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Apt Pupil (1998)
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Overview
User Rating:
Your Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Release Date:
23 October 1998 (USA)
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Tagline:
If you don't believe in the existence of evil, you've got a lot to learn.
Plot:
A boy blackmails his neighbour after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
5 wins
&
4 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(33 articles)
Bryan Singer snubs X-Men to relaunch Battlestar Galactica
(From The Geek Files. 19 August 2009, 12:29 PM, PDT)
Christopher Nolan drops out of ‘The Prisoner’
(From Reel Loop. 19 August 2009, 8:40 AM, PDT)
(From The Geek Files. 19 August 2009, 12:29 PM, PDT)
Christopher Nolan drops out of ‘The Prisoner’
(From Reel Loop. 19 August 2009, 8:40 AM, PDT)
User Reviews:
Original, Intriguing
more (239 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Brad Renfro | ... | Todd Bowden | |
| Ian McKellen | ... | Kurt Dussander | |
| Joshua Jackson | ... | Joey | |
| Mickey Cottrell | ... | Sociology Teacher | |
| Michael Reid MacKay | ... | Nightmare Victim | |
| Ann Dowd | ... | Monica Bowden | |
| Bruce Davison | ... | Richard Bowden | |
| James Karen | ... | Victor Bowden | |
| Marjorie Lovett | ... | Agnes Bowden | |
| David Cooley | ... | Gym Teacher | |
| Blake Anthony Tibbetts | ... | Teammate | |
| Heather McComb | ... | Becky Trask | |
| Katherine Malone | ... | Student | |
| Grace Sinden | ... | Secretary | |
| David Schwimmer | ... | Edward French |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
MPAA:
Rated R for scenes of strong violence, language and brief sexuality.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
111 min | Argentina:112 min
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Certification:
South Korea:15 |
Brazil:18 |
USA:R (No. 35516) |
Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) |
Portugal:M/16 |
Argentina:16 |
Australia:MA |
Finland:K-16 |
France:-16 |
Germany:16 |
New Zealand:R16 |
Spain:18 |
Sweden:15 |
Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) |
Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) |
UK:15 |
Singapore:PG |
Iceland:16 |
Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) |
Canada:AA (Ontario)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
One of the pictures of Dussander as during in the years of World War II was actually Heinrich Himmler but was digitally replaced with Ian McKellen's face.
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Goofs:
Anachronisms: A 3-point line is visible on the school's basketball court. The setting of the movie is 1984 and the 3-point line wasn't introduced to the high school game until 1987.
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Quotes:
Todd Bowden:
All great achievements arose from dissatisfaction. It is the desire to do better, to dig deeper that propels a civilization to greatness. All of us have heard the story of Icarus, the young boy who took the wings his father built for him. Wings that were meant to carry him over the ocean to freedom and used them instead for a joyride...
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers (2009) (TV)
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Soundtrack:
Tristan Und Isolde
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (239 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Apt Pupil (1998)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Confused | C3194 |
| I couldn't finish watching it. | storey_12 |
| A terrible film. | jeremy3 |
| A quick question | Dreamweb1 |
| Dialog at the end | SGJan81 |
| i cried . . | blondambition1223 |
Recommendations
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A teenage boy befriends an elderly man. During countless discussions over many a night, they form a special friendship that manages to bridge their considerable age gap. It would sound like a sweet character study if the old man wasn't a Nazi war criminal and the teen wasn't a Holocaust-obsessed recluse blackmailing his new pal for all the gory details.
APT PUPIL scores the highest marks for originality. Nothing ever quite like this has been done before, and it's all quite intriguing. In the beginning, we come close to feeling sorry for the old man despite his past misdeeds. Here is he living out his golden years in peace and seclusion when all of a sudden a pushy teenager threatens to blow his cover. As the tale progresses, we see that the elder is just as conniving as the boy, threatening simply to expose their friendship, forever linking the young man with unimaginable notoriety. What starts out as a bizarre acquaintance escalates into a duel of manipulation.
It's not surprising that APT PUPIL is based on a novella by Stephen King. The film bears many of the hallmarks of King's works. And while it's never actually scary, it is thrilling at a psychological level that King reaches best. It's not perfect, but with the skilled direction of Bryan Singer and solid performances by leads Brad Renfro and Ian McKellen, it generally accomplishes what it sets out to do.
You don't have to be a horror person or a teenager at a late night party to enjoy APT PUPIL. The film has a unique appeal beyond what its target audience may have been. If you missed it when it was released in 1998 (as many did, based on its limited commercial success), it's certainly worth a look.