Conspiracy Theory (1997)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writer (WGA):

Brian Helgeland (written by)

Release Date:

8 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

What you know could kill you.

Plot:

Jerry Fletcher is a man who sees conspiracies everywhere. But if you keep doing that long enough, sooner or later you're going to get one right...

Plot Keywords:

Conspiracy | Political | Newsletter | New York | FBI

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 11

2:00 PM

Telemundo

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Jerry Fletcher
Julia Roberts	...	Alice Sutton
Patrick Stewart	...	Dr. Jonas
Cylk Cozart	...	Agent Lowry
Steve Kahan	...	Mr. Wilson (as Stephen Kahan)
Terry Alexander	...	Flip
Alex McArthur	...	Cynic
Rod McLachlan	...	Justice Guard
Michael Potts	...	Justice Guard
Jim Sterling	...	Justice Guard
Rich Hebert	...	Public Works Man
Brian J. Williams	...	Clarke
G.A. Aguilar	...	Piper
Cece Neber Labao	...	Henry Finch's Secretary
Saxon Trainor	...	Alice's Secretary

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #35450) | Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Manitoba) | Philippines:PG-13 | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:M (original rating) | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 (w) | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

According to director Richard Donner, Mel Gibson improvised the opening scenes in which his character expounds his conspiracy theories to a succession of passengers.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jerry is driving up to his apartment in the beginning of the movie and pushes the car backwards to park on the corner, the car moves back way too easily. If the car being pushed back has an automatic transmission, the rear wheels (or the front in a front wheel drive car) would be locked, hence causing the car to skid. If the car had a manual transmission, the last driver of the car should have placed the transmission in first gear or applied the parking brake. Either way, the car would have skidded backwards. The chances of the car being left in neutral in either situation is unlikely at best, and if so, the odds of that particular car being in neutral are very high, considering the amount of cars in Manhattan.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jerry Fletcher: July eighth, 1979, all the fathers of Nobel Prize winners were rounded up by United Nations military units, all right, and actually forced at gunpoint to give semen samples in little plastic jars, which are now stored below Rockefeller Center underneath the ice skating rink...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "20 to 1: Great Aussie Movies (#3.5)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Just Maintain

Monk Or Oliver Stone?

Now that the TV series "Monk" has become so popular, maybe a few more people will check this film out. Mel Gibson's character isn't exactly like Monk - more like a super hyperactive and politically paranoid "Monk." He fits right in with Oliver Stone and the rest of the "conspiracy" freaks. Stone, in fact, would like this film since it gives credence to these paranoid fantasies and gives several cheap shots to conservatives along the way.

Political propaganda-aside, this is a fun movie to watch and the most fun might be Gibson's house, which is too incredible to describe here. Mel is fascinating to watch and really makes this movie what it is with his outrageous character "Jerry Fletcher." Julia Roberts gives a solid performance while looking about as good as she ever looked. Patrick Stewart is very effective as the bad guy. He reminded me of Laurence Olivier's Nazi villain in "Marathon Man."

An involving story that holds your attention for the full 2-plus hours and looks nice on DVD.