St. Elmo's Fire (1985)

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers:

Joel Schumacher (written by) &
Carl Kurlander (written by)

Release Date:

28 June 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The passion burns deep.

Plot:

A Group of friends, just out of college, struggle with adulthood. Their main problem is that they're all self-centered and obnoxious.

Plot Keywords:

College | Friendship | Graduation | Saxophone | Yuppie

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Emilio Estevez	...	Kirby Keger
Rob Lowe	...	Billy Hicks
Andrew McCarthy	...	Kevin Dolenz
Demi Moore	...	Jules
Judd Nelson	...	Alec Newbary
Ally Sheedy	...	Leslie Hunter
Mare Winningham	...	Wendy Beamish
Martin Balsam	...	Mr. Beamish
Andie MacDowell	...	Dale Biberman
Joyce Van Patten	...	Mrs. Beamish
Jenny Wright	...	Felicia
Blake Clark	...	Wally
Jon Cutler	...	Howie Krantz
Matthew Laurance	...	Ron Dellasandro
Gina Hecht	...	Judith
Anna Maria Horsford	...	Naomi
Patrick Winningham	...	'The New Breed' Band
Andy Scott	...	'The New Breed' Band
Christian Iraberen	...	'The New Breed' Band
Daniel Iribarren	...	'The New Breed' Band
Bennet Bowman	...	'The New Breed' Band
James Carrington	...	Guy
Kaaren Lee	...	Welfare Woman
Nora Meerbaum	...	Myra
Don Moss	...	Maitre D'
Whip Hubley	...	Felicia's Date
Michele Winding	...	Chauffeur
Jim Turner	...	Postgrad
Mario Machado	...	Kim Sung Ho
Judy Kain	...	Woman Banker
Seth Jaffe	...	Brother in Law
Jeffrey Lampert	...	Brother in Law
Elizabeth Arlen	...	Libby
Scott Nemes	...	Nephew
Bernadette Birkett	...	Rachael
Vincent J. Isaac	...	Cop
Dean R. Miller	...	Clayton
Jamie Anders	...	Tommy Bancroft (as Jamison Anders)
Cindi Dietrich	...	Flirt
David Lain Baker	...	Jules' Date
Daniel Eden	...	Street Tough
Laurel Page	...	Nurse
Thom Bierdz	...	Rowdy Undergrad
J.T. Solomon	...	Hysterical Woman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stephanie Feury	...	Jules' Friend (uncredited)

Directed by
Joel Schumacher

Writing credits
Joel Schumacher		(written by) &
Carl Kurlander		(written by)

Produced by
Bernard Schwartz	....	executive producer
Lauren Shuler Donner	....	producer (as Lauren Shuler)
Ned Tanen	....	executive producer

Original Music by
David Foster

Cinematography by
Stephen H. Burum		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Richard Marks

Casting by
Marci Liroff
Jennifer Shull

Art Direction by
William Sandell

Set Decoration by
Robert Gould
Charles Graffeo		(as Charles M. Graffeo)

Costume Design by
Susan Becker

Makeup Department
Verne Caruso	....	hair stylist: Washington D.C.
Robert Jiras	....	makeup artist: Washington D.C. (as B.J. Jiras)
K.G. Ramsey	....	hair stylist (as Ramsey)
Rick Sharp	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Raymond Hartwick	....	production manager (as Ray Hartwick)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gary Daigler	....	first assistant director
W. Alexander Ellis	....	dga trainee (as Alexander Ellis)
Katterli Frauenfelder	....	second assistant director (as Katterli A. Frauenfelder)

Art Department
Ramiro Arrendondo	....	swing gang (as Rami Arrendondo)
Donald J. Borum Jr.	....	set dresser: Washington D.C.
William Boyd	....	property foreman (as Bill Boyd)
Christopher Burian-Mohr	....	set designer
Tom Byrd	....	labor foreman
William D. Derham	....	property gang boss (as William Derham)
Bruce Di Valerio	....	construction foreman (as Bruce DiValerio)
Cal DiValerio	....	construction coordinator (as Cal D. DiValerio)
Douglas Forsmith	....	swing gang (as Douglas W. Forsmith)
Thomas Gark	....	leadman (as Thomas R. Gark)
Gerald Gates Jr.	....	paint foreman (as Jerry Gates)
John N. Graffeo	....	swing gang (as John Graffeo)
Jim Greenspan	....	swing gang
Gary F. Kieldrup	....	assistant property master (as Gary Kieldrup)
Donald Krafft	....	leadman (as Donald W. Krafft)
Bob McLing	....	swing gang
Albert Morris Jr.	....	set dresser: Washington D.C.
William A. Petrotta	....	property master
Paul S. Power	....	illustrator
Paul S. Power	....	storyboard artist
Doug Rosenberger	....	location foreman
Anne Sidaris-Reeves	....	swing gang (as Anne S. Reeves)
James E. Tocci	....	set designer
Warren Williams	....	gang boss
Donald F. Winter	....	stage foreman (as Don Winter)

Sound Department
Raul A. Bruce	....	boom operator
Gene S. Cantamessa	....	sound mixer (as Gene Cantamessa)
Ken Dufva	....	foley artist
Richard Mario Garza	....	cable person
Leslie Gaulin	....	assistant sound editor (as Leslie Troy Gaulin)
Gary S. Gerlich	....	sound editor
David Hawkins	....	sound editor
J. Paul Huntsman	....	adr editor
J. Paul Huntsman	....	adr supervisor
Doc Kane	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gregg Landaker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Carl Lewis	....	adr editor (as Cari Lewis)
Tony Margulies	....	foley artist (restored version)
Steve Maslow	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Moritz	....	apprentice sound editor
Frank E. Warner	....	supervising sound editor (as Frank Warner)
Bill Wylie	....	sound editor (as William J. Wylie)
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Peter Albiez	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Clayton R. Marsh	....	opticals

Stunts
Reid Rondell	....	stunt double
Steve M. Davison	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Emmett Brown	....	key grip (as Emmett Allen Brown)
Billy Craft	....	lighting operator
Elliot Davis	....	camera operator
Jon Fauer	....	camera operator: Washington D.C. (as John Fauer)
Rick Fee	....	second assistant camera
Bill Fleming	....	best boy grip (as William J. Fleming)
Robert E. Gaynor	....	dolly grip
Adam Glick	....	set lighting technician
Tim Griffith	....	chief lighting technician (as Timothy J. Griffith)
Howard Hagadorn	....	grip (as Howard R. Hagadorn)
Jim Hovey	....	director of photography: Washington D.C.
Gábor Kövér	....	first assistant camera: Washington D.C. (as Gabor Kover)
Christine M. Loss	....	still photographer (as Christine Loss)
Terry H. Neville	....	best boy: studio
Peter Portizo	....	best boy electric (as Peter G. Portizo)
Lorey Sebastian	....	still photographer: Washington D.C. (as Lorey Sebastien)
Stuart Stein	....	second assistant camera: Washington D.C.
Ralph Stiers	....	electrician
Joel Stout	....	rigging gaffer
Alex Touyarot	....	first assistant camera
Thomas D. Wazney	....	grip (as Thomas Wazney)
James Woodward Sr.	....	gaffer: Washington D.C. (as Jim Woodward Sr.)

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	adr casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck	....	costume supervisor: women (as Francine Patrice Jamison)
Violette Jones-Faison	....	costumer (as Violette Jones)
James W. Tyson	....	costume supervisor: men (as James Tyson)

Editorial Department
Jane Schwartz Jaffe	....	first assistant editor
Bruce Pearson	....	color timer
Jim Prior	....	apprentice editor
Brian Ralph	....	negative cutter
Christy Richmond	....	apprentice editor

Music Department
Bob Badami	....	music editor
David Boruff	....	performer: sax solo
David Foster	....	music supervisor
Humberto Gatica	....	music recording mixer
Jay Graydon	....	music arranger

Transportation Department
Hayden D. Anglin	....	transportation coordinator
Stanley V. Henson Jr.	....	transportation
Ron Riner	....	transportation co-captain
Paul Youds	....	transportation captain
Gilbert Young	....	transportation captain: Washington D.C.

Other crew
James D. Bissell	....	visual consultant (as James Bissell)
Jan Forman Campi	....	production auditor assistant: Washington D.C. (as Jan Forman)
Bob Corff	....	voice teacher
Patricia L. DeShields	....	assistant production accountant (as Patricia DeShields)
R. Scott Doran	....	production assistant
Chris Earthy	....	assistant: David Foster
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Tina Garmaise	....	production assistant: Washington D.C. (as Tina Garmaze)
Desmond Giffen	....	caterer (as Desmond G. Giffen)
Donna Hart	....	secretary: Joel Schumacher
Phyllis Gardner Hirsen	....	unit publicist
Lisa Rose Horwitch	....	production assistant
Paul Kaplansky	....	assistant: Joel Schumacher
Jan Kemper	....	script supervisor
Alan Korolowicz	....	physical trainer
Karen Kovacevich	....	assistant: Lauren Shuler
Shari Leibowitz	....	production coordinator
Rebecca McCann	....	secretary: Joel Schumacher
Margaret Mitchell	....	production accountant
Mark Moelter	....	caterer (as Mark J. Moelter)
Kenny Ortega	....	choreographer
Mary Ream	....	craft service
Eric Schwab	....	location manager (as Eric B. Schwab)
Jackson Sousa	....	physical trainer
Mary Vetula	....	assistant location manager: Washington D.C.
Michael Wallace	....	assistant location manager: Washington D.C. (as Mike Wallace)
Wayne Williams	....	chapman crane operator
James Woodward Sr.	....	shop steward: Washington D.C. (as Jim Woodward Sr.)
Eric Young	....	location manager: Washington D.C.
Kevin J. Zeheb	....	production assistant: Washington D.C. (as Kevin Zeheb)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (as Columbia Pictures) (presents)
• Delphi IV Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1985) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1986) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia (1986) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2001) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2000) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• GoodTimes Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (1986) (Argentina) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2001) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (UK) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2000) (Sweden) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Atlantic Records  soundtrack
• Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre  special thanks
• Music Television (MTV)  registered trademark (as MTV Music Television Incorporated)
• Modern Film Effects  opticals
• NovaStar Digital  post-production sound services
• Rich Mar Casting  extra casting (as Rich-Mar Casting)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

110 min | Canada:108 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 (original rating) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #27681) | West Germany:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:R (Ontario) | Australia:M | Iceland:L | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Norway:16 | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:Atp (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

L'Orangerie - 903 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Singer John Parr, who co-wrote and sung the title song "St. Elmo's Fire" for the soundtrack, explained during a speech at the Childrens choice awards in Sheffield that he was "not particularly thrilled" to be working on the film and that, motivation for the song actually came from a young man who had recently become paralyzed. He said that "the wheels" of the Man in Motion referenced in the lyrics was popularly thought to mean the wheels of Demi Moore's jeep, but actually refers instead to those of a wheelchair.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the cafeteria scene when Jules, Leslie and Wendy are in line getting their food, the food on the plates changes spots.

Quotes:

Kirby:Why do they put ice in the urinals?
Kevin:It tastes better
Kirby:Bah Dum bum ching.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Facts of Life: We Get Letters (#7.11)" (1985)

Soundtrack:

YOUNG AND INNOCENT

I had to turn it off

I don't know what it was about this film that made me react so viscerally against it. Perhaps it was the characters who so unlikable and were not compelling enough to care about. Perhaps it was the disorganized storyline. Perhaps it was the fact that Rob Lowe wore a long dangly earring and eyeliner. Perhaps it was because at some point in the movie they all break out in song. Perhaps it was because the 1980s were never that 80s. Perhaps it was because everything was a garish hyperbole. Perhaps it was because a character pumps his fist while driving away from the camera during a fade out. I don't know what it was that made me hate it so, but if it means trying to watch it again I'm not willing to find out.