trial as part of the discovery process, and each side would have had an opportunity to depose the other side's intended witnesses prior to the trial if desired.
- Quotes
Jerry Landers: How can you permit all the *suffering* that goes on the world?
God: Ah, how can *I* permit the suffering?
Jerry Landers: Yeah!
God: I don't permit the suffering. You do! Free will. All the choices are yours.
Jerry Landers: Choices? What choices?
God: You can love each other, cherish and nurture each other or you can kill each other. Incidentally, "kill" is the word. It's not "waste." If I meant "waste" I would have written "thou shalt not waste." You're doing some very funny things with words, here. You're also turning the sky into mud. I look down, I can't believe the filth. Using the rivers for toilets, poisoning my fishes. You want a miracle? *You* make a fish from scratch. You can't. You think only God can make a tree? Try coming up with a mackerel. And when the last one is gone, that'll be that. Eighty-six on the fishes, goodbye sky, so long world, over and out.
- Alternate versionsThe Saul Bass variant of the Warner Bros. Pictures logo is plastered with the 1984 variant in the post-1989 VHS releases, and 2003 variant on the digital platforms.
As, God, Burns is astonishing. Whenever John Denver asks questions that every being would ask if confronted by God, Burns replies with a certain, common sense, matter of fact response. There is no grandiose answer. One of my favorite lines is when John Denver's character asks "Why me?", God says, "Why not you? You know those supermarket things, every one millionth customer. Or whoever crosses the bridge at a certain time. Well you're the one millionth customer."
Speaking of Denver, he also is great, playing Jerry, not as a crazed man, but as an average grocery market assistant manager who is suddenly faced with the fact that God has chosen him to carry a message. He plays his character with a certain warmth, and naturalness.
Carl Reiner directed this film, and with a great eye. Notice how Jerry's everyday life is just that, everyday. The way he is with his wife, and kids, and people around him. I've seen it a dozen times, because that's how people actually act. Reiner brought a sense of realness to this movie, which in effect brought with it believability.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origen
- Languages
- Also known as
- Oh, Gott
- Filming locations
- Riverside Drive and Main Street, Burbank, California, USA(the phone booth where Jerry meets God at the end)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $41,687,243
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,040,920
- Oct 9, 1977
- Gross worldwide
- $41,687,243
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1