Tequila Sunrise (film)

Tequila Sunrise
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Towne
Written by	Robert Towne
Produced by	Thom Mount
Starring	Mel Gibson Michelle Pfeiffer Kurt Russell Raul Julia
Cinematography	Conrad Hall
Edited by	Claire Simpson
Music by	Dave Grusin
Production company	The Mount Company
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	December 2, 1988 (1988-12-02) (United States)
Running time	115 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$23 million (estimated)[citation needed]
Box office	$105.9 million

Tequila Sunrise is a 1988 American romantic crime film written and directed by Robert Towne, and starring Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, with Raul Julia, J. T. Walsh, Arliss Howard and Gabriel Damon in supporting roles. The film's original music score was composed by Dave Grusin.

The film was the second (after Personal Best) to be both written and directed by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Towne. It was commercially successful, grossing over $100 million at the box office worldwide, but its critical reception was mixed. One period reviewer was of the opinion that, "perhaps because the elements were so irresistible—Robert Towne directing Gibson, Russell and Pfeiffer in a California crime film—an aura of disappointment settled over Tequila Sunrise, no matter how engaging, and profitable, it turned out to be."^[1]

Tequila Sunrise was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. The film's soundtrack spawned the single "Surrender to Me", performed by Ann Wilson (lead singer of Heart) and Robin Zander (lead singer of Cheap Trick), reaching number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1989.