Talk:Meet Joe Black

The intro paragraph is a spoiler
Using This Yahoo Movie stub as guide/reference, let's try write and intro paragraph that doesn't give away "Joe Black"'s identity outside a spoiler block. (After all, it fits with Brad Pitt's chosen movie roles).

Here is a more elaborate page to draw ideas from! Not bad!

Sex
I seem to remember a sex scene, it could be my teenager hormones but... I think it should be mentioned if there is one. Could someone check it out I dont have the film, i'll be happy to ammend. Wolfmankurd 20:46, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes, there's a sex scene, but there's less nudity than, for example, the sex scenes in "Cold Mountain" and "Original Sin".Dianelowe 08:16, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Its fairly awkward, but fits with the story line in its akward kind of fumbling pace. It is a bit drawn out though; doubtfully worthy of mention. IMO the movie would be a better watch without it. 11:53PM, April 4, 2007 (UTC)

I do not think nor believe that the physical aspect of the romance in the story is significant enough, to warrant the picture that was posted here. More appropriate would be Parrish choking at the beginning, or maybe a scene from the coffee shop; or maybe the end part where Joe Black and Parrish are departing. The picture that was posted here is better suited to a site with the sole purpose of maximising the flesh-tone real-estate of snap shots from movie scenes for people with obsessions about the actors. TS.

Timeless Words
Much more worthy of mention is Bill Parrish's advice to his daughter - and the carefully selected symmetries and imagery in the movie - such as "Lighting may strike"; and at the end where the real Joe repeats the words that Susan had said to Joe Black. 11:53PM, April 4, 2007 (UTC)

Some more of the "carefully selected symmetries" include Parrish's turning around of Death's words, to describe love.

"Crash scene"?

 * The movie gained an unexpected, somewhat anonymous claim to fame when a clip of the crash scene early on in the film became something of an internet phenomenon, leading many unsuspecting online viewers to believe it to be authentic footage.

What does this mean? What sort of "crash"? Was the scene in the film or a clip of the scene or nothing at all? If it was in the film, why wouldn't it be "authentic footage", and why would this become an Internet phenomenon in the first place? Was it a staged crash people mistook for a real one? In short, what the hell is this supposed to mean? (As you might surmise, I've never seen this film—nor should I be required to to understand the article.) 82.92.119.11 15:06, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

It means that the crash, which was in the begining of the film, when Brad Pitt's character was hit, was mistaken for real footage, a real car crash.

I thought the sentence made perfect sense. Granted, I have seen the movie, and the crash scene is, let's say, graphically realistic, if not bloody. The statement says "a clip of the crash scene early on in the film". It being a scene and not stock footage would make one believe that it wasn't "authentic" or "real", that it's a "scene". The realness of the scene would make an unsuspecting viewer think it was "real" and not "staged". Does that make more sense to you? Dianelowe 08:16, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Studios
This is a Universal Studio film. But this is only mentioned in the "categories." Shouldn't it be in the side-bar. I think studios should generally be listed there, but in this particular case, there would seem to be a special need to mention the studio since the text goes on a bit about a coming-attractions clip for another film having a box-office effect for this one. Kdammers 05:21, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

The story described is wrong in a major way
The story takes a twist at the end, which is not described in the page here. At the end, Brad Pitt comes back over the bridge and explains that he doesn't know where he's been...hadn't seen the girl since the coffee shop. She proceeds to tell him "I wish you could hvae met my father. So, I believe what's happened is all of the movie was in essence either not the real world, or it's been removed from memory. Either way, the party is not her fathers birthday party any longer, since he's obviosuly already considered dead at that point. We don't know what the girl knows, entirely, which is part of the intrigue. As well, the revelation that Brad Pitt (Joe Black) is an IRS agent happens at the party, not directly after the boardroom meeting. Whoever wrote the story line needs to watch the movie again!24.76.249.2 (talk) 23:05, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

-- i just watched the movie and i do not agree with you. the girl (susan) understood from her father's final talks that he is leaving and so she knew her father is gone. the party was still the birthday party going on. this is a fantasy story, so we can't judge if it is possible or not or what, but i believe this is how they wanted to tell the story, not as you described. you are right about the irs agent part though. --217.113.78.60 (talk) 02:10, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

--- While no doubt it's meant to be subjective, as I understood it, after 'Joe' returns events are meant to have played out as if he never came down to Earth: Bill died in his office (he had a heart attack or somesuch, he certainly could ahve died), the party being arranged was some sort of 'celebration of life' funeral thing, Joe genuinely was an IRS agent (his name didn't need to be real, Death needed a body close to Bill, Joe's sister was in law school), and Drew was a bit of a nob - without Bill to say no, the merger would have gone ahead. Also interesting is how pretty much every confession of feelings happens on the day of the 'party' (Allison says how she loves Bill, Quincy confesses to his accidental involvement, and so on), reflecting the oft-felt idea of "if someone was still here what would I say". And even if all that fails under scrutiny, Death himself says "it all has a way of working out", so just go with that. --81.98.41.41 (talk) 19:42, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I won't edit [this part of] the article, because I also believe in subjective artistic interpretation, but I'm firmly in the other camp. Death *does* come to visit Bill Parrish, and Death *does* fall in love with Parrish's daughter, and over time and romantic misadventure, Death *does* eventually realize the error of his ways and gently reveals to Susan that he is not, in fact, the man she met in the coffeeshop. Even father and daughter share their knowledge of this revelation, as evidenced by their very delicate talking-around-uncomfortable-issues during the last dance... Parrish knows that his time has run out, that Death is waiting for him by the bridge, and that, sometime late into the night or early the next morning, his body will be discovered on the mansion grounds, having suffered a fatal heart attack. Susan Parrish knows that her father is crossing the bridge to keep one final, irreversible appointment, and will not return. This is why she tearfully tells Coffeeshop-Joe "I wish you could have known my father," because she is the first to know that her father won't be coming back, just as she is the first (and only one) to know that Boardroom-Joe and Coffeeshop-Joe weren't really the same person at all. Time does not reset or rewind in any way (IMHO). Sskoog (talk) 07:37, 27 December 2008 (UTC)

This is the end of my chapter with the Parrishes?!?
I have seen at least two versions of this film (perhaps one was the Alan Smithee edit), and neither version had this Drew/Susan confrontation as referenced ("this is the end of my chapter")... only a short interchange to the effect of "I don't like the way he looks at you, I don't like the way he talks to you." Have any of you seen it differently? Is it a DVD deleted scene or some such? Should different film-versions maybe be documented? Sskoog (talk) 07:29, 27 December 2008 (UTC)

Actor's support
i don't see mentioned anywhere that both Hopkins and Pitt stepped back from involvement in publicizing the film, presumably because thy saw it as a turkey. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.3.138.130 (talk) 11:47, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Plot
The last paragraph of the plot summary section is full of POV hogwash. Someone who's seen the film should clean it up! -- 82.198.201.170 (talk) 12:43, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

Disambiguation? Hatnote?
"Meet Joe Black" is also the title of the second track of Nas's album Magic. Not notable enough for an article, but seems worthy of a hatnote redirecting to the album. 70.173.239.249 (talk) 23:20, 8 November 2022 (UTC)


 * Did it, feel free to revert. How do you change the title of the link? I wanted to put the text of the link to the album as Meet Joe Black. 70.173.239.249 (talk) 17:39, 9 November 2022 (UTC)