Diabolique (1996)

Director:

Jeremiah S. Chechik

Writers (WGA):

Pierre Boileau (novel) and
Thomas Narcejac (novel) ...
(more)

Release Date:

22 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Two women. One man. The combination can be murder.

Plot:

The wife and mistress of a cruel school master collaborate in a carefully planned and executed attempt to murder him...

Plot Keywords:

School | Murder | Mistress | Guilt | Urination

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sharon Stone	...	Nicole Horner
Isabelle Adjani	...	Mia Baran
Chazz Palminteri	...	Guy Baran
Kathy Bates	...	Det. Shirley Vogel
Spalding Gray	...	Simon Veatch
Shirley Knight	...	Edie Danziger
Allen Garfield	...	Leo Katzman
Adam Hann-Byrd	...	Erik Pretzer
Donal Logue	...	Video Photographer #1
Diana Bellamy	...	Ms. Vawze
Clea Lewis	...	Lisa Campos
J.J. Abrams	...	Video Photographer #2 (as Jeffrey Abrams)
O'Neal Compton	...	Irv Danziger
Bingo O'Malley	...	Gannon
Stephen Liska	...	PHP Officer
James Kisicki	...	Rear Ender (as Jim Kisicki)
Kevin Vinay	...	Desantis
Cory Pattak	...	Nunez
Kate Young	...	Photo Shop Clerk
Sophia Salguero	...	Maid
Hank Stohl	...	Morgue Cop
Zachary Mott	...	Howie
Jesse Sky Ross	...	Hall Monitor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Amen	...	Driver in Murder Scene (uncredited)
Daniel Kremer	...	Student (uncredited)

Directed by
Jeremiah S. Chechik		(as Jeremiah Chechik)

Writing credits (WGA)
Pierre Boileau		(novel "Celle Qui N'Etait Plus") and
Thomas Narcejac		(novel "Celle Qui N'Etait Plus")
Henri-Georges Clouzot		(screenplay "Les Diaboliques")
Don Roos		(screenplay)

Produced by
Gary Barber	....	executive producer
Chuck Binder	....	executive producer
Gary Daigler	....	co-producer
Jerry Offsay	....	executive producer
James G. Robinson	....	producer
Bill Todman Jr.	....	executive producer
Kirsten W. Welles	....	associate producer
Marvin Worth	....	producer

Original Music by
Randy Edelman

Cinematography by
Peter James

Film Editing by
Carol Littleton

Casting by
Jackie Burch

Production Design by
Leslie Dilley

Art Direction by
Dennis Bradford

Set Decoration by
Michael Seirton

Costume Design by
Michael Kaplan
L'Wren Scott

Makeup Department
Linda Boykin-Williams	....	second makeup artist
Dennis Eger	....	makeup artist
Nancy Keslar	....	hair stylist
Michael Laudati	....	hair stylist
Michael Laudati	....	makeup artist
Francesca Paris	....	hair department head
John Quaglia	....	hair stylist
Tricia Sawyer	....	makeup artist: Sharon Stone
Ronnie Specter	....	makeup artist (as Ronnie Spector)
Lisa Jayne Storey	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Gary Daigler	....	unit production manager
Jody Levin	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nancy Blewer	....	second second assistant director (as Nancy Blewer-Mahaffey)
K.C. Colwell	....	first assistant director
Stephen Lee Davis	....	second assistant director
Leslie Dilley	....	second unit director

Art Department
Norman Beck	....	carpenter
Vincent Borrelli	....	scenic artist
Robert Buncher	....	carpenter
Julie B. Crum	....	greens department
Darien N. D'Alfonso	....	scenic artist
Chip Eccles	....	carpenter
Eileen Garrigan	....	charge scenic
Thomas J. Garrigan	....	scenic artist
Jim Heastings	....	carpenter
Smith Harper Hutchings	....	scenic artist
Gregory Jones	....	set dresser
Kenneth J. Kellers	....	carpenter
Marion Kolsby	....	assistant art director
Gary Kosko	....	assistant art director
Lara Lampenfield	....	painter
Martin Lasowitz	....	property master (as Martin Lazowicz)
Mary O'Brien	....	scenic artist
Thomas Michael Ryan	....	general foreman
Jeffrey Schlatter	....	construction coordinator
Diana Stoughton	....	scenic artist
Joseph Waterkotte	....	construction gang boss
Joan Winters	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Bill W. Benton	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jim Brookshire	....	sound editor
Chris Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tim Chau	....	sound designer
Tim Chau	....	supervising sound editor
Pat Dames	....	second boom operator
Pat Dames	....	sound mixer: second unit
Carmen Flores De Tanis	....	assistant sound editor
Susan Dudeck	....	adr editor
Albert Gasser	....	sound editor
Avram D. Gold	....	adr editor
Rich Green	....	foley coordinator
Kimberly Harris	....	supervising adr editor (as Kimberly Harris-Rivolier)
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer
Nils C. Jensen	....	sound editor
David Kern	....	sound editor
Dennis Maitland II	....	production sound mixer
Donald J. Malouf	....	sound editor
Charleen Richards	....	adr mixer
John Rotondi	....	sound engineer: Y4
Joan Rowe	....	foley artist
Sean Rowe	....	foley artist
George E. Simpson Jr.	....	boom operator
Christina Tucker	....	adr mixer
Scott Weber	....	foley mixer
Paul J. Zydel	....	adr mixer

Special Effects by
Michael E. Doyle	....	special effects foreman (as Michael Doyle)
Timothy B. Graham	....	special effects
Kevin Harris	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Craig Barron	....	digital effects supervisor
Krystyna Demkowicz	....	visual effects production manager
John Duncan	....	visual effects model maker
Christopher Evans	....	matte artist supervisor
Jennifer Law-Stump	....	digital effects artist: Pacific Title Digital
Cameron Noble	....	visual effects cameraman
Paul Rivera	....	digital composite supervisor
Paul Rivera	....	visual effects digital compositing
Olivier Sarda	....	digital artist
Dan Seneres	....	model builder (uncredited)

Stunts
Danny Aiello III	....	stunt coordinator
Donna Evans	....	stunts
Peter Gause III	....	stunts
Don Hewitt	....	stunts
Sammy Thurman	....	stunts
Deborah Watkins	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Phil Abraham	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Robert Bender	....	electrician
Jim Bridges	....	still photographer
Stephen Crowley	....	electrician
Richard S. Crumrine Jr.	....	second assistant camera
Liz Dory	....	assistant camera (as Elizabeth Dory)
Gregory L. Edwards	....	grip
Jim Emswiller	....	video assist operator
Bart Flaherty	....	rigging grip
Brian Gunter	....	gaffer
Craig Haagensen	....	camera operator
John Janusek	....	key rigging grip
Jordan Klein Sr.	....	underwater camera operator (as Jordan Klein)
Dominique Levy	....	second assistant camera
W. Russell McCormack	....	gaffer: second unit
Jon D. Morrison	....	set lighting
John S. Moyer	....	camera operator
Jean-Pierre Nutini	....	electrical best boy
Brent Peelor	....	electrician
Brian Powers	....	electrician
Erich Roland	....	Steadicam operator: second unit
Erich Roland	....	photographer: second unit
Keith Seymour	....	grip
John P. Shine	....	grip
Niels Alpert	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Donna M. Belajac	....	casting: Pittsburgh
Barbara Harris	....	voice casting
Nancy Mosser	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Patrick Caulfield	....	set costumer
Oda Groeschel	....	costumer: Sharon Stone
Frankie Ritacco	....	costumer
Eileen Sieff Stroup	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Alan Jacques	....	assistant editor
Mark L. Levine	....	assistant editor
Bob Putynkowski	....	color timer
Scott Wesley Ross	....	post-production assistant
Joan Sobel	....	assistant editor
Suzanne Spangler	....	associate editor

Music Department
Elton Ahi	....	music recording engineer
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
Robert Fernandez	....	music recording engineer (as Bobby Fernandez)
Ralph Ferraro	....	orchestrator
John La Salandra	....	music editor
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn
E. Gedney Webb	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Katie Scott	....	transportation
Marc Scott	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Natalie Baker	....	dialect coach
Lisa Bradley	....	production coordinator
Brenda Bush	....	lead stand-in
Lisa A. Campbell	....	assistant production coordinator: Los Angeles
Daniel Casey	....	video first assist
Ray Cervenak	....	security captain
Craig Comstock	....	production assistant
Leslie Dilley	....	technical coordinator
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Mimi Frank	....	stand-in: Sharon Stone
Larry Geyer	....	production assistant
Craig Glaser	....	key craft service
Zoila Gomez	....	production coordinator: Los Angeles
Brian Hartman	....	locations
Kelly Helstrom	....	assistant: Mr. Barber
Alan Jacques	....	projectionist
Casey LaRocco	....	production assistant
Robert A. Levine	....	unit publicist
Shawn Fulton Lucas	....	stand-in: Jeffrey Abrams
Judy Matthews	....	location manager
Ron Modro	....	assistant: Marvin Worth
Jack Munn	....	production medic
Diana Osberg	....	set production assistant
Steve Parys	....	key set production assistant
Cornelia 'Nini' Rogan	....	script supervisor
Todd P. Smith	....	production management
Christian Stavrakis	....	set production assistant (as Chris Stavrakis)
Cynthia Streit	....	production coordinator
Mimi Wyeth	....	construction accountant
David 'Yoko' Jose	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• ABC Productions
• Marvin Worth Productions
• Morgan Creek Productions
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• AMLF (1996) (France) (theatrical)
• Gemini Film (1996) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment (1996) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• Líder Films (Spain)
• Roadshow Entertainment Video
• Roadshow Entertainment
• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Warner Bros. (Argentina)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)

Special Effects

• Matte World Digital

Other Companies

• Pacific Studios Inc.  chromatrans background
• Reeltime Creative  trailer music
• Tomkats Catering  catering
• Transition Music  music provided by

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/terror, sexuality and language

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #34415) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 (w) | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Harmony, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

ABC Productions

Trivia:

Sharon Stone and the film's producer James G. Robinson fell out over her refusal to do a nude scene.

Goofs:

Continuity: The lines of text on the computer monitor reach the bottom of the screen start scrolling. In the close-up, the text is just starting to be written again.

Quotes:

Nicole:Killing him is a good thing. Like planting a tree.
Mia:Maybe there is a God.
Nicole:What are you talking about?
Mia:I haven't believed fot so long... So when the pool was empty I thought: maybe there is a God. And He knows what we did. And He's coming for us.
Nicole:It's not God, Honey. That's a lady detective with one breast.
Mia:You're always laughing at me. So was Guy. He must be laughing now.
Nicole:I'm not laughing at you, Mia.
Mia:You are. A little. Inside. It's lonely without God, isn't it?
Nicole:It's just lonely... Period.

Movie Connections:

References "Cagney & Lacey" (1981)

Soundtrack:

In The Arms Of Love

It's so bad it's an insult to all involved- blame the director!

To venture a remake of Clouzot's "Les Diaboliques" (1955) -- a film that needed no remake in the first place -- only one thing was crucial: a very creative filmmaker with a very personal style, so as to put away comparisons with the classic French film. Someone like Kubrick, Von Trier, Amenábar, Chabrol, Jeunet...

Instead we have Chechik's ludicrous, inept direction, making the experienced crew's efforts simply bomb: the cinematography is flat, the music is predictable, the script is stale, the pace is sloooow, and he manages to withdraw bad performances from EVERYONE in the cast, including the usually reliable Kathy Bates, besides achieving the incredible feat of making Isabelle Adjani look like she's just escaped from Madame Tussaud's, and cruelly exposing the unmistakably limited talents of Sharon Stone (who manages to look like a dominatrix in the role of a Catholic school teacher!!) and Chazz Palminteri.

When a film is THIS bad, considering the names involved and the amount of money spent, it's really an insult to everyone, most of all to the audience (of course). After this bomb, you'd think Hollywood directors would just leave classic thrillers alone -- but Gus Van Sant went on to commit the catastrophic remake of "Psycho".... Don't waste your time - just don't watch it, especially if you are a fan of the original film or of the stars!!! My vote: since IMDb doesn't allow zeroes, 1/10 is more than it deserves.