IMDb > Primal Fear (1996)
Primal Fear
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Primal Fear (1996) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 31 | slideshow) Videos (see all 9 NEW)
Primal Fear (1996) -- A high profile lawyer defends a man accused of murdering an Archbishop
Primal Fear (1996) -- Clip: Not guilty
Primal Fear (1996) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
Primal Fear (1996) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)
Primal Fear (1996) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   34,299 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Gregory Hoblit
Writers (WGA):
William Diehl (novel)
Steve Shagan (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Primal Fear on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
3 April 1996 (USA) more
Tagline:
Sooner or later a man who wears two faces forgets which one is real. more
Plot:
An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(21 articles)
Ed Norton prefers serious parts
 (From The Hollywood News. 22 October 2009, 5:53 AM, PDT)

Edward Norton Prepared For 'Leaves Of Grass' Roles 'Alone In A Room'
 (From MTV Movie News. 23 September 2009, 3:51 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
The birth of a star and the resurrection of another more (171 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Richard Gere ... Martin Vail

Laura Linney ... Janet Venable

John Mahoney ... Shaughnessy

Alfre Woodard ... Shoat

Frances McDormand ... Molly

Edward Norton ... Aaron

Terry O'Quinn ... Yancy

Andre Braugher ... Goodman

Steven Bauer ... Pinero

Joe Spano ... Stenner
Tony Plana ... Martinez

Stanley Anderson ... Rushman

Maura Tierney ... Naomi

Jon Seda ... Alex
Reg Rogers ... Connerman
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Zwielicht (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Первобытный страх (Russia) [ru]
A Raíz do Medo (Portugal) [pt]
Alaston pelko (Finland) [fi]
As Duas Faces de Um Crime (Brazil) [pt]
Et spørsmål om skyld (Norway) (TV title) [no]
Fovos enstiktou (Greece) [el]
Ilk korku (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Iskonski strah (Serbia) [sr]
La raiz del miedo (Mexico) [es]
Las dos caras de la verdad (Spain) [es]
Legbelsö félelem (Hungary) [hu]
Lek pierwotny (Poland) [pl]
Les dues cares de la veritat (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Pahud Rishoni (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Peur primale (France) [fr]
Schegge di paura (Italy) [it]
Terreur extrême (Canada: French title) [fr]
more
MPAA:
Rated R for brief grisly violence, pervasive strong language and a sex scene.
Runtime:
129 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
2,100 actors auditioned for the role of Aaron Stampler - Matt Damon was one of them. more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In one of the first scenes in Martin Vail's office, he uses the word "illegibly" instead of the correct word "allegedly." more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Marty: On my first day of law school, my professor says two things. First was; "From this day forward, when your mother tells you she loves you - get a second opinion."
Jack Connerman: [chuckles] And?
Marty: "If you want justice, go to a whorehouse. If you wanna get fucked, go to court."
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Primal Fear: The Final Verdict (2009) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Chez What more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
59 out of 73 people found the following comment useful.
The birth of a star and the resurrection of another, 8 May 2004
Author: petra simpson from United States

It's not often that viewers get a chance to watch a star being born - that a talented unknown actor's performance that is so spectacular it leads to the A-list in one role is rare: Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, Brad Pitt in Thelma & Louise to name a recent few. But Edward Norton's turn as the "defendant/victim" in Primal Fear is one of those "Wow" moments that leaves the audience salivating for his next performance. In this feature debut, Norton outdistances his role, as does Richard Gere, in a resurrection no less impressive than Norton's star-making turn. Heretofore, Gere has specialized in assorted intelligent professional cad roles. Here, he gets a chance to inhabit one that not only wears his dubious character on his sleeve, but wears it, drives it, drinks it... revels in it. Yeah, sure somewhere there's a heart of gold, but like his client, the layers on top serve him better, and the heart of gold is tarnished. Gere is at his peak, comfortably, cheerfully inhabiting the role.

Laura Linney deserves extra credit for often being the ice-queen foil which propels the two male characters' development; her own character is rather one- dimensional, but she herself squeezes as much dazzle as she can from it. Even though everyone else obviously falls for whatever Gere's Vail purrs into their ears, it's merely enough time for Linney's Janet to get a drag on her ubiquitous cigarette; another step in what will (hopefully) someday be film's love affair with her. Wasted, sadly, are fine character actors like John Mahoney, Steven Bauer, Maura Tierney & Andre Braugher who could have lit up the screen had they not been handed scripts with generic character stereotypes.

See it to watch the ascension of Norton and Gere.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Primal Fear (1996)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Movies with big twists? sealforreal45
*SPOILERS* sorta.... Is it me or.......... ednortonfan1
soooooooooo unsexy sheppard330
Music tidypainter
This movie makes no sense without Aaron (Spoiler Alert) lily1225
Show of Evil and Reign in Hell punxsyphil83
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