IMDb > Dead Ringers (1988)
Dead Ringers
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Dead Ringers (1988) More at IMDbPro »

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Dead Ringers (1988) -- Open-ended Trailer from Morgan Creek

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Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   11,567 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 14% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Bari Wood (book) and
Jack Geasland (book) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Dead Ringers on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 September 1988 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Two bodies. Two minds. One soul. Separation can be a terrifying thing.
Plot:
Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
20 wins & 8 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(22 articles)
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User Comments:
Gold instrument intrudes your soul more (92 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jeremy Irons ... Beverly Mantle / Elliot Mantle
Geneviève Bujold ... Claire Niveau (as Genevieve Bujold)
Heidi von Palleske ... Cary (as Heidi Von Palleske)
Barbara Gordon ... Danuta

Shirley Douglas ... Laura
Stephen Lack ... Anders Wolleck
Nick Nichols ... Leo
Lynne Cormack ... Arlene
Damir Andrei ... Birchall
Miriam Newhouse ... Mrs. Bookman
David Hughes ... Superintendent
Richard W. Farrell ... Dean of Medicine (as Richard Farrell)
Warren Davis ... Anatomy Class Supervisor
Jonathan Haley ... Beverly, Age 9
Nicholas Haley ... Elliot, Age 9
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Alter ego (Canada: French title)
Gemini (Canada: English title) (working title)
Twins (Canada: English title) (working title)
Die Unzertrennlichen (West Germany) [de]
Dubbelgångare (Sweden) [sv]
Erottamattomat (Finland) [fi]
Faux-semblants (France) [fr]
Inseparabili (Italy) [it]
Inseparables (Spain) [es]
Irmãos Inseparáveis (Portugal) [pt]
Kobni blizanci (Serbia) [sr]
Nierozlaczni (Poland) [pl]
Oi dihasmenoi (Greece) [el]
Oskiljaktiga (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Una vez en la vida (Mexico) (cable TV title) [es]
more
Runtime:
116 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Margot Kidder was David Cronenberg's second choice for playing the role of Claire Niveau. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: In a scene dated 1954, the twins seen are playing with The Visible Woman, Revell toy company's biological model of a woman that was not marketed until at least five years later. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Elliot, Age 9: You've heard about sex...
Beverly, Age 9: Sure I have.
Elliot, Age 9: Well I've discovered why sex is.
Beverly, Age 9: You have? Fantastic.
Raffaella: It's because humans don't live under water.
Beverly, Age 9: I don't get it.
Elliot, Age 9: Well, fish don't need sex because they just lay the eggs and fertilize them in the water. Humans can't do that because they don't live in the water. They have to - internalize the water. Therefore we have sex.
Beverly, Age 9: So you mean humans would have sex if they lived in the water?
Elliot, Age 9: Well they'd have a kind of sex. The kind where you wouldn't have to touch each other.
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Lightning Bug (2004) more
Soundtrack:
In the Still of the Night (I'll Remember) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
40 out of 50 people found the following comment useful.
Gold instrument intrudes your soul, 12 September 2004
10/10
Author: a---n---t from Northern England

To date, Cronenberg's deepest film.

Jeremy Irons summons a performance of profound complexity, to pull off a double-act so credible that your feelings are divided, twin egg-like, between two characters. The polar-opposite attraction/repulsion of each brother's personality shines through in his every scene - to flesh out two characters so distant yet so deeply intimate, and do it so convincingly, requires more than acting, and this is by far his finest moment.

I can't say any more about this film other than that seeing it is a life-enhancing experience. Anyone who has ever taken potent substances with a close friend, as a kind of emotional rite, will be moved beyond words by the twins' climactic scene.

Never mind the detractors who say it's cold and clinical and abusive - they just don't understand it. There is love, warmth and beauty in abundance in this film - a horror film? A psychological thriller? A love story? Don't try and give it a name and place, it's just an essential part of understanding us: as adults; as children; as weird, fathomless organisms.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Dead Ringers (1988)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Need help with the ending (spoilers) mcbare
what do twins think of this film? Iamneil45
Greatests Academy Award injustices StuntmanMatheus
how did they do the shots with both twins in? mariacarabin
What is the motivation behind the 'separation'? (major spoiler) pathologica
Boring mastrmeb
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