In the Soup (1992)
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Where to Watch
Source: JustWatch
Physical Media
Blu-rayFactory 25 (in association with VinegarUnited States2022UPC 814456025988
a member added 9/25/2026
Other editions
It beat Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival. Then it disappeared for twenty-five years. The reasons were almost too on-the-nose for a comedy about the disastrous pursuits of a struggling screenwriter.
The distributor folded within a year. The film's beautiful look came from a rare Kodak black-and-white stock so costly that only one projectable print was ever struck, and that print was later chewed to pieces in a repertory theater's projector. Kodak had stopped making the stock. There was, almost literally, no film left.
Then strangers saved it. A distributor named Matt Grady found the movie nearly gone, launched a Kickstarter, and close to 800 people funded a 4K restoration that premiered at Tribeca in 2018 with Steve Buscemi and Jennifer Beals in the room.
IN THE SOUP (1992) stars Buscemi as Adolpho, a broke New York nobody sitting on an unfilmable 500-page screenplay. Desperate, he advertises it for sale, and in walks Joe, a cigar-chomping con man played by Seymour Cassel, who promises to produce the movie and instead drags Adolpho through a string of petty crimes. Critics adored it, and it vanished anyway.
A film about a man who cannot get his movie made had itself become a movie almost no one could see, until the people it was about refused to let it go.
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After winning the Grand Jury Prize at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival, the movie was acquired for domestic theatrical release by Triton Pictures; however, Triton notoriously went bankrupt and folded almost immediately after the film opened, stranding its distribution and leaving the master materials in limbo for decades until its 2018 4K restoration and re-release by indie distributor Factory 25.
About the Film
A comedy about getting in over your head.
- Directed By
- Alexandre Rockwell
- Runtime
- 96 minutes
- Released
- October 23, 1992
- Certification
- R
- Country
- Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United States of America
- Starring
- Steve Buscemi, Seymour Cassel, Jennifer Beals, Pat Moya, Will Patton
More Credits
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama
- Language
- English
- Origin
- US
- Studios
- Cacous Films, Will Alliance, Pandora Film, Why Not Productions, Odessa Films, Alta Films, Mikado Film
- Written By
- Sollace Mitchell, Alexandre Rockwell
- Produced By
- Hank Blumenthal, Pascal Caucheteux, Jim Stark, Ryuichi Suzuki
- Cinematography
- Phil Parmet
- Music
- Mader
- Also Starring
- Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Bracco, Debi Mazar, Sam Rockwell, Steven Randazzo
- Box Office
- $256,249
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Is this movie streaming anywhere?
Stephen Clouse Looks like it’s rentable at Prime and Apple TV.
Anywhere But Hollywood
I saw it years ago. And I’ve seen a lot of Alex Rockwell’s films. Love ❤️ his sensibilities.
The book DOWN AND DIRTY PICTURES talks about how this guy was friends with Tarantino but then got left in the dust after PULP FICTION took off.
Great little indie. Very relatable.
its free on Tubi
Saw it when first released, never left me.
This is such a great movie
When this came to vhs rental in the UK it was in colour
Scott Kingsnorth Yes ! I found a colour VHS copy in a charity shop in thd UK. Still have it somewhere. It must have been originally shot in colour. I couldn’t believe it as the film was already a big favourite of mine.
Stop listening to me, Siri, Google, Alexa, etc.
i mean i literally saw it on TV back in the 90s so it didnt completely vanish right away
What a sweet, wonderful film.
Shoutout to cinematographer Phil Parmet!
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=IN+THE+SOUP+1992
Wow
One of my favorites.
this story doesn’t add up, I remember watching a rental of the movie in the mid/late 90s.
Wow! Can’t wait to see this. Another underrated 90s Buscemi gem is Tree’s Lounge.
Good Movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2ZAAA85_WI
This was on UK vhs in the 1990s, I had an ex rental copy
I LOVED this, haven’t seen it in decades!
My 3 unseen Buscemi’s:
IN THE SOUP
TREES LOUNGE
LIVING IN OBLIVION
One day, Steve, I promise. One day…
Jason Sandoval, Danny Guardiola, Davez Salbongyah