Talk:Falling Down

Suggestion

There should be a "Themes" section. The two main themes in Falling Down are mental health, and post-Cold War America. The film contains a lot of Western motifs. The film's screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith said in the 2009 DVD commentary that Falling Down is about where the extra ordinary meets the ordinary. Ebbe said Falling Down works as a detective story, not just social commentary. He felt the mystery element of Prendergast tracking Foster provided crucial structure to the narrative. Prendergast's core motivation isn't about rebelling against the police department or proving himself, it's simply that he's a detective who can't stop being a detective. Even on his last day, faced with disbelief from colleagues, he has to solve the mystery because that's who he fundamentally is.

In essence, Ebbe is saying Prendergast's story isn't primarily about redemption or rebellion, but about a detective following his nature despite circumstances. Michael Douglas, Ebbe Roe Smith, Joel Schumacher, and L.A. Times writer Shawn Hubler talk about the film's themes in the commentary for the 2009 DVD and Blu-ray release of the film.

The production of the film should give out an accurate description.

Ebbe Roe Smith was inspired to write Falling Down after reading a news story where, on the L.A. Freeway, an angry trucker snapped and started to ram and shove people off the road as he was driving. Producers Arnold Kopelsen and Anne Kopelsen brought the script to Michael Douglas in 1991. Douglas had worked with director Joel Schumacher as a producer on Schumacher's 1990 film Flatliners, and gave Schumacher the script. Douglas learned that Falling Down was turned down by almost every studio and was going to be developed as a television film. Douglas saw its potential and cut down his salary to ensure the project would get made. Douglas was personally drawn to Falling Down because it addressed his concerns about middle-class decline and growing wealth inequality in the United States under the George H.W. Bush presidency. He was specifically looking for a role where he could initiate action rather than play reactive characters like in Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, and Black Rain. He wanted something like Robert De Niro's role in Cape Fear, where he could push buttons and make others react to him. Douglas took the role of William Foster, partly because it allowed him to be more physically expressive instead of keeping emotions bottled up like his previous roles. Barbara Hershey was cast as Foster's ex wife Elizabeth Tavino. She was only available for two weeks as she was due to shoot a film in England. Schumacher was drawn to the film, saying that it felt like a Western.

Ebbe originally wrote a scene where Foster came across a rich plastic surgeon giving out a birthday party for one of their children, and Foster humiliated the plastic surgeon's wife by forcing her to strip and show all her surgeries. Schumacher changed the scene to his encounter with the caretaker and the caretaker's family because Schumacher felt Foster making the plastic surgeon's wife strip would make audiences loose sympathy for him.

During the filming of Falling Down, the 1992 Los Angeles riots happened. Schumacher said that there were police helping with the film's production. The police warned them about potential unrest if the officers in the Rodney King case were acquitted. They were originally going to shoot the Whammy Burger scene in Inglewood, but the cops told them not to go there because of the riots. The Whammy Burger scene was shot at a burger place called "Angelo's Burgers" in Lynwood California. Schumacher raced home from Mulholland to Bel-Air and saw the riots on television. The production later came back to the same neighborhoods and worked with local LA residents to maintain some authenticity in the film. The 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, combined with the 1992 Los Angeles riots tie in with the film's themes.

I found this information from the 2009 DVD and Blu-ray releases of Falling Down. The special features "Deconstructing D-FENS" and the commentary with Michael Douglas, Joel Schumacher, Ebbe Roe Smith, Paul Hirsch, Michael Paul Chan, Vondie Curtis Hall, Frederic Forrest, and Shawn Hubler. Oh and also, the home media section should reference the 2009 DVD and Blu-Ray releases of the film. And the soundtrack by James Newton Howard that was released by Intrada and WaterTower Music in January 2014.2600:6C40:5900:29C6:40C3:6FB2:C2A8:1AE6 (talk) 04:19, 8 March 2025 (UTC)

Leaves him to die

There has been a (near) edit war recently over the plot.....one point of contention is the gang guy Foster shoots in the leg and "leaves to die". Seems to me like that part should be left out because (if I am not mistaken), we never learn if the guy died or not. I don't think Foster said that was his intent either.Rja13ww33 (talk) 17:49, 10 March 2025 (UTC)

It's not an edit war when you're dealing with an WP:LTA. See WP:DENY. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 19:19, 10 March 2025 (UTC)

Pardon me. Perhaps I should have not used that term.Rja13ww33 (talk) 19:52, 10 March 2025 (UTC)

I'm concerned by this. The LTA to whom I refer is obsessed with this page and I believe them to be Fourlaxers. They edit children's TV programmes and also love Monty Python. I think Barry Won should be check usered as a result. I know they've edited for a long time but it's quacking to me. NEDOCHAN (talk) 17:31, 12 March 2025 (UTC)

Well forgetting about the other editor (or LTA, DENY, or whatever)....what is the argument to keep the "leaves to die" statement in? (This is me asking.)Rja13ww33 (talk) 22:39, 12 March 2025 (UTC)

Leaving someone to die doesn't mean they die, it means you do nothing to prevent them from doing so. NEDOCHAN (talk) 22:43, 12 March 2025 (UTC)

Ok, but the movie says nothing about him dying.....nor does Foster say that was his intent. And shooting someone in the leg isn't exactly a surefire way to get there...so I just don't follow the introduction of that phrase.Rja13ww33 (talk) 00:00, 13 March 2025 (UTC)

Nothing has been introduced; if you're not a persistent LTA and want to reinstate the preference of an LTA and therefore encourage their persistent sockpuppetry, be my guest. The alternative would be to leave it as is. NEDOCHAN (talk) 00:33, 13 March 2025 (UTC)

Whether or not this phrase was removed by a sockpuppet is rather irrelevant. There's nothing in the actual film which indicates the intentions of the character in this repect. Do the filmmakers wish to imply that he is left for dead? Quite possibly, but we can't include a detail which isn't explicitly shown. Barry Wom (talk) 14:04, 13 March 2025 (UTC)

the movie poster

I had to squint, but I was finally able to read the description on the movie poster. It seems to me that "The adventures of an ordinary man at war with the everyday world" goes a long way to informing the reader exactly what the movie is about, yet I don't recall that text in the article at all. 2601:183:487E:4370:1BE:425B:A09B:8FC5 (talk) 18:07, 9 April 2025 (UTC)

Genre

Over the years this page has had several edits changing the film’s genre from thriller to action to drama, I feel it should stop. Most sources typically refer to the film as a thriller so I think it would be more fitting to consider the film as a thriller or psychological thriller as the film deals with a man being driven to his breaking point by societal flaws. 209.202.60.98 (talk) 22:01, 15 October 2025 (UTC)

Thanks for giving your opinion, but what was there represented the opinions of more editors. Genres are decided by WP:CONSENSUS so you should see if editors agree with you overall and, if so, make the edit then. For the time being, the long-standing genre will remain. NEDOCHAN (talk) 23:47, 19 October 2025 (UTC)

And how can we come to an agreement so the genre changes can stop?as it’s stated before, the film is primarily referred to as a thriller by most sources so titling it thriller or psychological thriller is fitting 2605:8D80:5720:ACB:C117:CF79:5461:D062 (talk) 02:04, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

Restating your opinion with another IP is not the way, that's for sure. Genre editors are spectacularly useless, if you think about it. NEDOCHAN (talk) 21:00, 26 October 2025 (UTC)

Falling Down is both a Thriller and a Drama because it's about a retiring police officer (Robert Duvall) who is chasing after a mentally unstable man (Michael Douglas) who left his car and went on a rampage trying to get to his family. ~2025-35380-66 (talk) 17:32, 21 November 2025 (UTC)

We editors cannot personally determine the genre ourselves. Per MOS:FILMLEAD, "Genre classifications should comply with WP:WEIGHT and reflect what is specified by a majority of mainstream reliable sources." That means we need to include the genre most commonly mentioned in coverage about the film. So we should look at reviews and anniversary-based coverage and book sources to see how the world at large has typically classified the film. Erik (talk | contrib) 17:59, 21 November 2025 (UTC)

One of the reasons Michael Douglas did Falling Down was because he was getting tired of playing reactive characters like in Basic Instinct and wanted something like Robert De Niro's role in Cape Fear where he could initiate action.

That should be included in this article. ~2025-35295-34 (talk) 00:13, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

WP:SOURCE?. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 00:37, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

the source is from the 2009 DVD commentary. Douglas confirms this. ~2026-13721 (talk) 16:09, 1 January 2026 (UTC)

Changes without reason

The reason I insist that Foster leaves the man to die is that a detective later tells his girlfriend that he is dead. I also wish to remove the sections of the black man and the phone, as I don't think this is entirely relevant. ~2025-37136-02 (talk) 16:01, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

See the above discussion "Leaves him to die". Barry Wom (talk) 16:06, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

I don't remember him saying that....I remember him saying he is probably going to die.Rja13ww33 (talk) 18:50, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

The black man at the bank section shouldn't be removed. It's arguably one of the most important scenes in the film. It shows that, even though Foster is a psychopath, he's able to relate to someone who is struggling. ~2026-93326-5 (talk) 20:14, 10 February 2026 (UTC)