Dolores Claiborne (1995)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (book)
Tony Gilroy (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 March 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes, an accident can be an unhappy woman's best friend

Plot:

A big-city reporter travels to the small town where her mother has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman that she works for as a maid.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Murder | Flashback | Maine | Well

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Kathy Bates	...	Dolores Claiborne
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Selena St. George
Judy Parfitt	...	Vera Donovan
Christopher Plummer	...	Det. John Mackey
David Strathairn	...	Joe St. George
Eric Bogosian	...	Peter
John C. Reilly	...	Const. Frank Stamshaw
Ellen Muth	...	Young Selena
Bob Gunton	...	Mr. Pease
Roy Cooper	...	Magistrate
Wayne Robson	...	Sammy Marchant
Ruth Marshall	...	Secretary
Weldon Allen	...	Bartender
Tom Gallant	...	Searcher
Kelly Burnett	...	Jack Donovan
Matt Appleby	...	Kid on street
Thomas Skinner	...	Kid on street
Vernon Steel	...	Ferry vendor
Taffara Jessica Stella Murray	...	Young Selena (Age 5)
Susan Lane	...	Crying girl
Frank Adamson	...	Detective supervisor
Edward Rubin	...	Detective supervisor (as Ed Rubin)
Sandy MacDonald	...	Sheriff
Dean Eilertson	...	Moving man

Directed by
Taylor Hackford

Writing credits (WGA)
Stephen King		(book)
Tony Gilroy		(screenplay)

Produced by
Gina Blumenfeld	....	associate producer
Taylor Hackford	....	producer
Michael Kelly	....	associate producer
Charles Mulvehill	....	producer

Original Music by
Danny Elfman

Cinematography by
Gabriel Beristain

Film Editing by
Mark Warner

Casting by
Nancy Klopper

Production Design by
Bruno Rubeo

Art Direction by
Dan Yarhi

Set Decoration by
Steve Shewchuk

Costume Design by
Shay Cunliffe

Makeup Department
Réjean Goderre	....	hair stylist
Luigi Rocchetti	....	supervising makeup artist
Aldo Signoretti	....	hair stylist
Micheline Trépanier	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Joseph Boccia	....	production manager
Jeffrey Stott	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christopher Ball	....	second assistant director
Josh McLaglen	....	first assistant director
Kayla Popp	....	third assistant director
Kristie Sills	....	second second assistant director
Lars P. Winther	....	third assistant director
Kerric Macdonald	....	trainee assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Lorne Armstrong	....	set dresser
Art Baxter	....	construction manager
David Baxter	....	head carpenter
Stephan Bernier	....	head carpenter
Malcolm Callaway	....	stand-by painter
Keith Currie	....	prop person
Dean Eilertson	....	assistant property master
Tricia Fish	....	art department coordinator
Elinor Rose Galbraith	....	set decorator: Toronto
Mark Goodwin	....	stand-by carpenter
Robert Grani	....	set dresser
Randy Hardy	....	stand-by painter
David Hopkins	....	set dresser
Denis Kirkham	....	assistant set decorator
Mark Laing	....	draftsman
Patricia Larman	....	assistant set decorator
Barbara Luxton	....	prop person
Scott MacFarlane	....	head carpenter
Fritz McEvoy	....	assistant head carpenter
Angela Murphy	....	first assistant art director
Dan Owens	....	set dresser
Raymond Prado	....	storyboard artist
Bruno Robotti	....	key scenic artist
Paul Robotti	....	scenic painter
Cassandra Saulter	....	scenic painter
Kathie Shaw	....	art department runner
Darlene Sheils	....	art department trainee
Mary Steckle	....	sets buyer
Grant Swain	....	property master
Karen Toole	....	art department runner
David Sutherland	....	co-head carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Roberta Alstadter	....	foley recordist
Vanessa Theme Ament	....	foley artist
Vanessa Theme Ament	....	supervising foley editor
John H. Arrufat	....	dialogue editor
Mike Beaudry	....	adr engineer
Denise Bell	....	sound recordist
Michael J. Benavente	....	sound effects editor
Gary C. Bourgeois	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ed Callahan	....	foley editor
Paul Timothy Carden	....	sound effects editor
Scott Clements	....	cable person
Scott Clements	....	second boom operator
Richard Corwin	....	dialogue editor
Greg Dennen	....	stage manager
Mark Eshelman	....	stage manager
Julia Evershade	....	adr editor
John Fundus	....	boom operator
Glen Gauthier	....	production sound mixer
Marilyn Graf	....	foley mixer
Hilda Hodges	....	foley artist
William Jacobs	....	sound effects editor (as Bill Jacobs)
Doc Kane	....	adr mixer
Elliott Koretz	....	sound effects editor
Stephanie D. Krivacek	....	assistant adr editor
Courtenay Marvin	....	assistant sound editor
Susan McLean	....	sound recordist
Oscar Mitt	....	assistant sound editor
Bruce Moffitt	....	boom operator
Tom Newbon	....	stage engineer
Mark Peterson	....	digital sound assistant
Sonny Pettijohn	....	assistant sound editor
Jeena M. Phelps	....	assistant adr editor
Ken Porter	....	boom operator
Richard Portman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Potter	....	field sound effects
Curt Schulkey	....	sound effects editor
David E. Stone	....	supervising sound editor
Bill Talbott	....	technical engineer
J.D. Ward	....	machine operator
Bob Weitz	....	stage engineer (as Robert Weitz)
Thomas Whiting	....	adr editor
Christian T. Cooke	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
Colin Jones	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Solange S. Schwalbe	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Dan Purdy	....	special effects assistant
Ted Ross	....	special effects coordinator
Lawrence Willett	....	special effects assistant
Jim Meisner	....	special effects crew (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Richard Bain	....	visual effects digital designer
David Fuhrer	....	digital artist: CFC
Rob Hodgson	....	visual effects digital designer
Richard E. Hollander	....	additional visual effects
Stuart McAra	....	visual effects producer
Janek Sirrs	....	visual effects
Janet Yale	....	visual effects producer
Bryan Hirota	....	CG artist: VIFX (uncredited)
Michele Maples	....	visual effects producer (uncredited)

Stunts
Shelley Cook	....	stunts
Shannon Millen	....	stunts
Sammy Thurman	....	stunts
Tye Tyukodi	....	stunts
Ron Van Hart	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jeff Adams	....	grip
John R. Adamsom	....	electrician
Neil Andrews	....	rigging electrician
Steven Bernstein	....	additional photographer
Scott Brooke	....	dolly grip
Scott Brooke	....	key grip
Craig Bulmer	....	electrician
Allen Cheng	....	electrician
Andy Chmura	....	camera operator: Toronto
Jake Clarke	....	rigging electrician
John Clifford	....	still photographer
Jayson Clute	....	video assist operator
Freddie Cooper	....	camera operator
Ciaran Copelin	....	second assistant camera
Bob Dalton	....	generator operator
Steve Demeter	....	camera remote operator
Sean Doran	....	grip
Eric Emery	....	electrician
Bryan Forde	....	rigging gaffer
Rick Gillis	....	rigging grip
Dan E. Grady	....	electrician
Tony Guerin	....	first assistant camera
Michael Hall	....	first assistant camera: Toronto
Jim Holmes	....	crane grip
David Kellner	....	best boy electric (as Dave Kellner)
Mike Kirilenko	....	key grip: Toronto
Terry Leger	....	rigging grip
Mick Lipohar	....	camera loader
Kevin MacNeil	....	rigging electrician
Jeff Mart	....	Steadicam operator
Vojislav Mikulic	....	gaffer
Paul Mitcheltree	....	grip
Roy Mombourquette	....	rigging electrician
Scott Nicol	....	camera trainee
Matthew Pill	....	key rigging grip
Herb Reischl Sr.	....	generator operator
Rob Rice	....	lighting grip
Ross Sangster	....	electrician
Mark Simkins	....	electrician
Paul Sweeney	....	assistant rigging gaffer
Fabian Walsh	....	generator operator
Renny Williams	....	rigging grip
Keith Adams	....	grip (uncredited)
Richard Brooks Burton	....	gyrosphere technician: aerial unit (uncredited)
Michael Kelem	....	aerial camera operator (uncredited)
H. Mark Vuille	....	gaffer: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Ross Clydesdale	....	casting: Toronto
John Dunsworth	....	casting: Nova Scotia
Stacey Rosen	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Patricia Cowmeadow	....	wardrobe runner (as Tisha Cowmeadow)
Roberta Palmer	....	wardrobe assistant
Karen Renaut	....	wardrobe mistress
Robert Roberts	....	wardrobe master
Rhea Theriault	....	seamstress
Georgina Yarhi	....	costume ager (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Vaune Kirby Frechette	....	assistant film editor
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Bob Kaiser	....	color timer
Chris Maybach	....	assistant film editor
Ray Neapolitan	....	assistant film editor
Steven Ramirez	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Steve Bartek	....	orchestrator
Andy Bass	....	score recordist
Danny Elfman	....	music producer
Robert Fernandez	....	orchestra recordist
Arlene Fishbach	....	music consultant
Christopher Kennedy	....	score editor: temporary score
David Marquette	....	score recordist
Hendrik Meurkens	....	composer: song "Night in the Afternoon"
Shawn Murphy	....	score mixer
Edgardo Simone	....	additional orchestrator
Curt Sobel	....	music editor
Richard Stone	....	conductor
Patti Zimmitti	....	music contractor
Richard Ziegler	....	assistant music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
John Allen	....	picture vehicle coordinator
Robert Bennett	....	head driver
William M. Corkum	....	production driver
Gary Duncan	....	driver: camera car
Gert Gielen-MacGregor	....	production driver
Rob 'Huck' Hovis	....	production driver
Jannette Joudrey	....	production driver
Rick Leger	....	driver: camera car
Forbes MacDonald	....	production driver
Paul MacEachern	....	production driver
Bob MacIsaac	....	production driver
Dave Marwick	....	production driver
Stuart Mitchell	....	production driver
Steve Murphy	....	production driver
Donnie Ongo	....	production driver
Kelly Peterson	....	production driver
James Ritchie	....	production driver
Gordie Roberts	....	production driver
Gib Russell	....	production driver
Rohan Singh	....	production driver
Kimberly Smith	....	production driver
Nick Sweetman	....	transportation coordinator
Emmanuel 'Manny' Taylor	....	transportation captain
Grant Volkers	....	production driver

Other crew
Leslie J. Adamson	....	accommodation manager
Greg Allen	....	craft service
Diana Alvarez	....	assistant coordinator
Christopher Archibald	....	craft service
Debra Beers	....	location manager
Dave Bennett	....	post-production accountant
Lynne Birdt	....	assistant production accountant
Peter Brenders	....	security wrangler
Kathryn Buck	....	script supervisor: Toronto
Doug Caron	....	film assistant: Toronto
Christopher Comrie	....	assistant production accountant
Shelley Crawford	....	script supervisor
Rita Davis	....	accounting assistant
James Donlon	....	movement coach
Gina Fowler	....	production coordinator
Alex Hackford	....	gull wrangler
John Hencher	....	office production assistant
Elizabeth Himelstein	....	dialect coach
Alan Jacques	....	projectionist
Leo Jones	....	safety officer
K. Lenna Katich	....	production accountant
Missy Kelly	....	unspecified assistant
Beverley Kolbe	....	assistant location manager
Nancy Lohnes	....	stand-in
Charles N. Love	....	technical advisor
Barbara MacDonald	....	stand-in
Anne MacPherson	....	craft service
Andrew McInnes	....	assistant location manager
Dawn McKelvie Cyr	....	stand-in
Stephen Moore	....	dailies projectionist
Bettina Tendler O'Mara	....	product promotions coordinator
Rae V. O'Neil	....	office receptionist
Franco Pante	....	film assistant: Toronto
Susan Pile	....	production publicity
Scott Pritchett	....	production assistant
Diane Ray	....	craft service
Robin M. Reelis	....	office production assistant
Kim Smith	....	boat wrangler
Blake Starratt	....	office production assistant
Gary Swim	....	location manager
Tavin Marin Titus	....	unspecified assistant (as Tavin Marin)
Jacqueline Wechselberger	....	assistant production accountant
Linda L. Wehbi	....	unspecified assistant
Suzanne De Grandis	....	first assistant production accountant: prepartion only, Los Angeles (uncredited)
Derek Filiatrault	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Eric Von Arx	....	location scout (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Castle Rock Entertainment
• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1995) (USA) (theatrical)
• Concorde-Castle Rock/Turner (1995) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Filmes Lusomundo (1995) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1995) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Monopole-Pathé (1995) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Toho-Towa (1995) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1996) (Finland) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (Argentina)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Filmayer Vídeo (Spain)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (video)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2000) (Finland) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Cinesite (Hollywood)
• Computer Film Company, The (CFC) (digital compositing, tracking)
• Video Image

Other Companies

• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack

MPAA:

Rated R for language and domestic abuse.

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:12 | USA:R (certificate #33558) | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (bw) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

Author Stephen King wrote the character of Dolores with Kathy Bates in mind. Bates had impressed the author after meeting him on the set of Misery (1990).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Selena telephones Peter, the cuffs on his sleeve alternate between being open and being fastened.

Quotes:

[Vera is not letting Dolores change her soiled sheets]
Dolores Claiborne: Vera, are ya gonna sit there and maranade in it? Come on!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Miracles and Mystery: Creating 'The Green Mile' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Happy Days Are Here Again

Expert story-telling+fine acting=good entertainment

I first saw "Dolores Claiborne" when it came out in 1995 and have seen it again some 3 or 4 times since, a practice I dedicate only to "certified" masterpieces. At first, I couldn't figure out why I kept revisiting "D.C." when it showed up on cable - it's not a cinematic wonder or a work of art (something it doesn't strive to be, by the way), not even a story that you can say it's really original. But as I became more familiar with the film, I could see why it always pulled me in: it's a triumph of story-telling, of the WAY and PACE the story is revealed in small precise doses much like slowly completing a puzzle, the kind of film you can only let go when the last missing piece (Selena's final flashback) fits into place.

How the story manages to make such initially repulsive characters (all of them!!) develop into sympathetic (or at least pathetic) ones is of course Stephen King's special talent, expertly translated by the fine jobs by the screenwriter, actors and director of "Dolores Claiborne". The cinematography is kind of obvious in its distinct color treatment of past and present, but the entire cast is inspired, including Kathy Bates' best-ever performance (she has stated so herself), especially in the flash-back scenes; delightfully virtuoso Judy Parfitt (you just keep hoping along for more Vera's scenes, and each one of them is a knockout); and reliable pros Christopher Plummer, David Strathairn (such an underrated actor!) and John C. Reilly. Even Jennifer Jason Leigh for once has her irritating mannerisms fit perfectly to build her terribly tormented character.

That's what good story-telling is all about: even if you already know the plot from A to Z, you just want to see once again the way it unfolds, like a good scary fairy tale. "Dolores Claiborne" is not without faults, but it's certainly worth your time, and even more than once.