Jacob's Ladder (1990/I)

Director:

Adrian Lyne

Writer (WGA):

Bruce Joel Rubin (written by)

Release Date:

2 November 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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.

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | New York | Subway | Vietnam War | Postal Worker

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Dante's Inferno

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Philippines:R-18 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

Carolco Pictures

Trivia:

The closing legend of the film mentions the testing of a drug named BZ in Vietnam. BZ is NATO code for a hallucinogen called 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, which was rumored to have been administered to US troops during the Vietnam War in an attempt to increase their combat abilities.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Jacob's doctor, Louie shouts out for "Jacob Stinger" at one point when he is attempting to rescue Jacob from the hospital. Jacob's full name in the movie is Singer, not "Stinger".

Quotes:

Louis: If you're frightened of dying, and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. If you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the Earth.

Movie Connections:

References The French Connection (1971)

Soundtrack:

MY THANG

original, scary, mesmerizing what more can I say?

For several years, there's a very trendy cinematographic genre. This is the "psychological fantastic". This genre is very successful as the movies: "the sixth sense" (1999), "what lies beneath" (2000) or "unbreakable" (2000) showed. All these movies must have been influenced by "Jacob's ladder". In this way, you can regard Adrian Lyne's movie as a precursory and innovative movie. Lyne achieved a masterstroke in an absolutely new genre for him. It means that you're very far from the atmosphere of "9 weeks and a half" or "fatal attraction".

"Jacob's ladder" is based on an outstanding screenplay including numerous weird details that increase the spectator's curiosity. It's precisely with the spectator that Lyne and Bruce Joel Robin, the scriptwriter play with. They take a malicious pleasure in getting the spectator lost in a real maze where seem to border dream and reality. Like Tim Robbins, you look for the clue to the mystery. This clue may be the chemist which Jacob's meeting at the refreshment bar truck. This chemist will lead the plot towards an amazing conclusion.

In Adrian Lyne's movie, there's also a part of the fantastic genre that is very well exploited: at first common and normal living conditions but that are little by little overcome by the unreal, the strange and the fear.

The movie also enjoys an outstanding performance to begin with Tim Robbins. A brilliant success and a movie that deserves to rank among the ten best fantastic movies of the nineties