The Usual Suspects image

The Usual Suspects

Genre
Thriller
Rating
R
Released
16 August, 1995
The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir mystery thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite, and Kevin Spacey. The plot follows the interrogation of Roger "Verbal" Kint, a small-time con man, who is one of only two survivors of a massacre and fire on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles. Through flashback and narration, Kint tells an interrogator a convoluted story of events that led him and his criminal companions to the boat, and of a mysterious crime lord—known as Keyser Söze—who controlled them. The film was shot on a $6 million budget and began as a title taken from a column in Spy magazine called The Usual Suspects, after one of Claude Rains' most memorable lines in the classic film Casablanca, and Singer thought that it would make a good title for a film.

Director Bryan Singer
Produced by Bryan Singer, Michael McDonnell
Writer(s) Christopher McQuarrie
Starring Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Pete Postlethwaite, Kevin Spacey, Suzy Amis, Benicio del Toro, Giancarlo Esposito
Music John Ottman
Cinematography Newton Thomas Sigel
Edited by John Ottman
Distributed by Gramercy Pictures (US/Canada/UK/France), Spelling Films International (international)
Released January 25, 1995 (Sundance), August 16, 1995 (United States)
Running time 106 minutes
Country United States, Germany
Language English
Budget $6 million
Box office $34.4 million
Netflix ID 1084379

About The Usual Suspects

A con man goes out of his way to convince investigators that a mythical crime lord was responsible for a failed heist that left few survivors. The film was directed by Bryan Singer, with a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie.

Achievement of The Usual Suspects

The movie won two Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor. In 2013, it was named as one of the 101 Greatest Screenplays ever written by the Writers Guild of America. 

Top Facts You Did Not Know About The Usual Suspects

Heist film - The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime film, consisting of films that tell a caper story. These films feature plots in which a team of skillful criminals carry out a clever and daring theft.. Films directed by Bryan Singer.. Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award.. Familicide in fiction.. Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award.. Gramercy Pictures films.. Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award-winning performance.. Filicide in fiction.. Anthony Award-winning works.. 1990s mystery films.. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films.. Films about con artists.. Edgar Award-winning works.. Fiction with unreliable narrators.. 1990s crime thriller films.. American heist films.. BAFTA winners (films).

Latest information about The Usual Suspects updated on July 28 2021.