Twelve Monkeys (1995)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Writers (WGA):

Chris Marker (film La Jetée)
David Webb Peoples (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 January 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The future is history.

Plot:

In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.

Plot Keywords:

Virus | Future | Monkey | Mental Institution | 1990s

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Joseph Melito	...	Young Cole
Bruce Willis	...	James Cole
Jon Seda	...	Jose
Michael Chance	...	Scarface
Vernon Campbell	...	Tiny
H. Michael Walls	...	Botanist
Bob Adrian	...	Geologist
Simon Jones	...	Zoologist
Carol Florence	...	Astrophysicist
Bill Raymond	...	Microbiologist
Ernest Abuba	...	Engineer
Irma St. Paule	...	Poet
Madeleine Stowe	...	Kathryn Railly
Joey Perillo	...	Detective Franki
Bruce Kirkpatrick	...	Policeman No. 1

Also Known As:

12 Monkeys (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | India:A | Brazil:14 | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #34153)

Filming Locations:

Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Maryland, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

When Cole wakes up in the future to the doctors singing "Blueberry Hill," the painting above him is "Valley of the Yosemite", by Albert Bierstadt.

Goofs:

Continuity: The steering wheel in the taxi.

Quotes:

[first lines]
James Cole: Jose - psst! Jose, what's going on?
Jose: Bad news, man
James Cole: Volunteers?
Jose: Yeah. And they said your name.
[pause]
Jose: Hey, maybe they'll give you a pardon, man.
James Cole: [sarcastic] Yeah, that's why none of the volunteers come back. They all get a pardon.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Simpsons: The Dad Who Knew Too Little (#14.8)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Comanche

these monkeys will go to heaven...

"Twelve monkeys"'s got all the elements to become Terry Gilliam's masterpiece. An outstanding screenplay, a sustained rhythm, clever sometimes ironic dialogs. Moreover, he had a good nose about the cast. "Twelve monkeys" is also the first movie where Bruce Willis stands back from the kind of character he used to play in his previous movies. Here, a jaded and hopeless character which you could nickname a prisoner took over from a fearless and invincible hero (as it was the case in "Die hard"). No matter how he tries, he's a prisoner of the time. The movie contains a very thrilling end too. It's got a real dramatic power. But this terrific movie is also a reflection about man, the dangers he dreads (notably, the ones that could cause the end of the world and here, these are virus that can create illnesses). No matter how long it will take, "twelve monkeys" will be estimated at its true value: one of the masterpieces made in the nineties.