Conspiracy Theory (1997)

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 | Newsletter | Defense | Reference To Richard Speck | Lasersight

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

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

Also Known As:

Fletchers Visionen (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Теория заговора (Russia) [ru]
Complot mortel (Canada: French title) [fr]
Complots (France) [fr]
Conspiración (Conspiracy Theory) (Spain) [es]
El complot (Argentina) [es]
Farlige teorier (Denmark) (video title) [da]
Ipotesi di complotto (Italy) [it]
Komplo teorisi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Salaliittoteoria (Finland) [fi]
Sammansvärjningen (Sweden) [sv]
Teoria conspiratiei (Romania) [ro]
Teoria da Conspiração (Portugal) [pt]
Teoria spisku (Poland) [pl]
Teorija zarote (Slovenia) [sl]
Teorija zavere (Serbia) [sr]
Theories synomosias (Greece) [el]
Vandenõuteooria (Estonia) [et]

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 an interview with Director Richard Donner on the DVD of Payback: Straight Up-Director's Cut (2006) that he met writer Brian Helgeland when he was driving at the Warner Bros. Gate and saw Brian holding a sign that said "Will Write For Work, For Money". Richard got out of the car and ask him about the sign, Brain replied that he was screenwriter and was looking for work. Donner had decided to give a chance which led the two of them working on this film. Brian also worked on Assassins (1995) with Donner.

Goofs:

Continuity: The piece of pizza that Jerry picks out of the box is much smaller than the piece he then eats.

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:

References "I Love Lucy" (1951)

Soundtrack:

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

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.