Simon is a 1980 American comedy film written and directed by Marshall Brickman and starring Alan Arkin.
Plot summary
The Institute for Advanced Concepts, a group of scientists with an unlimited budget and a propensity for elaborate pranks, brainwash a psychology professor named Simon Mendelssohn who was abandoned at birth and manage to convince him, and the rest of the world, that he is of extraterrestrial origin. Simon escapes and attempts to reform American culture by overriding TV signals with a high-powered TV transmitter, becoming a national celebrity in the process.
Cast
- Alan Arkin as Prof. Simon Mendelssohn
- Madeline Kahn as Dr. Cynthia Malloy
- Austin Pendleton as Dr. Carl Becker
- Judy Graubart as Lisa
- William Finley as Fichandler
- Wallace Shawn as Eric Van Dongen
- Jayant as Barundi
- Max Wright as Leon Hundertwasser
- Fred Gwynne as Maj. Gen. Korey
- Adolph Green as Commune Leader
- Keith Szarabajka as Josh
- Ann Risley as Pam
- Pierre Epstein as Military Aide at Map
- Roy Cooper as General’s Aide
- Rex Robbins as Army Doctor
- David Warrilow as Blades
- Hetty Galen as Voice of Mother
- Louise Lasser as Voice of Doris
- Dick Cavett as himself
Awards
Alan Arkin was nominated for Best Actor in the 1981 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.
Home video availability
In 1981 and 1990, the film was released on VHS format by Warner Home Video and is now out of print. A remastered copy of the film was released via Warner Archives’ Made To Order DVD-R service in 2011 in its original full-frame 16×9 (1.85:1) format.