The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Directors:

Eric Bress
J. Mackye Gruber

Writers (WGA):

J. Mackye Gruber (written by) &
Eric Bress (written by)

Release Date:

23 January 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Change one thing, Change everything.

Plot:

A young man blocks out harmful memories of significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life.

Plot Keywords:

Blackout | Memory | Flashback | Child Pornography | Paranormal

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Ashton Kutcher	...	Evan
Melora Walters	...	Andrea
Amy Smart	...	Kayleigh
Elden Henson	...	Lenny
William Lee Scott	...	Tommy
John Patrick Amedori	...	Evan at 13
Irene Gorovaia	...	Kayleigh at 13
Kevin G. Schmidt	...	Lenny at 13
Jesse James	...	Tommy at 13
Logan Lerman	...	Evan at 7
Sarah Widdows	...	Kayleigh at 7
Jake Kaese	...	Lenny at 7
Cameron Bright	...	Tommy at 7
Eric Stoltz	...	Mr. Miller
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Jason

Also Known As:

El efecto mariposa (Argentina) (International: Spanish title) (Spain) [es]
L'effet papillon (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Butterfly Effect (Germany) [de]
Domino efekt (Croatia) [hr]
Efeito Borboleta (Brazil) [pt]
Efekt motyla (Poland) [pl]
Kelebek etkisi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Liblikaeffekt (Estonia) [et]
Nabi hyogwa (South Korea) [ko]
Perhosvaikutus (Finland) [fi]
To fainomeno tis petaloudas (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug use. (also director's cut)

Runtime:

113 min | 120 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Brazil:14 | South Korea:18 | USA:R (No. 39664) | Canada:18A (Alberta/Manitoba) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG (edited for re-rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

BenderSpink

Trivia:

The title is a reference to a short story by Ray Bradbury in which a group of people travel millions of years into the past and one of them unknowingly steps on and kills a butterfly which dramatically alters the future.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Evan writes the note under the doctor's desk, he has just moved the box containing the home movies to the floor in front of him. After writing the note, he reaches forward and turns the projector on, but never sets it up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[reading aloud as he writes a note]
Evan: If anyone finds this, it means my plan didn't work and I'm already dead. But if I can somehow go back to the beginning of all of this, I might be able to save her.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ugly Betty: The Butterfly Effect: Part 1 (#4.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Heroin Hate

Haunting, Tragic, but ultimately Brilliant

I have seen this movie just a few hours ago and i have to say that it is brilliantly conceived. Definately not a feel good film, but rather dark and tragic in every sense of the word. Yes the performances were above and beyond etc etc... and it helped, but the film itself is an emotionally provacative piece of work that had me feeling sad, morose and depressed. Nonetheless i think that this makes it a very powerful film to evoke such strong feelings while watching it. It is, for lack of a better term, very human. On a different note there were also many complexities to do with chaos theory inderlying the raw emotional turmoil that the characters endure such as time travel, alternate universes and such, but rather than rely on these interesting ideas and theories to carry the movie, it is instead simply used as a background setting for an incredible story. I loved it for what it is, but not something you see to be entertained. See this movie but don't take your family.