Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is a 1997 American science fiction/action-comedy film and the first film in the Austin Powers series. It was directed by Jay Roach and written by Mike Myers, who also performed the title role. Myers also plays Dr. Evil, Powers' arch-enemy. The film co-stars Elizabeth Hurley as Vanessa Kensington, Robert Wagner as Number 2, Seth Green as Scott Evil, and Michael York as Basil Exposition. Will Ferrell, Mimi Rogers, Carrie Fisher, Tom Arnold, Rob Lowe, Christian Slater, Cheri Oteri, Neil Mullarkey and Burt Bacharach made cameo appearances alongside an uncredited cameo by MADtv star Michael McDonald, among many others.
The film is a parody of the James Bond films (particularly the earlier features in the franchise) as well as other 1960s spy films.
The film, which cost US$16.5 million, opened on May 2, 1997, to positive reviews. It made a modest impact at the box office, grossing US$53 million from its North American release and about US$68 million worldwide. The film later became a hit and cult classic in the home video market and cable television, spawning two sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember, with a fourth film in the works.
Read more about Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery: Plot, Soundtrack, Home Video Releases, Reception
Famous quotes containing the word man:
“A certain kind of rich man afflicted with the symptoms of moral dandyism sooner or later comes to the conclusion that it isn’t enough merely to make money. He feels obliged to hold views, to espouse causes and elect Presidents, to explain to a trembling world how and why the world went wrong. The spectacle is nearly always comic.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)