IMDb > Jacob's Ladder (1990/I)
Jacob's Ladder
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Jacob's Ladder (1990/I) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 4 NEW)
Jacob's Ladder (1990) -- A traumatized Vietnam war veteran finds out that his post-war life isn't what he believes it to be when he's attacked by horned creatures in the subway and his dead son comes to visit him.
Jacob's Ladder (1990) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)
Jacob's Ladder (1990) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)
Jacob's Ladder (1990) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   25,720 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 17% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Adrian Lyne
Writer (WGA):
Bruce Joel Rubin (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Jacob's Ladder on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 November 1990 (USA) more
Tagline:
The most frightening thing about Jacob Singer's nightmare is that he isn't dreaming.
Plot:
A traumatized Vietnam war veteran finds out that his post-war life isn't what he believes it to be when he's attacked by horned creatures in the subway and his dead son comes to visit him. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
2 wins more
NewsDesk:
(17 articles)
Stahl, McGowan & Smart Join Wake
 (From EmpireOnline. 21 September 2009, 11:10 PM, PDT)

Lists of Doom Xxv: Evil J of Otep
 (From Fangoria. 16 September 2009, 12:28 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Anguishing, Intriguing, Original, Unique more (296 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tim Robbins ... Jacob Singer
Elizabeth Peña ... Jezzie

Danny Aiello ... Louis

Matt Craven ... Michael
Pruitt Taylor Vince ... Paul

Jason Alexander ... Geary

Patricia Kalember ... Sarah

Eriq La Salle ... Frank

Ving Rhames ... George

Brian Tarantina ... Doug

Anthony Alessandro ... Rod
Brent Hinkley ... Jerry
S. Epatha Merkerson ... Elsa
Suzanne Shepherd ... Hospital Receptionist
Doug Barron ... Group Leader
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Dante's Inferno
more
Runtime:
113 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby SR
Filming Locations:
New York, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the original screenplay, writer Bruce Joel Rubin had created a typical Biblical hell, complete with winged demons, cloven hoofed devils with horns, people with beaks and strange objects lying randomly around (director Adrian Lyne likens Rubin's vision to the work of Hieronymus Bosch). As with Rubin's general depiction of demons however, Lyne felt that such scenes could very easily make an audience laugh. As such, he decided to rewrite the scene of Jacob's descent into hell; ultimately coming up with the hospital sequence where Jacob is wheeled on a gurney into a metaphorical hell which becomes more and more grotesque as he moves. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: A support wire is clearly visible on one of the demon's wings during the party scene. more
Quotes:
Jacob's Doctor: You're a lucky guy, Jake. You must have friends in high places. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) more
Soundtrack:
HEARING SOLAR WINDS / Part 3: Arc Descents more

FAQ

What is the significance of the title?
What special features are on the DVD?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
more
27 out of 38 people found the following comment useful.
Anguishing, Intriguing, Original, Unique, 7 October 2006
9/10
Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

On 06 Oct 1971, in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, the American soldier Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is wounded by a bayonet during an attack to his platoon. He wakes up in New York subway while going home late night after working overtime in the post office. He is divorced from Sarah (Patricia Kalember), lives with his colleague and lover Jezebel (Elizabeth Peña) is a small apartment in Brooklyn and misses his young son Gabe (Macaulay Culkin), who died in an accident where Jacob feels responsible for. Along the next days, Jacob is chased by demons and finds conspiracy in the army, while having different visions of different moments of his life.

Yesterday I saw "The Jacket" and I decide to see once more "Jacob's Ladder", maybe for the fifth time. This anguishing and intriguing story is one of the most original and unique I have ever seen, and has been plagiarized many times mainly in the foregoing mentioned "The Jacket". Tim Robbins gives another top-notch performance in the role of a troubled man resolving his life, due to the feeling of guilty for the loss of his younger son. Bruce Joel Rubin, who also wrote and produced "Ghost", "Jacob's Ladder" and "My Life", shows that is very connected with spiritual issues, approaching this theme in his films. The Brazilian title of this movie, "Alucinações do Passado" ("Hallucinations From the Past"), wrongly induces the viewer and destroys the dubious sense of the original title: Jacob is the lead character, "Ladder" is the name of the experiment his platoon and him had been submitted in Vietnam; but the interpretation of "Jacob's Ladder" in the Bible is that this is the only means to reach the total ecstasy, the plenitude, however, we need first supersede the obstacles that we find in our ascension. Further, "Jacob experienced a vision in which he saw a ladder reaching into heaven with angels going up and down it, a vision that is commonly referred to as Jacob's Ladder" (from "Wikipedia"). Another interesting aspect is that all the characters have biblical names. For example, Jezebel is considered the most wicked woman in the entire Bible (the character of Elizabeth Peña was responsible for the separation of Jacob and Sarah and maybe he was blaming her for keeping him far from his family); and Gabriel is the angel that explained signs from God and announced the conception, birth, and mission of Jesus to Mary. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Alucinações do Passado" ("Hallucinations From the Past")

Note: On 19 May 2009, I saw this movie again, now on DVD.

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Movies like this? apa-86
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Jacob's LAdder Special Edition DVD is freakin' weird! biggtittsss
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