The Vanishing (1993)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

George Sluizer

Writers (WGA):

Tim Krabbé (novel)
Todd Graff (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 February 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

If someone you loved mysteriously vanished how far out of your mind would you go to find them?

Plot:

The boyfriend of an abducted woman never gives up the search as the abductor looks on.

Plot Keywords:

Gas Station | Fall Down Stairs | Spiked Drink | Missing Person | Passed Out

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jeff Bridges	...	Barney Cousins
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Jeff Harriman
Nancy Travis	...	Rita Baker
Sandra Bullock	...	Diane Shaver
Park Overall	...	Lynn
Maggie Linderman	...	Denise Cousins
Lisa Eichhorn	...	Helene Cousins
George Hearn	...	Arthur Bernard
Lynn Hamilton	...	Miss Carmichael
Garrett Bennett	...	Cop at Gas Station (as Gareth Bennett)
George Catalano	...	Highway Cop
Frank Girardeau	...	Cop at Apartment
Stephen Bridgewater	...	TV Host (as Stephen Wesley Bridgewater)
Susan Barnes	...	Colleague
Rich Hawkins	...	Stan

MPAA:

Rated R for terror and violence, and for language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Netherlands:16 | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:16 | Chile:14 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bellevue, Washington, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

With a budget set at $20 million, this US remake cost over 10 times what George Sluizer's original Dutch version had in 1988.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: There is clearly no power cord attached to the Macintosh computer.

Quotes:

Jeff Harriman: How long have you worked here?
Rita Baker: Since the Dawn of Man.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Six Feet Under: The Dare (#4.7)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

QUITTIN' TIME

Hmmm...2 versions. Which should I watch?

As everyone who has reviewed this film here has mentioned, there are two versions of this movie, one Dutch, one American, both directed by the same fellow. Which should you see first? Which should you avoid, if any? Decide for yourself... I saw the Dutch version in 1994, and it absolutely blew my socks off. I was horrified, didn't want to keep watching it, but I was pulled in and couldn't stop until the brilliant, ultra-chilling, uncompromising finale. This was my first foreign film, and so I was completely unprepared for such a non-Hollywood experience. I will remember this movie for the rest of my life. Later on, I caught the American version in the theatres, watched it, a few thrills here and there, yadda, yadda. Jeff Bridges was pretty creepy, but quite frankly, I would have completely forgotten about it by now if it weren't for the original. It's not horrible, it just pales in comparison to a masterpiece.