Meet Joe Black

1998, Fantasy/Drama, 3h 0m

49 Reviews 100,000+ Ratings

What to know

critics consensus

Meet Joe Black is pretty to look at and benefits from an agreeable cast, but that isn't enough to offset this dawdling drama's punishing three-hour runtime. Read critic reviews

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Meet Joe Black Videos

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Movie Info

Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), businessman and devoted family man, is about to celebrate his 65th birthday. However, before he reaches that landmark, he is visited by Death (Brad Pitt), who has taken human form as Joe Black, a young man who recently died. Joe and Bill make a deal: Bill will be given a few extra days of his life, and Joe will spend the same time getting to know what it's like to be human. It seems like a perfect arrangement, until Joe falls in love -- with Bill's daughter.
  • Rating:
    PG-13
  • Genre:
    Fantasy, Drama, Romance
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Martin Brest
  • Producer:
    Martin Brest
  • Writer:
    Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, Bo Goldman
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     original
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $44.6M
  • Runtime:
  • Distributor:
    MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Universal Pictures
  • Sound Mix:
    Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
  • Aspect Ratio:
    Flat (1.85:1)

Cast & Crew

Brad Pitt
Joe Black
Anthony Hopkins
William Parrish
Claire Forlani
Susan Parrish
Jake Weber
Drew
Marcia Gay Harden
Allison
Jeffrey Tambor
Quince
David S. Howard
Eddie Sloane
Lois Kelly-Miller
Jamaican Woman
Martin Brest
Director
Ron Osborn
Writer
Jeff Reno
Writer
Bo Goldman
Writer
Ronald L. Schwary
Executive Producer
Martin Brest
Producer
Thomas Newman
Original Music
Emmanuel Lubezki
Cinematography
Joe Hutshing
Film Editing
Michael Tronick
Film Editing
Ellen Lewis
Casting
Juliet Taylor
Casting
Dante Ferretti
Production Design
Robert Guerra
Art Director
Leslie Bloom
Set Decoration
Aude Bronson-Howard
Costume Design
David Robinson
Costume Design
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Critic Reviews for Meet Joe Black

All Critics (49) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (27)
Full Review… Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader Full Review… Ann Hornaday Baltimore Sun Full Review… Joe Morgenstern Wall Street Journal Full Review… Michael O'Sullivan Washington Post Full Review… Paul Tatara CNN.com Full Review… Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Full Review… Total Film Staff Total Film Full Review… John Ferguson Radio Times Full Review… Philip French Observer (UK) Full Review… Zaki Hasan Zaki's Corner Full Review… Zaki Hasan Philadelphia Weekly Full Review… Rob Gonsalves eFilmCritic.com
View All Critic Reviews (49)

Audience Reviews for Meet Joe Black

  • Oct 23, 2013
    Far longer than it needs to be, and pretty silly at times, but unforgettable and fascinating. There's nothing out there like this film. It's a great look into the human mind and how it interacts with its environment, as shown in Pitt's almost childlike portrayal of Death. Good story, fantastic music and atmosphere...I just love how a lot of the scenes are set up in this film. Very unique.
    Stephen S Super Reviewer
  • May 21, 2012
    This movie really makes no sense, but I still enjoy it a lot by the grace of the willowy and wounded Claire Forlani. Death has been around since the beginning of time (just ballparking it), so how is he still so ignorant about friendship, passion, sex, success, greed, revenge - the ways of the world, essentially, including colloquialisms about Death and taxes? One would think he'd have a human dalliance every decade at least. The character is written to be a wide-eyed simpleton, and they had to pick the actor with the worst face and voice for that: Brad Pitt. He's so dead-eyed and dumb-sounding.
    Alice S Super Reviewer
  • Dec 02, 2011
    A very interesting film that I found to be really cool, however not as great as I had expected, it was very long an got stupid at times.
    Bradley W Super Reviewer
  • Jul 30, 2011
    I I were just judging it's beautiful score, it would be a ten. If I had a brain? About a 5/10.
    Logan G Super Reviewer
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