Limbo (1999)

Director:

John Sayles

Writer (WGA):

John Sayles (written by)

Release Date:

7 July 1999 (France)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Acclaimed director John Sayles takes you to the heart of America's last frontier

Plot:

Unconventional narrative about the interactions amongst a group of people in a small town in Alaska, each of whom has guards a secret.

Plot Keywords:

Alaska | Island | Singer | Wilderness | Wedding Party

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Donna De Angelo
David Strathairn	...	'Jumpin' Joe Gastineau
Vanessa Martinez	...	Noelle De Angelo
Hermínio Ramos	...	Ricky
Kris Kristofferson	...	'Smilin' Jack Johannson
Dawn McInturff	...	Audrey
Casey Siemaszko	...	Bobby Gastineau
Kathryn Grody	...	Frankie
Tom Biss	...	Baines
Rita Taggart	...	Lou
Leo Burmester	...	Harmon King
Michael Laskin	...	Albright
Jimmy MacDonell	...	Randy Mason
Mérit Carlson-van Dort	...	Stacy
Monica Brandner	...	Corky
Maria Gladziszewski	...	Denise
Dan Rinner	...	X-Man
Stephen J. Lang	...	Vic (as Stephen James Lang)
Ron Clarke	...	Cruise Director
Charlotte Carroll	...	Loan Officer
Joaqlin Estus	...	Teacher
Andy Spear	...	Bad Guy #1
Dave Hunsaker	...	Bad Guy #2

Directed by
John Sayles

Writing credits (WGA)
John Sayles		(written by)

Produced by
Sarah Connors	....	associate producer
Maggie Renzi	....	producer

Original Music by
Mason Daring

Cinematography by
Haskell Wexler		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John Sayles

Casting by
Lizzie Curry Martinez		(as Lizzie Martinez)

Production Design by
Gemma Jackson

Art Direction by
Keith Neely

Set Decoration by
Brian Kasch

Costume Design by
Shay Cunliffe

Makeup Department
Lori Hicks	....	makeup supervisor
Aaron F. Quarles	....	hair supervisor

Production Management
Debbie Hayn-Cass	....	unit production manager
Maggie Renzi	....	unit production manager
Keri Weisblum	....	post-production supervisor (as Keri Kravitz)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sandy McLeod	....	second unit director
Brian O'Kelley	....	second assistant director
John Powditch	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Robert P. Araujo	....	carpenter
Glen Aronson	....	carpenter
Richard Bain	....	carpenter
Jenny Baum	....	on-set dresser
Jeff Bevans	....	carpenter
Wren Boney	....	key set dresser
Matt Champol	....	carpenter
Katy Dilkes	....	paint foreperson
Tom Fallis Jr.	....	carpenter
Dan Fruits	....	painter
Laurel Harris	....	art department coordinator
Josh Hiney	....	construction location foreman
Christopher Humbracht	....	propmaker
Janet Kalas	....	charge scenic artist
Joseph Kearney	....	construction coordinator
Kevin Kropp	....	property master
Jason Layton	....	construction labor
Eric Lee	....	construction labor
Alba Leone	....	lead person (as Alba Domini Leone)
Robert Levis	....	carpenter
Shawn W. Logue	....	assistant property master
Brook Mansbridge	....	construction general foreman
William Meyer	....	construction labor
Christopher S. Miller	....	construction labor
Patrick New	....	set dressing assistant
James Leon Newman Jr.	....	carpenter
Maureen O'Leary	....	property assistant
Abel Orelove	....	construction labor
Paul Kevin Pippin	....	carpenter
Eli Quisenbarry	....	construction labor
Thomas A. Ritchotte	....	propmaker
Art Rotch	....	carpenter
Marco Rubeo	....	set designer
Mel Sandvik	....	set dressing assistant
Maurice G. Sandy	....	carpenter
Jonathan Scott	....	carpenter
Jim Simard	....	lead carpenter (as James Simard)
Tim Smeekens	....	carpenter
Mara A. Spear	....	art department assistant
Monica Streed	....	construction assistant
Marcus Trivette	....	construction labor
Susan Watson	....	painter

Sound Department
Michael Barry	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kam Chan	....	foley supervisor
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist (as Marko Costanzo)
Chris Fielder	....	assistant sound editor
Sean Garnhart	....	sound effects editor
Lewis Goldstein	....	sound effects editor
Matthew Haasch	....	foley mixer
Judy Karp	....	sound
Frank Kern	....	foley editor
Hal Levinsohn	....	adr editor
Nicholas Renbeck	....	dialogue editor
Jaime Reyes	....	boom operator
Jac Rubenstein	....	foley editor
Melanie Ryder	....	assistant sound editor
Philip Stockton	....	supervising sound editor
Jennifer Ralston	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Kevin Kropp	....	special effects
Shawn W. Logue	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Travis Baumann	....	compositing artist
Matt Dessero	....	digital compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
K.C. Bailey	....	still photographer
Kevin Boyd	....	video assist operator
Eric Budlong	....	best boy grip
Kenny Davis	....	grip
Don Duffield III	....	second assistant camera (as Don Duffield)
Larry Goldin	....	director of photography: second unit
Khan Griffith	....	assistant lighting technician
Douglas S. Holgate	....	aerial camera operator (as Doug Holgate)
Jimmy E. Jensen	....	first assistant camera (as Jimmy Jensen)
Vincent Kelley	....	grip assistant
Kim Kono	....	lamp operator
Steve Lang	....	key grip (as Stephen Lang)
Dickinson H. Luke	....	lamp operator (as Dickinson Luke)
John R. Manocchia	....	chief rigging electrician (as John Manocchia)
Bill Pierson	....	dolly grip
Viki Redding	....	camera loader
Patrick Reddish	....	chief lighting technician
P. Scott Sakamoto	....	Steadicam operator
P. Scott Sakamoto	....	camera operator
Charlie Waldron	....	grip
Thomas D. Watson	....	grip assistant
Kevin Erb	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Marcia DeBonis	....	additional casting
Joaqlin Estus	....	casting assistant
Laura Rosenthal	....	additional casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jayne Marie Kehoe	....	second set costumer
Austin Myers	....	assistant costume designer
Amy Elise Roberts	....	key set costumer

Editorial Department
Geoff Garrett	....	editing production assistant
Terry Haggar	....	color timer
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Mario Ontal	....	assistant editor
Plummy Tucker	....	associate film editor

Music Department
Dana Brayton	....	orchestrator
Lynn Geller	....	music supervisor
Michael Golub	....	score mixer
Tim Jackson	....	musician: drums
Susan Jacobs	....	music supervisor
Shane Koss	....	orchestrator
Duke Levine	....	musician: guitar
Patrick Mullins	....	music editor
Dave Shacter	....	music recordist

Transportation Department
Ginger Bean	....	driver
Michael Dunlap	....	driver
Steve Earle	....	driver
Darrell Farmer	....	driver
Joe Feeney	....	transportation captain
P. Gerald Knight	....	transportation coordinator
Mark Long	....	driver
Cheryl Parks	....	driver
Nicole Richert	....	transportation assistant
Shaun Ryan	....	driver
Lisa J. Somers	....	transportation assistant
Dotti Thompson	....	driver
Gene Ward	....	driver
William West	....	driver
Dan O. Wiseman	....	driver (as Dan Wiseman)

Other crew
Lynell Bangs	....	production accountant
Marcus Barben	....	first chef's helper
Ahnna Baxter	....	office production assistant
Scott Baxter	....	electric assistant
Suzanne Ceresko	....	office assistant: New York
Dawn Todd Curfman	....	production coordinator (as Dawn Todd)
Chris Damitio	....	craft service attendant
Nick Francis	....	office production assistant
Jennifer Zolten Freed	....	post-production accountant (as Jennifer Freed)
Bruce Griggs	....	boat operator
Galia Hardy	....	production assistant
Rob Harris	....	publicist
Marilyn Holmes	....	boat operator
Daniel Hubbard	....	office production assistant
Eddee Kolos	....	assistant production coordinator
Patti Marshall	....	payroll accountant
Tim Martin	....	second chef's helper
Sandy McLeod	....	script supervisor
Jennifer Michaels	....	stand-in: Ms. Mastrantonio
Gary Miller	....	chef
Michael Norwood	....	diving researcher
Caroline Hall Otis	....	production assistant
Sheff Otis	....	unit production assistant
James Pagel	....	medical set assistant
Elizabeth Paradiso	....	boat operator
Michael Quattrone	....	script supervisor intern
Cathy Ragona	....	assistant production coordinator (as Cathy Agcayab)
Carla Raij	....	location manager
Rachel Renzi-Bailey	....	office production assistant
Dan Rinner	....	boat operator
Melissa Rubin	....	production office manager: New York
Wonder Russell	....	extras coordinator
Zandy Russell	....	filing clerk
Nancy Schafer	....	assistant: Ms. Renzi
Philip Schneider	....	production assistant
Russell E. See IV	....	stand-in: Mr. Strathairn
Shari Sontag	....	assistant production accountant
Andy Spear	....	boat coordinator
Bernadette Spear	....	craft service attendant, boat operator (as Bernadette Harrington)
Nanci Spear	....	boat operator
Pam Stewart	....	medical set assistant
Diana Strauss	....	assistant location manager
Joe Taylor	....	boat operator
Juan Vargas	....	location assistant
Dan Villanueva	....	electric assistant
Ted Kantrow	....	caterer: Alaska (uncredited)
Michael Riley	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Green/Renzi

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Releasing (1999) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film (Germany)
• Columbia TriStar Films (France)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2000) (Argentina) (all media)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2013) (USA) (DVD)
• Screen Gems
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)
• Sony Pictures Video

Special Effects

• Computer Film Company, The (CFC) (digital effects)

Other Companies

• Axium Payroll Services  payroll services
• C-5  sound editing services
• Columbia Records  soundtrack
• Daring Studios  music recording
• Douglas Island Pink Chum (Dipac)  fish hatchery
• Great Northern Brokerage Services  insurance
• Holland-America Line-Westours  cruise ship
• Imaginary Forces  main titles design
• Location Catering Service  catering
• Pacific Title/Mirage  opticals
• Sound One Corporation  re-recording studio
• Sound on Sound  score mixing studio
• Taku Smokeries & Taku Fisheries of Juneau, Alaska  cannery

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M | France:U | Germany:12 | New Zealand:M | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Finland:S | Iceland:L | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Singapore:PG | USA:R (certificate #36465) | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

DIPAC Salmon Hatchery - 2697 Channel Drive, Juneau, Alaska, USA

Company:

Green/Renzi

Goofs:

Continuity: In a scene near the beginning Donna (Mastrantonio) and Joe (Straithairn) are riding in his truck. Donna's cigarette smoke is blowing away behind her and in close-up her hair is moving, but throughout the scene you can see the windows are obviously both closed.

Quotes:

Noelle De Angelo:Winter has locked us in its icy embrace. The pelts of the animals are thick and bluish and our home is blanketed with snow. Papa calls it "limbo" because it sure isn't heaven and it's too cold to be hell. Mother wondered about purgatory, but he said no. Purgatory has an end to it. "Don't torture me so," said Mother.

Soundtrack:

Pas Salé

Realistic Slice of Life Ruined by Gimmicky Conclusion

"Limbo" continues John Sayles travels around the continent to find distinctive regionalisms and he portrays small town Alaska with a real authentic feel.

The audio and video were out of synch for the first 15 minutes so I missed some of a key scene where the singer breaks up with her boyfriend through a song, which was too bad as the cover songs are terrific, from Tom Waits to Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day."

The acting was excellent, particularly, Vanessa Martinez as a very believable teenager. David Strathairn was both restrained and passionate. I just wasn't completely convinced that Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's character had gone through changes to be at peace with herself. Kris Kristofferson again does a bad guy scarily convincingly.

But the surprise "limbo" conclusion ruined the film for me and virtually everyone else in the audience also groaned.

(originally written 7/12/1999)