IMDb > Elephant (2003)
Elephant
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Elephant (2003) -- Theatrical Preview
Elephant (2003) -- AllTrailers.net - Trailer (Flash)
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Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   32,408 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Gus Van Sant
Writer (WGA):
Gus Van Sant (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Elephant on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
3 October 2003 (Italy) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama more
Tagline:
An ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.
Plot:
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
5 wins & 6 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(38 articles)
Trailer For ‘The Final’: Can Hollywood Go Too Far?
 (From Screen Rant. 16 November 2009, 5:31 PM, PST)
Bret Easton Ellis and Gus Van Sant to Film The Golden Suicides
 (From Atomic Popcorn. 14 October 2009, 6:29 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
A slow paced cinematic gem with an intense ending more (637 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Alex Frost ... Alex
Eric Deulen ... Eric

John Robinson ... John McFarland
Elias McConnell ... Elias
Jordan Taylor ... Jordan
Carrie Finklea ... Carrie
Nicole George ... Nicole
Brittany Mountain ... Brittany
Alicia Miles ... Acadia
Kristen Hicks ... Michelle
Bennie Dixon ... Benny

Nathan Tyson ... Nathan

Timothy Bottoms ... Mr. McFarland
Matt Malloy ... Mr. Luce

Ellis Williams ... GSA Teacher (as Ellis E. Williams)
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for disturbing violent content, language, brief sexuality and drug use - all involving teens.
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
81 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | German
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | Hungary:16 | France:-12 | Japan:R-15 | Brazil:16 | Netherlands:16 | South Africa:16LV | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Sweden:15 | Norway:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #40167)
Filming Locations:
John Adams High School, 5135 NE Columbia Boulevard, Portland, Oregon, USA more
Company:
HBO Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The characters that appear in the video game played by Eric are from Gerry (2002). more
Goofs:
Factual errors: When Elias exits the darkroom, the director takes a lot of care to show how real photographers shake their film and tap it on the counter twice. Yet, developing film takes much longer than the scene shows, and involves several steps of different chemistry. The film has to dry in a contained area where dust cannot cover it, and you definitely cannot cut the film while it is still wet and go straight to making a print. The negative would be ruined. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Mr. McFarland: What? Hey! Where are you going? Come here.
John McFarland: Oh, my God, Dad.
Mr. McFarland: Get in the car. You're gonna be late for school. Come on.
John McFarland: Mom's gonna kill you.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "At the Movies: Summer Special 2008/09" (2008) more
Soundtrack:
Beneath the Forest Floor more

FAQ

Why did Alex and Eric kiss in the shower?
What happened at the end of the movie?
Who gets shot in the freezer at the end of the film?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
21 out of 37 people found the following comment useful.
A slow paced cinematic gem with an intense ending, 2 December 2003
8/10
Author: MovieManMenzel from United States

I have been waiting for Elephant to hit theaters near Philadelphia and New Jersey for a good two months now. It finally arrived this past weekend in Philadelphia so I decided to make a day out of it and see Elephant along with some other Indies.

Elephant is basically a slow paced film, which follows many students in a day at their High School before a school shooting. Each character is followed in the film and is an average student you would find at a high school for example, the jock and the cheerleader girlfriend, the nerdy girl, the troublemaker, the dork who everyone picks on, etc. The movie seems extremely real as though this is your local high school and these are students that attend the school.

The director and writer of this film Gus Van Sant did a great job. The camera angles are the expertly shot. Gus Van Sant did a great job of following the characters in the film and building some characteristics of each character. The film for the most part is silent and this makes the film more effective. The movie rewinds many times to focus on its different characters.

The acting was great especially since everyone in this movie is a nobody and looks like the actors and actresses all just came out of high school. It made the film even more powerful that we did not see big teen cast in this film but just a bunch of nobodies.

The movie's ending is not a pleasant one and ends abruptly. The film has a very powerful ending and is very creepy. It makes you really think. I really liked it.

The film is marketed as a movie about a school shooting but I think it's more than just that. Its a very true life film that makes you question the people you attend school with. It is a film that very few will see but is one powerful film. Its ending alone being not a happy one is worth the price of admission alone. If you get a chance to see Elephant, I highly recommended it. My final rating is for Elephant is an 8/10

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (637 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Elephant (2003)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
What happened to Alex? badmofo6662004
The Best Movies You've Never Heard Of... brianpritchard
The GAY Point of the Movie (Spoliers) - Comments Welcome calawoffice
What's in a name? sebeljub
What did Alex whisper to himself? eekmonique
HEY DONT GO IN THERE.. LOL snuff04
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