"It" (1990) TV mini-series

Director:

Tommy Lee Wallace

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
Lawrence D. Cohen (teleplay) (part I)
(more)

Release Date:

18 November 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Your every fear - all in one deadly enemy.

Plot:

In 1960, seven outcast kids known as "The Loser Club" fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. 30 years later, they are called back to fight the same clown again.

Plot Keywords:

Clown | Children | Bully | 1960s | Murder

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Harry Anderson	...	Richie Tozier
Dennis Christopher	...	Eddie Kaspbrak
Richard Masur	...	Stanley Uris
Annette O'Toole	...	Beverly Marsh
Tim Reid	...	Mike Hanlon
John Ritter	...	Ben Hanscom
Richard Thomas	...	Bill Denbrough
Tim Curry	...	Pennywise
Jonathan Brandis	...	Bill Denbrough - Age 12
Brandon Crane	...	Ben Hanscom - Age 12
Adam Faraizl	...	Eddie Kaspbrak - Age 12
Seth Green	...	Richie Tozier - Age 12
Ben Heller	...	Stanley Uris - Age 12
Emily Perkins	...	Beverly Marsh - Age 12
Marlon Taylor	...	Mike Hanlon - Age 12
Olivia Hussey	...	Audra Denbrough
Michael Cole	...	Henry Bowers
Sheila Moore	...	Mrs. Kaspbrak
Jarred Blancard	...	Henry Bowers - Age 14
Florence Paterson	...	Mrs. Kersh
Jay Brazeau	...	Derry Cab Driver
Drum Garrett	...	Belch
Gabe Khouth	...	Patrick Hocksetter
Ryan Michael	...	Tom Rogan
Charles Siegel	...	Nat
Venus Terzo	...	Cyndi
Frank C. Turner	...	Al Marsh
Caitlin Hicks	...	Patti Uris
Tony Dakota	...	Georgie Denbrough
Steven Hilton	...	Mr. Denbrough
Sheelah Megill	...	Sharon Denbrough
Kim Kondrashoff	...	Joey
Noel Geer	...	Bradley
Chelan Simmons	...	Laurie Ann
Merrilyn Gann	...	Mrs. Winterbarger
William B. Davis	...	Mr. Gedreau
Susan Astley	...	Aunt Jean
Claire Brown	...	Arlene Hanscom
Garry Chalk	...	Coach
Terence Kelly	...	Officer Nell
Donna Peerless	...	Miss Douglas
Steve Makaj	...	Ben's Father (as Stephen Makaj)
Scott Swanson	...	Rademacher
Nicola Cavendish	...	Desk Clerk
Tom Heaton	...	Mr. Keene
Paul Batten	...	Pharmacist
Russell Roberts	...	Greco
Bill Croft	...	Koontz
Amos Hertzman	...	Chubby Kid
Boyd Norman	...	Gas Station Attendant
Helena Yea	...	Rose (as Helena Yee)
Suzie Payne	...	Female Cabbie
Megan Leitch	...	Library Aide
Deva Neil DePodesta	...	Bum (as Deva Neil De Podesta)
Katherine Banwell	...	TV Announcer
Douglas Newell	...	Doctor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nell Geisslinger	...	(uncredited)
Laura Harris	...	Loni (uncredited)
Gary Hetherington	...	Police Deputy (uncredited)

Directed by
Tommy Lee Wallace

Writing credits (WGA)
Stephen King		(novel)
Lawrence D. Cohen		(teleplay) (part I)
Lawrence D. Cohen		(teleplay) (part II) and
Tommy Lee Wallace		(teleplay) (part II)

Produced by
Mark Bacino	....	associate producer
Allen S. Epstein	....	executive producer (as Allen Epstein)
Jim Green	....	executive producer
Matthew O'Connor	....	supervising producer

Original Music by
Richard Bellis

Cinematography by
Richard Leiterman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
David Blangsted
Robert F. Shugrue

Casting by
Victoria Burrows
Mark Tillman

Production Design by
Douglas Higgins

Art Direction by
Eric Fraser

Set Decoration by
Sandy Arthur

Costume Design by
Monique Prudhomme		(as Monique Stranan)

Makeup Department
Donna Bis	....	hair stylist supervisor
Susan Boyd	....	assistant hair stylist
Jayne Dancose	....	makeup artist
Bart Mixon	....	special makeup effects artist (as Bart J. Mixon)
Jo-Anne Smith-Ojeil	....	assistant special makeup effects (as Jo-Anne Smith O' Jeil)
Eryn Krueger Mekash	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Sydney Silvert	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
George Horie	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Patrice Leung	....	first assistant director
Sandra Mayo	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Craig Henderson	....	construction coordinator
Hank Mayo	....	concept designer
Aaron Sims	....	character designer
Grant Swain	....	property master
Ignacio McBurney	....	on set dresser (uncredited)
Dan Platt	....	sculptor (uncredited)

Sound Department
Richard Patton	....	production sound mixer (as Rick Patton)
Joe Campana	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Al Gomez	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
Ted Johnston	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Tom Ruff	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Clancy T. Troutman	....	sound designer (uncredited)
James G. Williams	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John Thomas	....	special effects coordinator
Bob Comer	....	animatronics (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Gene Warren Jr.	....	special visual effects supervisor: Fantasy II
David Emerson	....	optical camera (uncredited)
Michael Joyce	....	model shop supervisor (uncredited)
Bret Mixon	....	roto supervisor (uncredited)
Tim Scannell	....	rotoscope artist / camera operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Kevin J. Andruschak	....	stunt double
Ken Kirzinger	....	stunts
Michael Langlois	....	stunts
Jacob Rupp	....	stunts
Mike Mitchell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Clothier	....	Steadicam operator
Chris Helcermanas-Benge	....	still photographer
Nick Kuchera	....	key grip
Jeff Upton	....	gaffer
Peter F. Woeste	....	camera operator (as Peter Woeste)

Casting Department
Sid Kozak	....	casting: Canada
Louise Mackiewicz	....	extras casting assistant (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Ulla Hoeller	....	assistant editor
Bob Shugrue Jr.	....	assistant editor
Nigel Hollick	....	assistant editor: Canada (uncredited)
Reine-Claire	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ray Colcord	....	musician: synthesizer
Craig Pettigrew	....	supervising music editor
John Beal	....	music supervisor (uncredited)
Jimmy Bryant	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Lawrence Albright	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Ted Bauman	....	location manager
Jean Bereziuk	....	script supervisor
Jeff Gaffin	....	accounting executive
Gretchen Goode	....	production coordinator
Jodi Duncan	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Green/Epstein Productions
• Konigsberg/Sanitsky Company
• Lorimar Television
• Warner Bros. Television

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1990) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Argentina Video Home (1991) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (1999) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (1999) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Fazer Musiikki Oy/Fazer Video (1991) (Finland) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2003) (Finland) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (Spain) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Fantasy II Film Effects (special visual effects) (as Fantasy II)

Other Companies

• Clancy's Sound Vibrations  sound supervision

Also Known As:

"Stephen King's It" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

192 min | Australia:168 min (25 fps) | Germany:182 min (25 fps) (2 parts) | Spain:179 min (25 fps) | Sweden:181 min (25 fps) | Argentina:190 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 | USA:Not Rated | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Ireland:18 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (video rating) | Canada:PG (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Buntzen Lake, Anmore, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Green/Epstein Productions

Trivia:

Tommy Lee Wallace's first TV movie. Because it was his first, he tried to get "It" (1990) as close to perfect as possible.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The first time Stan recites the entire Boy Scout Oath, he misses the line "To obey the Scout Law". This line goes between the lines "To do my duty to God and my country" and "To help other people at all times".

Quotes:

Bev Marsh:[Realizing that Mrs. Kersh is Pennywise in disguise] It did say Marsh on the doorbell.
Mrs. Kersh:[Her voice becoming menacing] If you're wise, you'll run dead, run... because to stay will mean worse than your death.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Nostalgia Critic: Leprechaun (#3.51)" (2010)

Extremely long but worthwhile horror yarn.

Many critics have complained that Stephen King's It is an overlong film. However, considering that the book upon which it is based takes over 1,000 pages to tell its story, it is hardly surprising that the film version needs so much running time to cram in all the twists and turns. Besides, the three hour running time goes by quickly because the film is briskly paced and full of engaging incidents. Also, the depth of the story allows to us to really get into the minds of the characters, which is a rare thing indeed in a horror film, since usually the characters are hilariously shallow.

The story unfolds like a two part mini-series (which is, I believe, what the film was originally meangt to be). In the first half, a bunch of seven kids in a small town realise that recent child killings are not the work of a murderer, but are attributable to a monster which awakes every thirty years. They track it down and very nearly kill it, but it just manages to escape. Thirty years later, the seven are all grown up, but they re-unite to seek out the monster when it once more awakens for its regular killing spree.

The acting is very goood, especially John Ritter as a successful architect and Tim Curry as the terrifying Pennywise the Clown. There are some spooky moments, but nothing that I would describe as absolutely horrifying. This is an unusually deep and detailed horror film, well worth seeing.