Dead Ringers (1988)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers:

Bari Wood (book) and
Jack Geasland (book) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 September 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

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.

Plot Keywords:

Gynecologist | Twin | Actress | Identical Twins | Doctor

Awards:

20 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

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
Marsha Moreau	...	Raffaella
Dennis Akayama	...	Pharmacist (as Denis Akiyama)
Dee McCafferty	...	Surgeon
Susan Markle	...	Operating Room Nurse
Murray Cruchley	...	Assisting Surgeon
Jane Luk	...	Lecture Hall Nurse
Tita Trevisan	...	Furniture Salesman
Jacqueline Hennessy	...	Coral (as Jacqueline Hennessy)
Jill Hennessy	...	Mimsy (as Jillian Hennessy)
David Walden	...	Director
Liliane Stillwell	...	Wardrobe Person
Denise McLeod	...	Art Gallery Lady
Bob Bainborough	...	Mr. Glaser
Nick Rice	...	MC (as Nicholas Rice)
Joe Matheson	...	Sean
Hadley Kay	...	Delivery Boy
Cynthia Eastman	...	Sobbing Woman
Nora Colpman	...	Mrs. Randall
Rena Polley	...	Soap Opera Character
Madeleine Atkinson	...	Soap Opera Character
John Bayliss	...	Performance Double
Graham Evans	...	Picture Double
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Cronenberg	...	Obstetrician (uncredited)
Alan Gough	...	Director / producer of TV soap opera (uncredited)
Jordan-Patrick Marcantonio	...	Twin Boy (uncredited)
Julian-Peter Marcantonio	...	(uncredited)
Greg Van Riel	...	Man in reception (uncredited)

Directed by
David Cronenberg

Writing credits
Bari Wood		(book "Twins") and
Jack Geasland		(book "Twins")
David Cronenberg		(written by) and
Norman Snider		(written by)

Produced by
Carol Baum	....	executive producer
John Board	....	associate producer
Marc Boyman	....	producer
David Cronenberg	....	producer
Sylvio Tabet	....	executive producer
James G. Robinson	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Joe Roth	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Howard Shore

Cinematography by
Peter Suschitzky		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ronald Sanders

Casting by
Deirdre Bowen

Production Design by
Carol Spier

Art Direction by
Alicia Keywan		(supervising art director)
James McAteer

Set Decoration by
Elinor Rose Galbraith

Costume Design by
Denise Cronenberg

Makeup Department
Eva Coudouloux	....	hair stylist: TV soap opera
Eva Coudouloux	....	makeup artist: TV soap opera
Shonagh Jabour	....	makeup artist
Ivan Lynch	....	hair designer
Maxine Rennes-Gunderson	....	assistant hair stylist
Barbara Szablowski	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Gabriella Martinelli	....	post-production supervisor
Gabriella Martinelli	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Board	....	first assistant director
Cynthia Clayton	....	trainee assistant director (as Cyndie Clayton)
Kevin Larstone	....	assistant director: TV soap opera
Laurie Mirsky	....	third assistant director
Izidore K. Musallam	....	second assistant director

Art Department
John Bannister	....	scenic artist
Andrew Chatham	....	assistant head carpenter
Kirk Cheney	....	construction manager
Ane Christensen	....	assistant set dresser
Ying Chung	....	carpenter
Brian Clancy	....	carpenter
Janet Cormack	....	scenic artist
Casey De Snoo	....	carpenter
Chris Dutton	....	set dresser
J.C. Edwards	....	carpenter
Danielle Fleury	....	assistant set decorator
Brian Fowler	....	carpenter
Christopher Geggie	....	lead props (as Chris Geggie)
Brian Gibson	....	scenic artist
Peter Grundy	....	first assistant art director
David Hamayda	....	carpenter
Doug Harlocker	....	property master (as Douglas Harlocker)
Jasper Haynes	....	carpenter
Jacqui Hemingway	....	scenic artist assistant
John Jackson	....	carpenter
John Keenan	....	carpenter
Gregory P. Keen	....	first assistant art director (as Gregory Keen)
Murray Keith	....	assistant head carpenter
Simon Kwasniak	....	carpenter
Brian Lumley	....	carpenter
Joe Madziak	....	carpenter
Rocco Matteo	....	art department trainee
Dan McGee	....	carpenter
Don McLeod	....	artist: motion control system
Michael J. Meade	....	trainee set decorator (as Michael Meade)
Bruce H. Meredith	....	carpenter
Allan Meuse	....	carpenter
Jak Oliver	....	key scenic artist
John Quesenberry	....	carpenter (as J. L. Quesenberry)
Warren Quigley	....	scenic artist assistant
Marlene Rain	....	property buyer
Malcolm Reid	....	carpenter
John Rice	....	carpenter
Jacques Rophoz	....	carpenter
Myles Roth	....	carpenter
Ted Samuels	....	carpenter
Al Snikkar	....	carpenter
Tim Spencer	....	carpenter
Danni Starbuck	....	carpenter
Jasna Stefanovic	....	art department trainee
Vlasta Svoboda	....	first assistant art director
Clive Thomasson	....	set dresser
Alexandra Thompson	....	art department trainee
Steve Trevella	....	carpenter
Jim Veale	....	co-head carpenter (as James H. Veale)
Ken Watkins	....	second assistant art director
Ian Wheatley	....	assistant set decorator
Greg Young	....	assistant head carpenter
John Dondertman	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Thomas Pearce	....	co-head carpenter (uncredited)
Tim Spencer	....	art department assistant (uncredited)

Sound Department
Terry Burke	....	foley artist
Richard Cadger	....	sound editor
Viktoria Cseh-McCormick	....	assistant sound editor (as Victoria Cseh)
Bryan Day	....	sound mixer
David Evans	....	sound editor
David Giammarco	....	sound editor
Wayne Griffin	....	sound editor
Sean Kelly	....	assistant sound editor
Judy 'Lucky' Kemeny	....	assistant sound editor (as Judy Kemeny)
Michael LaCroix	....	boom operator (as Michael Lacroix)
John Laing	....	assistant sound editor
Andy Nelson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dino Pigat	....	adr recordist
Donna Powell	....	assistant foley artist
Peter Tarshis	....	sound recordist: TV soap opera sequence
Don White	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Randall Balsmeyer	....	motion control programmer
Gordon J. Smith	....	special effects designer (as Gordon Smith)

Visual Effects by
Dimitris Anapliotis	....	optical printer
Jon Campfens	....	optical printer camerman
Bill Francis	....	laboratory assistant: motion control system
Chris Furniotis	....	optical line-up
George Furniotis	....	optical director
John Furniotis	....	optical director (as G. John Furniotis)
Derek Howard	....	laboratory supervisor: motion control system
Walter Klassen	....	mechanical designer: motion control system
Shelly Morrow	....	junior optical layout/camera animation
Richard Palin	....	motion control assistant
Alan Peppiatt	....	rotoscope artist
Ted Ross	....	laboratory assistant: motion control system
Don Snowdon	....	rotoscope artist
Lee Wilson	....	optical effects supervisor
Bob Yoshioka	....	optical line-up

Stunts
John Bayliss	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Scotty Allan	....	gaffer
Roger Bowden	....	generator operator
Carlo Campana	....	key grip
Arthur E. Cooper	....	second assistant camera
Marijo Corcoran	....	camera trainee
Robert Crone	....	Steadicam operator
John Denniston	....	assistant camera: t.v. soap opera
Attila Dory	....	still photographer
Nigel Draper	....	electrician
Ted Fanyeck	....	electrician
John Garland	....	electrician (as Jon Garland)
John Grierson	....	camera operator: t.v. soap opera
Duane Gullison	....	generator operator
Mitch Holmes	....	best boy grip
Michael Iwan	....	grip
Gary Ledbetter	....	electrician
Marvin Midwicki	....	first assistant camera
Don Payne	....	grip
Ian D. Scott	....	best boy electric (as Ian Scott)
M.A. Simmons	....	video assistant
Andreas Trauttmansdorff	....	camera trainee
David Willetts	....	electrician (as David J. Willetts)
Bill Wilson	....	electrician
David J. Woods	....	video supervisor (as David Woods)
John Zulinski	....	grip
Nigel Draper	....	lamp operator (uncredited)

Animation Department
Peter Grucza	....	animation stand

Casting Department
Peter Lavender	....	extras casting
Melanie Tanz	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Trysha Bakker	....	wardrobe assistant
Jay Du Boisson	....	wardrobe mistress
Nancy Duggan	....	seamstress
Brenda Gilles	....	wardrobe assistant
Patricia Hanley	....	seamstress

Editorial Department
Lesley Clark	....	post-production assistant
Charlotte Disher	....	editing production assistant
Chris Hinton	....	color timer
Bernadette Kelly	....	trainee assistant editor
Susan Maggi	....	second assistant editor
Michael Rea	....	first assistant editor
Sandra Tucker	....	post-production assistant
Steve Weslak	....	associate editor

Music Department
Homer Denison	....	orchestrator
Brian Eddolls	....	electronic music preparation
Jean Kerr	....	music coordinator: London
Dick Lewzey	....	music re-recording engineer
Suzana Peric	....	music editor
Howard Shore	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Howard Brenner	....	driver
David Brown	....	driver
Ron Coles	....	driver
Frances Hendry	....	head driver
Allen Kosonic	....	driver (as Al Kosonic)
Gilbert Lacasse	....	driver
Jerome McCann	....	driver captain
Chris Radley Walters	....	driver (as Chris Radley-Walters)
Steven Sacrob	....	driver
Richard Spiegelman	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Jami Abell	....	assistant: Mr. Roth
James F. Breithaupt	....	post-production accountant (as Jim Breithaupt)
John P. Cassels	....	production assistant
Lesley Clark	....	assistant: Mr. Boyman
Prudence Emery	....	unit publicist
Alice Ferrier	....	production coordinator
Marta Fischer	....	production assistant
John Gaskin	....	assistant accountant
Janet Gayford	....	production secretary
Alan Gough	....	director: t.v. soap opera (as R. Alan Gough)
Alan Gough	....	producer: t.v. soap opera (as R. Alan Gough)
Lynn Gran	....	craft service
Sara Holmes	....	office clerk
Ted Hunter	....	sculptor: Wolleck's studio sculptures
Anthony Kadak	....	location assistant
Neil Kredentser	....	location assistant
Heather McIntosh	....	production auditor
Vince Nyuli	....	unit location manager
Jeremy Podeswa	....	unit publicist
James G. Robinson	....	presenter
Margaret Roiphe	....	representative: financer
Joe Roth	....	presenter
Dug Rotstein	....	script supervisor
Wendie Saltarski	....	post-production accountant
Lillian Sarafinchan	....	location manager
Cindy Scott	....	accounting clerk
Teri Spasov	....	assistant accountant
Melanie Tanz	....	assistant: producers
Sandra Tucker	....	assistant: Mr. Cronenberg
Paul Van Zyl	....	intern
Janet M. West	....	assistant: Mr. Robinson (as Janet West)
Anita Simand	....	creative executive (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Mantle Clinic II
• Morgan Creek Productions
• Téléfilm Canada

Distributors

• Finnkino (1989) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1989) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1988) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Aquarius TV (2005) (Greece) (DVD)
• Astral Films (Canada)
• CMV Laservision (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (1996) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• Kurt Media (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Media Home Entertainment (video)
• Polyband (2001) (DVD)
• Rank Film Organization (UK)
• TVA International (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Twister Digital Video (2004) (Russia) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2001) (Australia) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• 2 Gorillas  radical surgical instruments
• Balsmeyer and Everett  motion control system
• Balsmeyer and Everett  titles
• Film Effects  opticals
• Film House  sound re-recording
• P.S. Production Services  equipment services
• Pathé Sound  ADR recording
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Soundmix Studios Ltd.  sound transfers
• Standing Metal Works  radical surgical instruments
• Studio Catering  catering
• Studios CTS  music recorded at
• T.'n.T Negative Cutting  negative cutting

Also Known As:

Alter ego (Canada: French title)
Gemini (Canada: English title) (working title)
Twins (Canada: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Bell Trinity Square - 483 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Mantle Clinic II

Trivia:

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 25 Most Dangerous Movies".

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.

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.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Taboos (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

In the Still of the Night (I'll Remember)

Typically Cronenberg but yet accessible as well; a great script and plot is made all the more compelling by the director and two fantastic performances from Jeremy Irons

Growing up together as social outcasts with only each other for company, twins Elliot and Beverly Mantle become very close. This closeness becomes more like them both sharing one self in two bodies as they study in the same area and eventually become experts in the field of gynaecology. They share everything and few can tell them apart; an arrangement that works well until Beverly falls for a patient (Claire Niveau) and finds that there are things he doesn't want to share with Elliot. As Bev confronts the idea of them being separate for the first time ever, he starts to fall apart mentally and, when Elliot tries to reach out and help him he too is drawn into confusion over identity and an inability to find where one of them stops and the other starts.

Being a Cronenberg film I knew to expect body horror and, shall I say, an 'unusual' theme and in many ways the film delivered in spades but in a much more cerebral fashion. The plot is not easy to explain but it is a totally convincing breakdown of both Elliot and Beverly as they lose contact with the lines between them (if the lines ever really existed). Of course it is rather extreme but it is relentlessly interesting in terms of the script and the characters. The gynaecological part of the film allows Cronenberg to explore his more usual body horror stuff but this all came second to the much more interesting material that exists in the script. Cronenberg appears to be as fascinated as me by the characters and he directs with a cold eye, letting the creepy atmosphere come from not only the story but every shot, every set and every performance; not only this but this is one of his more accessible films without losing much of what makes Cronenberg Cronenberg.

Of course a massive part of the film working is two perfect performances from Jeremy Irons, who I have not seen better in any other films. Using special effects as well as the old 'over the shoulder' technique, Irons is able to convincingly be on screen in two characters at the same time, but it is not the shot framing that makes it convincingly two characters, it is Irons' performance that does that. His Beverly is so feeble and has a convincing breakdown; while his Elliot appears much more together but suffers in a different way from the same struggle. Obviously being identical, it is due to Irons that the two characters come across so very different but yet seem just like the same person. In every little scene he manages to stay in character no matter what – it's hard for me to describe, you need to really see it for yourself. Bujold is good in support early on but, as the twins' story gets more complex, her characters feels a bit intrusive and uninteresting, but generally she is good. However, to talk about anyone beyond this is to suggest there is room for them in the film – there isn't. Instead the film is pretty much dominated by two people – and they are both Jeremy Irons, producing two great performances that were vital for the film to work.

Overall this may be a little too weird for some viewers but many more will find it to be one of their favourite Cronenberg films on the basis that it has the qualities that makes him him but is also a lot more accessible as well. The body horror is there in the background but it is the psychological scarring and confusion that is of much more interest; the script is great even if the plot goes to the usual Cronenberg excesses but it is two perfect performances by Irons that makes it all come together in a compelling and interesting film.