Connection
Bob Balaban is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter and Producer American born on 16 august 1945 at Chicago (USA)
Bob Balaban participated to 76 films (as actor, director or script writer).
Among those, 8 have good markets following the box office.
Here are the best films classified by number of entries :
, 2h9
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Space opera, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey
Roles David Laughlin
Rating75%
In the Sonoran Desert, French scientist Claude Lacombe (François Truffaut) and his American interpreter, mapmaker David Laughlin, along with other government scientific researchers, discover Flight 19, a squadron of Grumman TBM Avengers that went missing more than 30 years earlier. The planes are intact and operational, but there is no sign of the pilots. An old man who witnessed the event claimed "the sun came out at night, and sang to him." They also find a lost cargo ship in the Gobi Desert named SS Cotopaxi. At an air traffic control center in Indianapolis, a controller listens as two airline flights narrowly avoid a mid-air collision with an apparent unidentified flying object (UFO), which neither pilot chooses to report, even when invited to do so. In Muncie, Indiana, 3-year-old Barry Guiler is awakened in the night when his toys start operating on their own. Fascinated, he gets out of bed and discovers something or someone (off-screen) in the kitchen. He runs outside, forcing his mother, Jillian, to chase after him.
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Action, Crime, Romance
Themes Films about sexuality, Transport films, LGBT-related films, Films about automobiles, Road movies, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, James Gandolfini, J. K. Simmons, Bob Balaban, Michael Cerveris
Roles Bernie Nayman
Rating60%
The story follows Jerry Welbach (Brad Pitt) as he travels through Mexico to find a valuable antique gun, The Mexican, and smuggle it into the United States. Five years earlier, Welbach had caused a traffic accident in which he hit the car of local mobster Arnold Margolese (Gene Hackman), who was jailed for five years after the police searched his car following the crash, finding someone tied up in his trunk. In compensation for the jail time, Welbach has been sent on various errands by Margolese's second-in-command, Bernie Nayman (Bob Balaban). Retrieving the gun will be his final errand. Welbach has a girlfriend, Samantha (Julia Roberts), whom he argues with constantly and who leaves Jerry prior to the trip over his lack of commitment to their relationship.
Directed by Robert Altman
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Comedy thriller, Crime
Themes Films about the labor movement
Actors Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant
Roles Idea
Rating71%
In November 1932, Constance, Countess of Trentham (Maggie Smith), and her lady's maid, Mary MacEachran (Kelly Macdonald) travel to Gosford Park for the weekend. On the way, they encounter actor Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), American film producer Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban) and Weissman's valet, Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe). At the house, they are greeted by Lady Trentham's niece Lady Sylvia McCordle (Kristin Scott Thomas), her husband Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon), and their daughter, Isobel (Camilla Rutherford). The other guests include Lady Sylvia's sisters, Louisa, Lady Stockbridge (Geraldine Somerville) and Lady Lavinia Meredith (Natasha Wightman) and their husbands, Raymond, Lord Stockbridge (Charles Dance) and Commander Anthony Meredith (Tom Hollander). Also in attendance are the Honourable Freddie Nesbitt (James Wilby) and his wife, Mabel (Claudie Blakley); Isobel's suitor, Lord Rupert Standish (Laurence Fox) and his friend Jeremy Blond (Trent Ford).
Directed by John Schlesinger
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy-drama
Themes Films about sexuality, Transport films, Erotic films, LGBT-related films, Films about prostitution, Films about automobiles, Road movies, Erotic thriller films, Buddy films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, Brenda Vaccaro, Bob Balaban, John McGiver
Roles The Young Student
Rating77%
As the film opens, Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a young Texan working as a dishwasher, dresses in new cowboy clothing, packs a suitcase, and quits his job. He heads to New York City hoping to succeed as a male prostitute for women. Initially unsuccessful, he succeeds in bedding a well-to-do middle-aged New Yorker (Sylvia Miles), but Joe ends up giving her money.
Directed by Sydney Pollack
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime, Romance
Themes Films about writers, Films about journalists, Prison films, Films about capital punishment
Actors Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon, Luther Adler, Barry Primus
Roles Elliott Rosen
Rating68%
Miami liquor wholesaler Michael Gallagher (Newman), who is the son of a deceased criminal, awakes one day to find himself a front-page story in the local newspaper, indicating that he is being investigated in the disappearance and presumed murder of a local longshoreman union official, Joey Diaz.
Directed by Peter Hyams
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Films about computing, La préhistoire, Dans l'espace, Sur la Lune, Films based on science fiction novels, Films set in the future, Space opera, Sur la Lune
Actors Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban, Keir Dullea, Douglas Rain
Roles Dr. R. Chandra
Rating66%
After the mysterious failure of the Discovery One mission to Jupiter in 2001, which resulted in the deaths of four astronauts and the disappearance of David Bowman, the fiasco was blamed on Dr. Heywood Floyd, who resigned his position as head of the National Council for Astronautics. While an international dispute causes tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, both nations prepare space missions to determine what happened to the Discovery. Although the Soviet ship, the Leonov, will be ready before the American spacecraft Discovery Two, the Soviets need American astronauts to help board the Discovery and investigate the malfunction of the ship's sentient computer, HAL 9000, which caused the disaster. The US government agrees to a joint mission when it is determined that Discovery will crash into Jupiter's moon Io before Discovery Two is ready. Floyd, along with Discovery designer Walter Curnow and HAL 9000's creator Dr. Chandra, joins the Soviet mission.
Directed by Christopher Guest
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Transgender in film, Musical films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Bob Balaban, Catherine O'Hara, Ed Begley Jr., Michael McKean, Larry Miller, Harry Shearer
Roles Jonathan Steinbloom
Rating71%
The film is structured as mockumentary about a memorial concert for (fictional) folk music producer Irving Steinbloom. Upon his death, his children organize a concert, which they hope to feature his three most famous acts: The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers, and Mitch & Mickey.
Directed by Woody Allen
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Films about writers, Films about religion, Films about sexuality, Transport films, Erotic films, Films about prostitution, Films about automobiles, Demons in film, Films about Jews and Judaism, Road movies, Erotic thriller films
Actors Caroline Aaron, Kirstie Alley, Bob Balaban, Richard Benjamin, Eric Bogosian, Billy Crystal
Roles Richard
Rating72%
One night, Lucy (Judy Davis) gets a taxi to the home of author Harry Block (Woody Allen). She has just read Harry's latest novel. In the novel, the character Leslie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is having an affair with her sister's husband Ken (Richard Benjamin). Lucy is angry because the novel is patently based on her and Harry's own affair; as a result, everyone knows about it. Lucy pulls a gun out of her purse, saying she will kill herself. She then turns the gun on Harry and begins firing. She chases him out onto the roof. Harry insists that he has already been punished: his latest girlfriend Fay (Elisabeth Shue) has left him for his best friend Larry (Billy Crystal). To distract Lucy, Harry tells her a story he is currently writing: a semi-autobiographical story of a sex-obsessed young man named Harvey (Tobey Maguire) who is mistakenly claimed by Death.
Bob Balaban
Among those, 8 have good markets following the box office.
Here are the best films classified by number of entries :
Actor
Add to a movie list, 2h9Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Space opera, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey
Roles David Laughlin
Rating75%
In the Sonoran Desert, French scientist Claude Lacombe (François Truffaut) and his American interpreter, mapmaker David Laughlin, along with other government scientific researchers, discover Flight 19, a squadron of Grumman TBM Avengers that went missing more than 30 years earlier. The planes are intact and operational, but there is no sign of the pilots. An old man who witnessed the event claimed "the sun came out at night, and sang to him." They also find a lost cargo ship in the Gobi Desert named SS Cotopaxi. At an air traffic control center in Indianapolis, a controller listens as two airline flights narrowly avoid a mid-air collision with an apparent unidentified flying object (UFO), which neither pilot chooses to report, even when invited to do so. In Muncie, Indiana, 3-year-old Barry Guiler is awakened in the night when his toys start operating on their own. Fascinated, he gets out of bed and discovers something or someone (off-screen) in the kitchen. He runs outside, forcing his mother, Jillian, to chase after him.
The Mexican (2001)
, 2hDirected by Gore Verbinski
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Action, Crime, Romance
Themes Films about sexuality, Transport films, LGBT-related films, Films about automobiles, Road movies, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, James Gandolfini, J. K. Simmons, Bob Balaban, Michael Cerveris
Roles Bernie Nayman
Rating60%
The story follows Jerry Welbach (Brad Pitt) as he travels through Mexico to find a valuable antique gun, The Mexican, and smuggle it into the United States. Five years earlier, Welbach had caused a traffic accident in which he hit the car of local mobster Arnold Margolese (Gene Hackman), who was jailed for five years after the police searched his car following the crash, finding someone tied up in his trunk. In compensation for the jail time, Welbach has been sent on various errands by Margolese's second-in-command, Bernie Nayman (Bob Balaban). Retrieving the gun will be his final errand. Welbach has a girlfriend, Samantha (Julia Roberts), whom he argues with constantly and who leaves Jerry prior to the trip over his lack of commitment to their relationship.
Scriptwriter
Gosford Park (2001)
, 2h17Directed by Robert Altman
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Comedy thriller, Crime
Themes Films about the labor movement
Actors Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant
Roles Idea
Rating71%
In November 1932, Constance, Countess of Trentham (Maggie Smith), and her lady's maid, Mary MacEachran (Kelly Macdonald) travel to Gosford Park for the weekend. On the way, they encounter actor Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), American film producer Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban) and Weissman's valet, Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe). At the house, they are greeted by Lady Trentham's niece Lady Sylvia McCordle (Kristin Scott Thomas), her husband Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon), and their daughter, Isobel (Camilla Rutherford). The other guests include Lady Sylvia's sisters, Louisa, Lady Stockbridge (Geraldine Somerville) and Lady Lavinia Meredith (Natasha Wightman) and their husbands, Raymond, Lord Stockbridge (Charles Dance) and Commander Anthony Meredith (Tom Hollander). Also in attendance are the Honourable Freddie Nesbitt (James Wilby) and his wife, Mabel (Claudie Blakley); Isobel's suitor, Lord Rupert Standish (Laurence Fox) and his friend Jeremy Blond (Trent Ford).
Actor
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
, 1h49Directed by John Schlesinger
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy-drama
Themes Films about sexuality, Transport films, Erotic films, LGBT-related films, Films about prostitution, Films about automobiles, Road movies, Erotic thriller films, Buddy films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, Brenda Vaccaro, Bob Balaban, John McGiver
Roles The Young Student
Rating77%
As the film opens, Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a young Texan working as a dishwasher, dresses in new cowboy clothing, packs a suitcase, and quits his job. He heads to New York City hoping to succeed as a male prostitute for women. Initially unsuccessful, he succeeds in bedding a well-to-do middle-aged New Yorker (Sylvia Miles), but Joe ends up giving her money.
Absence of Malice (1981)
, 1h56Directed by Sydney Pollack
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime, Romance
Themes Films about writers, Films about journalists, Prison films, Films about capital punishment
Actors Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon, Luther Adler, Barry Primus
Roles Elliott Rosen
Rating68%
Miami liquor wholesaler Michael Gallagher (Newman), who is the son of a deceased criminal, awakes one day to find himself a front-page story in the local newspaper, indicating that he is being investigated in the disappearance and presumed murder of a local longshoreman union official, Joey Diaz.
2010 (1984)
, 1h56Directed by Peter Hyams
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Films about computing, La préhistoire, Dans l'espace, Sur la Lune, Films based on science fiction novels, Films set in the future, Space opera, Sur la Lune
Actors Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban, Keir Dullea, Douglas Rain
Roles Dr. R. Chandra
Rating66%
After the mysterious failure of the Discovery One mission to Jupiter in 2001, which resulted in the deaths of four astronauts and the disappearance of David Bowman, the fiasco was blamed on Dr. Heywood Floyd, who resigned his position as head of the National Council for Astronautics. While an international dispute causes tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, both nations prepare space missions to determine what happened to the Discovery. Although the Soviet ship, the Leonov, will be ready before the American spacecraft Discovery Two, the Soviets need American astronauts to help board the Discovery and investigate the malfunction of the ship's sentient computer, HAL 9000, which caused the disaster. The US government agrees to a joint mission when it is determined that Discovery will crash into Jupiter's moon Io before Discovery Two is ready. Floyd, along with Discovery designer Walter Curnow and HAL 9000's creator Dr. Chandra, joins the Soviet mission.
A Mighty Wind (2003)
, 1h31Directed by Christopher Guest
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Transgender in film, Musical films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Bob Balaban, Catherine O'Hara, Ed Begley Jr., Michael McKean, Larry Miller, Harry Shearer
Roles Jonathan Steinbloom
Rating71%
The film is structured as mockumentary about a memorial concert for (fictional) folk music producer Irving Steinbloom. Upon his death, his children organize a concert, which they hope to feature his three most famous acts: The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers, and Mitch & Mickey.
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
, 1h36Directed by Woody Allen
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Films about writers, Films about religion, Films about sexuality, Transport films, Erotic films, Films about prostitution, Films about automobiles, Demons in film, Films about Jews and Judaism, Road movies, Erotic thriller films
Actors Caroline Aaron, Kirstie Alley, Bob Balaban, Richard Benjamin, Eric Bogosian, Billy Crystal
Roles Richard
Rating72%
One night, Lucy (Judy Davis) gets a taxi to the home of author Harry Block (Woody Allen). She has just read Harry's latest novel. In the novel, the character Leslie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is having an affair with her sister's husband Ken (Richard Benjamin). Lucy is angry because the novel is patently based on her and Harry's own affair; as a result, everyone knows about it. Lucy pulls a gun out of her purse, saying she will kill herself. She then turns the gun on Harry and begins firing. She chases him out onto the roof. Harry insists that he has already been punished: his latest girlfriend Fay (Elisabeth Shue) has left him for his best friend Larry (Billy Crystal). To distract Lucy, Harry tells her a story he is currently writing: a semi-autobiographical story of a sex-obsessed young man named Harvey (Tobey Maguire) who is mistakenly claimed by Death.