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Apt Pupil
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Apt Pupil (1998) More at IMDbPro »

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Apt Pupil (1998) -- A boy blackmails his neighbour after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal.
Apt Pupil (1998) -- A boy blackmails his neighbour after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal.

Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   14,833 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 25% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Bryan Singer
Writers (WGA):
Stephen King (novel)
Brandon Boyce (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Apt Pupil on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 October 1998 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Thriller more
Tagline:
If you don't believe in the existence of evil, you've got a lot to learn.
Plot:
A boy blackmails his neighbour after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
5 wins & 4 nominations more
User Comments:
Learning to be evil more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Brad Renfro ... Todd Bowden

Ian McKellen ... Kurt Dussander

Joshua Jackson ... Joey
Mickey Cottrell ... Sociology Teacher

Michael Reid MacKay ... Nightmare Victim
Ann Dowd ... Monica Bowden

Bruce Davison ... Richard Bowden

James Karen ... Victor Bowden
Marjorie Lovett ... Agnes Bowden
David Cooley ... Gym Teacher
Blake Anthony Tibbetts ... Teammate

Heather McComb ... Becky Trask
Katherine Malone ... Student
Grace Sinden ... Secretary

David Schwimmer ... Edward French
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
L'élève doué (Canada: French title)
Un élève doué - Été de corruption (France)
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MPAA:
Rated R for scenes of strong violence, language and brief sexuality.
Runtime:
111 min | Argentina:112 min
Country:
USA | Canada | France
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
SDDS (8 channels) | Dolby SR
Certification:
South Korea:15 | Brazil:18 | USA:R (No. 35516) | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario)
Filming Locations:
Alhambra, California, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
There had been talk of a film version in 1984. James Mason agreed to play Kurt, but died from a heart attack before filming could begin. Richard Burton was considered as his replacement, but died from a cerebral hemorrhage before he could accept the part. The first attempt to film this story, in 1987, ran over budget and was stopped after six weeks of shooting while it remains only ten days of filming. According to Stephen King, who saw a rough cut of 3/4 of the movie, "it was really good". It starred Rick Schroder and Nicol Williamson, and was directed by Alan Bridges. more
Goofs:
Continuity: After Dussander comes down the steps in the Nazi uniform, he approaches Todd and his hat switches hands between shots. more
Quotes:
Kurt Dussander: Boy, be careful. You play with fire. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "State of Play: (#1.4)" (2003) more
Soundtrack:
Prelude And Liebestod more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful:-
Learning to be evil, 5 February 2009
8/10
Author: Max_cinefilo89 from Italy

Stephen King's Apt Pupil, which is part of the novella collection Different Seasons (alongside the stories that inspired The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me), is a valid example of how you don't need things to be openly supernatural to have a good scary tale: a "human" incarnation of pure evil will do just as fine, and few images are more effective than those of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis during WWII.

Okay, minor correction: WWII has virtually nothing to do with this story, given it takes place in 1984. There is a Nazi involved, though: his name is Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellen), but he's been living quite peacefully in your average American neighborhood under the name Arthur Denker. However, a young boy named Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro from the Grisham-inspired The Client) manages to uncover the old man's real identity thanks to some thorough research and tells him about the discovery. The unexpected thing is, Todd doesn't want to report Dussander to the police. What he really wants is to learn everything - and he repeatedly emphasizes the word "everything" - about the former Nazi's work under Hitler's regime. Soon enough, the perverse bond between the two starts affecting the boy's grades and behavior, and Dussander isn't unaffected either: somewhere deep inside lies the old Nazi, and that part of his personality would like to come out and play.

The film's screenplay sticks quite faithfully to the basic idea of King's story and reproduces some of the most famous scenes verbatim (except for one moment of animal cruelty, which had to be softened), although a few subplots are excised, presumably for the sake of length and pace. The downside of that is an occasional lack of detail, especially when it comes to the development of Renfro's character. Director Bryan Singer, who obviously found himself in an uncomfortable position to begin with, having to live up to the success of The Usual Suspects, makes up for this flaw by constructing a genuinely tense and unnerving atmosphere, adding to the moral ambiguity by highlighting the homosexual subtext already present in the book (when Todd tells Dussander to f*ck himself, the latter replies: "My dear boy, can't you see? We're f*cking each other.").

Acting-wise, the limelight is inevitably placed on the leading duo, even if the supporting cast, which includes fine character actors like Bruce Davison and Elias Koteas, is quite strong (with the exception of David "Ross" Schwimmer, who isn't entirely at ease in a serious role). Renfro's performance is solid and captivating enough, but like his character he is completely overshadowed by the superb, unsettling McKellen, who inhabits the role of Dussander with his usual Shakespearean grandeur. Case in point: the unforgettable moment when the old man is forced to wear an old SS uniform Todd got his hands on. McKellen carries out the assignment with the dignity of a great tragic thespian, nailing the scene as one of the essential samples of his film career.

Apt Pupil distances itself from The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me in that it isn't as accomplished, most notably when it comes to the inevitable book/film comparison. Then again, it tells a much darker story, which asks the audience to root for a psychotic teenager and an aging Nazi. Flawed it may be, but it certainly is interesting (not to mention carried by an astounding McKellen). It is indeed a different season.

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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Apt Pupil (1998)
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Any Nazi's Out There (totally anonymous) greenec3-1
i cried . . blondambition1223
The Cat ronpur
A terrible film. jeremy3
I couldn't finish watching it. storey_12
Todd didn't need to be that afraid ekpyrosis-1
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