UW Cinematheque - New Restorations and Special Presentations
Ishtar | USA | 1987 | DCP| 107 mins. Director: Elaine May
Event Details
Date
Friday, October 9, 2026
Time
7 p.m.
Location
4070 Vilas Hall
Description
Cast: Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani
Hoffman and Beatty are inept songwriters who find themselves embroiled in a C.I.A.-engineered spy plot in the Middle East. Before this terrific satire on Reagan-era foreign policy had been seen by anyone, audiences had their minds made up for them by the “info-tainment” press corps who relentlessly reported the high production costs and portrayed the gifted May as a filmmaker-out-of-control. She sadly hasn’t directed a film since.
Hoffman and Beatty are inept songwriters who find themselves embroiled in a C.I.A.-engineered spy plot in the Middle East. Before this terrific satire on Reagan-era foreign policy had been seen by anyone, audiences had their minds made up for them by the “info-tainment” press corps who relentlessly reported the high production costs and portrayed the gifted May as a filmmaker-out-of-control. She sadly hasn’t directed a film since.
Cost
Free
Contact
Accessibility
We value inclusion and access for all participants and are pleased to provide reasonable accommodations for this event. Please email jehealy@wisc.edu to make a disability-related accommodation request. Requests should be made by Friday, September 25, 2026, though reasonable effort will be made to support late accommodation requests.