IMDb > Needful Things (1993)
Needful Things
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Needful Things (1993) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 2 NEW)
Needful Things (1993) -- Open-ended Trailer from Columbia
Needful Things (1993) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
5.9/10   7,322 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 16% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers (WGA):
Stephen King (book)
W.D. Richter (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Needful Things on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
27 August 1993 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller more
Tagline:
Now it's time to pay! more
Plot:
Leland Gaunt comes to Sheriff Alan Pangborn's pleasant little New England town, and opens a store. What this kindly Satan sells is whatever you need... more | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 3 nominations more
User Comments:
Adaptation begging for more more (66 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Max von Sydow ... Leland Gaunt (as Max Von Sydow)

Ed Harris ... Sheriff Alan Pangborn

Bonnie Bedelia ... Polly Chalmers

Amanda Plummer ... Nettie Cobb

J.T. Walsh ... Danforth Keeton III

Ray McKinnon ... Deputy Norris Ridgewick

Duncan Fraser ... Hugh Priest
Valri Bromfield ... Wilma Jerzyck
Shane Meier ... Brian Rusk

William Morgan Sheppard ... Father Meehan (as W. Morgan Sheppard)

Don S. Davis ... Reverend Rose
Campbell Lane ... Frank Jewett
Eric Schneider ... Henry Beaufort

Frank C. Turner ... Pete Jerzyck

Gillian Barber ... Myrtle Keeton
more
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Additional Details

Runtime:
120 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
For its release in Germany the film's title was changed to "In einer kleinen Stadt", meaning "In A Small Town". more
Goofs:
Continuity: In the opening scene, Sheriff Pangborn comes to the door of the "Dot" Restaurant. He has a band-aid around his index finger. When he gets inside of the restaurant, the band-aid has disappeared. more
Quotes:
Leland: I've always enjoyed ladies who take great pride in themselves. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater: Viki Williamson Night" (1995) more
Soundtrack:
Achy Breaky Heart more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
17 out of 28 people found the following comment useful.
Adaptation begging for more, 3 October 2004
Author: Robert W. (Robert_duder@hotmail.com) from Ontario, Canada

Needful Things (the movie) revolves around the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. A businessman named Leland Gaunt played adequately by Max Von Sydow opens a small antiques type store called "Needful Things" and has some very unique and special items for certain folks in the town. His only purpose to be in town is to wreak havoc with the folks in Castle Rock. He does this by trading special goods for certain pranks from the city people turning everyone against each other and poisoning their town. I think it's important to try and separate a movie from it's source...in this case the unequaled Stephen King Novel. Unfortunately I finished the novel hours before watching the movie adaptation which must bring the inevitable comparisons. I do believe even on it's own, the movie lacks something...character development. We don't know anything about these people, and for being a Stephen King story this is unfathomable. King always spends hundreds and hundreds of pages getting us to delve into a town, it's people, each person and all their personalities. This film attempts to ignore all that and go straight to the root of the story which is an ancient evil (in this case made plainly out to be the devil) who wants to destroy this town. King created Needful Things in part to destroy elaborately his creation that is Castle Rock, the film simply wanted to take the so called best parts of that and recreate it. This film is not as good as it should be in part because of the fickle nature of movie goers who can't stand to sit in a theatre for longer than 1 hour 30 minutes. For justice this film would have to be a mini series of a MINIMUM of 4 hours. The plus sides were most definitely the cast. Ed Harris played a strong, and powerful Alan Pangborn and Bonnie Bedelia was an intriguing yet sadly underused Polly. Sydow played a decent Leland Gaunt although the script could have done so much more for him. The supporting cast including JT Walsh as the already off balance Danforth (Buster) Keaton was nicely done. The film just left me begging and crying for a full adaptation from the book. I understand the writer or writers attempted to pull together the best they could but they fell short from an incredible book that has too many important elements that were left out. The film is enjoyable and probably moreso if you haven't read the book. It just always feels like it's missing something. It's worth checking out especially if you enjoy King movies. 6/10

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Needful Things (1993)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
whatzit? 'et vivum detulit aprum terribilem' bleusafranusa
The Other 'Needful Things' Was Better id_unplugged
call sheets or production reports jessehikes
Max von Sydow - Greatest Actor Ever ss_xfp
Better picks for Gaunt glemay25
Extended Cut worth getting? ergomane
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