Before Sunrise (1995)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers (WGA):

Richard Linklater (written by) &
Kim Krizan (written by)

Release Date:

27 January 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Jump on and live a Eurorail journey you will never forget!

Plot:

A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one romantic evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.

Plot Keywords:

Vienna | Train | American | French | Love

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Ethan Hawke	...	Jesse
Julie Delpy	...	Celine
Andrea Eckert	...	Wife on Train
Hanno Pöschl	...	Husband on Train
Karl Bruckschwaiger	...	Guy on Bridge
Tex Rubinowitz	...	Guy on Bridge
Erni Mangold	...	Palm Reader
Dominik Castell	...	Street Poet
Haymon Maria Buttinger	...	Bartender
Harald Waiglein	...	Guitarist in Club
Bilge Jeschim	...	Belly Dancer
Kurti	...	Percussionist
Hans Weingartner	...	Cafe Patron
Liese Lyon	...	Cafe Patron
Peter Ily Huemer	...	Cafe Patron
Otto Reiter	...	Cafe Patron
Hubert Fabian Kulterer	...	Cafe Patron
Branko Andric	...	Cafe Patron
Constanze Schweiger	...	Cafe Patron
John Sloss	...	Cafe Patron
Alexandra Seibel	...	Cafe Patron
Georg Schöllhammer	...	Cafe Patron
Christian Ankowitsch	...	Cafe Patron
Wilbirg Reiter	...	Cafe Patron
Barbara Klebel	...	Musician on Boat
Wolfgang Staribacher	...	Musician on Boat
Wolfgang Glüxam	...	Harpsichord Player
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adam Goldberg	...	Man Sleeping on Train (uncredited)
Paul Poet	...	Guy in Bar (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Linklater

Writing credits (WGA)
Richard Linklater		(written by) &
Kim Krizan		(written by)

Produced by
Gregory Jacobs	....	associate producer
Wolfgang Ramml	....	co-producer
Gernot Schaffler	....	co-producer
John Sloss	....	executive producer
Anne Walker-McBay	....	producer
Ellen Winn Wendl	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Fred Frith

Cinematography by
Lee Daniel		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Sandra Adair

Casting by
Alycia Aumuller
Judy Henderson

Production Design by
Florian Reichmann

Costume Design by
Florentina Welley

Makeup Department
Karen Dunst	....	hair stylist (as Karin Dunst)
Karen Dunst	....	makeup artist (as Karin Dunst)

Production Management
Bernhard Schmatz	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Buche	....	second assistant director
E. Otto Sperl	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Maria Bluemel	....	stand-by props (as Maria Blümel)
Max Space	....	art department assistant (as Maximilian Jezo-Parovsky)
Michael Suchy	....	property master
Mark Lambert Bristol	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Wayne Bell	....	sound effects editor
Stan Ginsel	....	assistant sound editor (as Stanley Ginsel)
Douglas Greenfield	....	stereo consultant: Dolby
Tom Hammond	....	supervising sound editor
Steve Jaszkowiak	....	foley mixer
Ossama Khuluki	....	foley artist
Paul Koronkiewicz	....	boom operator (as Paul Koronkiewiecz)
Christopher Moriana	....	foley artist (as Chris Moriana)
Charles W. Ritter	....	dialogue editor (as Chip Ritter)
Larry Seyer	....	sound re-recording mixer
Russ Smith	....	assistant sound editor
Reilly Steele	....	adr mixer
Thomas Szabolcs	....	sound mixer
Todd Toon	....	foley editor
Patrick Giraudi	....	foley editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Alexander	....	Steadicam operator
Walter Bednarik	....	dolly grip
Gabriela Brandenstein	....	still photographer
Phillip Grausam	....	electrician
Matthias Grunsky	....	clapper loader (as Mathias Grunsky)
Susanne Habitzel	....	best girl electric
Roland Heinrich	....	grip
Thomas Horváth	....	second electric (as Thomas Horvath)
Gero Lasnig	....	gaffer
Francesco Lorusso	....	grip
Heinz Menschik	....	first assistant camera
Thomas Öhl	....	electrician
Bernd Pfingstmann	....	third electric
Clark Walker	....	second assistant camera

Casting Department
Chloe Ernst	....	casting associate: New York
Robyn Levinson	....	casting assistant
James Pantone	....	casting associate: Los Angeles
Lisa Pantone	....	casting associate: Los Angeles
Regina Schlagnitweit	....	casting: Austria
Birgit Sturm	....	extras casting: Vienna People

Editorial Department
Barbara Albert	....	assistant editor
Peter Fahrngruber	....	avid consultant
Sheri Galloway	....	second editor
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Steve Johnson	....	colorist
Bob Kaiser	....	color timer
Eric A. Lewy	....	first assistant editor
Christine Radovanov	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Arlene Fishbach	....	music consultant

Transportation Department
Michael Hopfgartner	....	transportation captain
Stegan Stein	....	driver: trailer (as Stefan Stein)

Other crew
Catherine Bauer	....	production assistant
Uli Halbritter	....	production coordinator
Jeff Hill	....	publicity: Clein+White
Philipp Kaiser	....	location assistant
Alexander Kleinszig	....	key production assistant
Kurt Werner 'Mingo' Krusche	....	location manager (as Kurt 'Mingo' Krusche)
Avi Levy	....	production accountant
Karol Martesko	....	co-production liaison
Morgan Miles	....	assistant production accountant
Axl Newrkla	....	set location manager
Andrea Nunner	....	accountant: Austria
Chris Paton	....	unit publicist: DDA London
Monika Petrillo	....	script supervisor (as Monika von Manteuffel)
Hans Weingartner	....	production assistant
Reini Weissensteiner	....	set production assistant (as Reinhard Weißensteiner)
Susanne Wouk	....	set production assistant

Thanks
Wolfgang Ainberger	....	we wish to thank
Karen Arikian	....	we wish to thank (as Karin Arikian)
Manfred Bartunek	....	we wish to thank
Ivan Bigley	....	we wish to thank
Arie Bohrer	....	we wish to thank
Laura Duda	....	we wish to thank
Courtney Eldridge	....	we wish to thank
Jürgen Forster	....	we wish to thank
Walter Galosch	....	we wish to thank
Leonhard Gmür	....	we wish to thank
Robyn Gray	....	we wish to thank
Stefan Grissemann	....	we wish to thank
Alexander Horwath	....	we wish to thank
John Hunt	....	we wish to thank
Heather McGrath Jacobs	....	we wish to thank
David Jewell	....	acknowledgment: poem "Delusion Angel" written by
Alan Jones	....	we wish to thank
Gudrun Kampl	....	we wish to thank
Constanze Kargl	....	we wish to thank
Lynn Keller	....	we wish to thank
Kurt Kren	....	we wish to thank
Doris Krumpl	....	we wish to thank
Shirley Linklater	....	in memory of: my grandparents (as Shirley)
Amy Lowrey	....	we wish to thank
Peter Muhr	....	we wish to thank (as Peter)
Vesna Muhr	....	we wish to thank
Jim Osborne	....	we wish to thank
Katharina Pirker	....	we wish to thank
Bernhard Praschl	....	we wish to thank
Ulla Rapp	....	we wish to thank
Christa Reeh	....	we wish to thank
Stefan Ruul	....	we wish to thank
Maria Schmidt	....	we wish to thank
Franz Schwartz	....	we wish to thank
Heinz Skala	....	we wish to thank
Philipp Teuchtler	....	we wish to thank
I.D. Lila von Schwarzenberg	....	we wish to thank
Dagmar Wagner	....	we wish to thank
Fritz Wagner	....	we wish to thank (as Fritz)
Peter Wallner	....	we wish to thank
Heinz Wendl	....	we wish to thank
Cornelia Zweigert	....	we wish to thank

Production Companies

• Castle Rock Entertainment (presents) (a Turner Company)
• Detour Filmproduction (producer)
• Filmhaus Wien Universa Filmproduktions (in association with) (as F.I.L.M.H.A.U.S., Wien)
• Sunrise Production
• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (1995) (worldwide) (all media) (sales)
• Columbia Pictures (1995) (USA) (theatrical)
• Concorde-Castle Rock/Turner (1995) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Filmayer (1995) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (1995) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (Argentina)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (laserdisc)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (video)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Austin Recording Studio  re-recording facility
• Austrian Airlines  we wish to thank
• City of Vienna, The  we wish to thank
• Clein + White  publicity
• Curtis Brown Associates  used by permission of ("As I Walked Out One Evening" written by W. H. Auden Copyright © 1940 W. H. Auden All Rights Reserved.) (as Curtis Brown, Ltd.)
• Dennis Davidson & Associates Public Releations (DDA)  unit publicist (as DDA London)
• Digital Sound and Picture  foley recorded at (as Digital Sound)
• Frederick's  caterer
• Kunsthaus Wien  we wish to thank
• Listo Film  negative processing and dailies
• Mayor's Office of the City of Vienna, The  we wish to thank
• Milan Records  soundtrack published by
• Moody Hall Madrigals  we wish to thank
• Ottakringer  we wish to thank
• Pacific Title  opticals and titles
• Sloss Law Office  legal services
• Sound One  adr recorded at
• Soundcrafter  sound post-production
• Technicolor  prints by
• Texas Motion Picture Service  we wish to thank
• Vienna Film Financing Fund  this film received financial support from (as The Vienna Film Financing Fund [WFF])
• Vienna People  extras casting
• Vienna Tourist Bureau  we wish to thank
• Zomba Music Services  we wish to thank
• Österreichische Bundesbahn (ÖBB)  we wish to thank

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA | Austria | Switzerland

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:10 | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | Germany:6 (bw) | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R (No. 33555) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Vienna, Austria

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

When Jesse quotes W.H. Auden's poem, "As I Walked out One Evening", he skips over one stanza about time watching from the shadows, and coughing when you would kiss.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jesse has been traveling through Europe by rail for 2-3 weeks and yet when the two men on the bridge tell him their play starts at "21:30" he is lost at what that means.

Quotes:

Jesse: Sometimes I dream about being a good father and a good husband. And sometimes it feels really close. But then other times it seems silly like it would ruin my whole life. And it's not just a fear of commitment or that I'm incapable of caring or loving because... I can. It's just that, if I'm totally honest with myself I think I'd rather die knowing that I was really good at something. That I had excelled in some way than that I'd just been in a nice, caring relationship.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in One Minutes (2009)

Soundtrack:

'Variatio 25' of 'The Goldberg Variations'

The beauty is the simplicity of magnificent human emotion.

'Before Sunrise' is not a film to be scrutinised, nor studied. The absolute beauty of it lies in its perfection as a simple love story - of two lives suddenly thrown together in the midst of reality, and the ensuing night of simple love that follows. Every individual at some time in life dreams of the connection that is portrayed in this film between Jesse and Celine, and few ever find it. 'Before Sunrise' simply and elegantly demonstrates how the most fundamental passions of human emotion can envelope two complete strangers. The beauty of this film is that the story is the most important element. The ending is both provocative and emotional - scenes of the night previously seen in darkness are now portrayed in lonely daylight as the sun rises and the story closes on these two characters.

I saw this film by accident one night late on television. I have never forgotten it. So well is it made that the audience never question if this could ever really happen in life, reality being so absolutely characterised in it.

'Before Sunrise' is simply the story of two strangers bound in Vienna's lonely night splendour - one night of love in all its glory, one superb piece of film making.