Tucker: The Man and His Dream
A flamboyant postwar inventor races to build an innovative American car while entrenched industrial powers try to stop him.
Overview
A visionary car designer battles the odds to create the automobile of the future.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- uplifting
- witty
- energetic
- inspirational viewing
- automotive enthusiast night
What critics said
Critics broadly found Coppola's cheerful, stylized biopic entertaining and well directed, with Jeff Bridges delivering a sparkling central performance despite limited comprehensiveness.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The story dramatizes Preston Tucker's attempt to design and manufacture an innovative automobile.
Tucker's independent car venture faces resistance from Detroit automakers, lawyers, and politicians.
Critics specifically praised the film's exaggerated kitsch presentation, matching the unusual Tucker automobile and its grandiose creator.
The film frames post-World War II American automobile manufacturing as a contest between independent invention and corporate power.
Films like Tucker: The Man and His Dream, and why
The Aviator
uplifting biographical drama about an inventive outsider challenging entrenched industrial power with charismatic showmanship
Flash of Genius
stylized true-story drama centered on an ambitious innovator, entrepreneurial risk, and conflict with powerful institutions
Eddie the Eagle
feel-good period biography about a determined dreamer pursuing an unconventional business vision against formidable opposition
Movie Details
- Director
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Release Date
- 1988-08-12
- Runtime
- 111 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (447)
Cast
- Jeff Bridges
- Joan Allen
- Martin Landau
- Frederic Forrest
- Mako
- Dean Stockwell
- Christian Slater
- Nina Siemaszko
- Marshall Bell
- Peter Donat
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, Starz Amazon Channel, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Tucker: The Man and His Dream about?
- A flamboyant postwar inventor races to build an innovative American car while entrenched industrial powers try to stop him.
- What is Tucker: The Man and His Dream like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Tucker: The Man and His Dream as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Tucker: The Man and His Dream violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Tucker: The Man and His Dream.
- What did critics think of Tucker: The Man and His Dream?
- Critics broadly found Coppola's cheerful, stylized biopic entertaining and well directed, with Jeff Bridges delivering a sparkling central performance despite limited comprehensiveness.
- Which films are like Tucker: The Man and His Dream?
- Films with a similar feel include The Aviator, Flash of Genius, and Eddie the Eagle.
- How long is Tucker: The Man and His Dream?
- Tucker: The Man and His Dream runs 111 minutes.
- Where can I watch Tucker: The Man and His Dream?
- In United States, Tucker: The Man and His Dream streams on Philo, Starz Amazon Channel, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel.
