Barbarians at the Gate is a 1993 American biographical comedy-drama television film directed by Glenn Jordan and written by Larry Gelbart, based on the 1989 book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. The film premiered on HBO on March 20, 1993. The film stars James Garner, Jonathan Pryce, and Peter Riegert. It tells the true story of F. Ross Johnson, who was the president and CEO of RJR Nabisco.
Barbarians at the Gate received generally positive reviews from critics. It earned nine nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards (winning for Outstanding Made for Television Movie). It also won Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television and Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for Garner at the Golden Globe Awards.
Plot
Self-made multimillionaire F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR Nabisco, decides to take the tobacco and food conglomerate company private in 1988 after receiving advanced news of the likely commercial failure of the company's smokeless cigarette called Premier, the development of which had been intended to finally boost the company's stock price. Tony Scott of Variety stated the film "fascinates; as social commentary, it excels. Making an intricate business exercise both entertaining and engrossing takes lots of doing; it’s handily accomplished here." John J. O'Connor of The New York Times stated "Want to compare Barbarians at the Gates to Citizen Kane? No way. Compared with your average television movie? Don't miss it."
Home media
Barbarians at the Gate is available on DVD.
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="12"|
| Artios Awards
| Best Casting for TV Movie of the Week
| Marsha Kleinman
|
| align="center"|
|-
| rowspan="9"| Primetime Emmy Awards
| Outstanding Made for Television Movie
| Thomas M. Hammel, Glenn Jordan, Ray Stark, and <br> Marykay Powell
|
| align="center" rowspan="9"|
|-
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special
| James Garner
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special
| Jonathan Pryce
|
|-
| Peter Riegert
|
|-
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or a Special
| Glenn Jordan
|
|-
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Miniseries or a Special
| Larry Gelbart
|
|-
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special
| Linda Pearl, Michael Armani, Jan K. Bergstrom, and <br> Karen O'Hara
|
|-
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Editing for a Miniseries or a Special – <br> Single Camera Production
| Patrick Kennedy
|
|-
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Miniseries or a Special
| Jacob Goldstein, Tim Philben, Ken S. Polk, and <br> James A. Williams
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Television Critics Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Program of the Year
|
| align="center" rowspan="2"|
|-
| colspan="2"| Outstanding Achievement in Drama
|
|-
| rowspan="10"|
| American Cinema Editors Awards
| Best Edited Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television
| Patrick Kennedy
|
| align="center"|
|-
| rowspan="5"| CableACE Awards
| Movie or Miniseries
| Thomas M. Hammel, Glenn Jordan, Larry Gelbart, <br> Ray Stark, and Marykay Powell
|
| align="center" rowspan="5"|
|-
| Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
| Jonathan Pryce
|
|-
| Directing for a Movie or Miniseries
| Glenn Jordan
|
|-
| Writing for a Movie or Miniseries
| Larry Gelbart
|
|-
| Art Direction in a Dramatic Special or Series/Theatrical Special/Movie or Miniseries
| Linda Pearl
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| Golden Globe Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
|
| align="center" rowspan="3"|
|-
| Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
| James Garner
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
| Jonathan Pryce
|
|-
| Writers Guild of America Awards
| Adapted Long Form
| Larry Gelbart; <br> Based on the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
|
| align="center"|
|}
See also
- List of Primetime Emmy Awards received by HBO