RESOURCES

Mother Night

The movie Mother Night was based on the book Mother Night.

Which one did you like better, the movie or the book?  There are 3 votes for the book, and 5 votes for the movie.

Movie details for Mother Night

The movie was released in 1996 and directed by Keith Gordon, who also directed The Chocolate War (1988), A Midnight Clear (1992) and Waking the Dead (2000). Mother Night was produced by New Line Home Video. More information on the movie is available on Amazon.com and also IMDb.

Actors on this movie include Nick Nolte, Sheryl Lee, Alan Arkin, Bernard Behrens, Anna Berger, Arye Gross, Norman Rodway, Frankie Faison, Gerard Parkes, Vlasta Vrana, Zach Grenier, Kirsten Dunst, Anthony J. Robinow, Michael McGill, Shimon Aviel, Bill Corday, Bronwen Mantel, Brawley Nolte, John Goodman and Louis Strauss.

Read More About This Movie

The third movie from director Keith Gordon (The Chocolate War, A Midnight Clear). The 35-year-old director who started as an actor (Christine) has turned into one of the more assured directors working today. His films are ambitious in plot and tone. Wit... Read More
The third movie from director Keith Gordon (The Chocolate War, A Midnight Clear). The 35-year-old director who started as an actor (Christine) has turned into one of the more assured directors working today. His films are ambitious in plot and tone. With Mother Night he works with his first major star, Nick Nolte.

In 1961, the fictitious Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American by birth, shares the same deserted prison with Adolph Eichmann. As he prepares to stand trial for war crimes, the former playwright scribes his memoirs. Now this is the same Howard W. Campbell Jr. who was a notorious voice on German radio during the war, tearing into American policy and spreading Nazi propaganda. Was he a willful participant or an American spy? Campbell, who romanticizes at the drop of a hat, tells his story of indifference, morality, and love. His days of notoriety in Berlin give way to anonymity back in the States. He purrs about his true love (Sheryl Lee) and tells truths with his shrewd neighbor in New York (Alan Arkin).

The movie is based on Kurt Vonnegut's 1961 novel of the same name. Gordon and screenwriter Robert E. Weide have an uncommon insight into Vonnegut's material: the mesh of fact and fiction, the sweeping themes, the tragic goofiness. The movie is perfectly suited to Nolte's gruff style with a husky voice that pierces the night. The film is a cherished companion piece to Slaughterhouse Five. --Doug Thomas

Book details for Mother Night

Mother Night was written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.. The book was published in 1966 by Dell. More information on the book is available on Amazon.com.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. also wrote Breakfast of Champions (1973) and Slapstick; Or Lonesome No More (1976).

Read More About This Book