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IMDb > Elephant (2003)
Elephant
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Elephant (2003) -- Theatrical Preview
Elephant (2003) -- AllTrailers.net - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   32,731 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Gus Van Sant (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Elephant on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
3 October 2003 (Italy) more
Genre:
Tagline:
An ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.
Plot:
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
5 wins & 6 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(41 articles)
Directors of the Decade: Gus Van Sant
 (From FilmExperience. 10 December 2009, 5:47 PM, PST)

Decade in Review: 2003 Top Ten
 (From FilmExperience. 8 December 2009, 6:30 AM, PST)

User Comments:
A slow paced cinematic gem with an intense ending more (637 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Alex Frost ... Alex
Eric Deulen ... Eric

John Robinson ... John McFarland
Elias McConnell ... Elias
Jordan Taylor ... Jordan
Carrie Finklea ... Carrie
Nicole George ... Nicole
Brittany Mountain ... Brittany
Alicia Miles ... Acadia
Kristen Hicks ... Michelle
Bennie Dixon ... Benny

Nathan Tyson ... Nathan

Timothy Bottoms ... Mr. McFarland
Matt Malloy ... Mr. Luce

Ellis Williams ... GSA Teacher (as Ellis E. Williams)
Chantelle Chriestenson Nelson ... Noelle (as Chantelle Chriestenson)
Kim Kenney ... Assistant Principal's Secretary
Marci Buntrock ... Assistant Secretary
Roman Ostrovsky ... Red Haired Kid
Vana O'Brien ... P.E. Instructor
Michael Paulsen ... Bully
Alfred Ono ... Mr. Fong
Marychris Mass ... Alex's Mom
Jim Steinpreis ... Alex's Dad
Jeremy Simpson ... Delivery Man

Sherilyn Lawson ... Teacher #1
Sarah Lucht ... Teacher #2

Larry Laverty ... Teacher #3
Dave Stippich ... Teacher #4
Jimmy Gomez ... Kid on Bike
Joe Cronin ... Science Teacher
Wolfgang Williams ... Punk Guy
Caroline Donovan Boyd ... Punk Girl
Travis Ferguson ... Science Student
Ernest Truly ... GSA Teacher
Mary Muldrew ... GSA Student
Sarah Bing ... GSA Student
Kether Hayden ... GSA Student
Natascha Snellman ... GSA Student

Ruben Bansie-Snellman ... GSA Student (as Ruben Bansie)
Joe Sackett ... GSA Student

Jason Seitz ... GSA Victim
Shanti Cho ... Student in Darkroom
Theara Sao ... Eli's Friend
Tiana Woods ... Eli's Classmate
Griffin Goins ... Football Player

Max Horner ... Football Player
Thomas Trullinger ... Football Player
Ty Schwoeffermann ... Football Player
Ray Monge ... Janitor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William S. Burroughs ... Voice (text excerpts) (voice) (archive sound) (uncredited)
Adolf Hitler ... Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Mahdad Rezaujan ... Student (uncredited)
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Directed by
Gus Van Sant 
 
Writing credits
(WGA)
Gus Van Sant (written by)

Produced by
Jay Hernandez .... associate producer
Diane Keaton .... executive producer
J.T. LeRoy .... associate producer (as JT Leroy)
Bill Robinson .... executive producer
Dany Wolf .... producer
 
Cinematography by
Harris Savides 
 
Film Editing by
Gus Van Sant 
 
Casting by
Mali Finn 
Danny Stoltz 
 
Art Direction by
Benjamin Hayden 
 
Costume Design by
Marychris Mass (uncredited)
 
Production Management
Jen Wall .... production supervisor
Dany Wolf .... unit production manager
Greg Spence .... post-production supervisor (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sally Sue Beisel .... second assistant director
Kathy Krause .... second second assistant director
Dany Wolf .... first assistant director
 
Art Department
Philip Blackburn .... set dresser (as Phil Blackburn)
Ken Erck .... lead scenic
Sean Fong .... assistant props
Greg McMickle .... props assistant
Robert Melchior .... leadman (as Rob Melchior)
John Pearson-Denning .... prop master
Teresa Tamiyasu .... set dresser (as Teresa J. Tamiyasu)
Daniel Rowland .... set dresser (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Felix Andrew .... sound mixer
David A. Cohen .... dialogue editor (as David Cohen)
Neil Riha .... boom operator
Leslie Shatz .... sound designer
Tanya Smith .... sound assistant
Concha Solano .... sound assistant
Frank Canonica .... supervising sound recordist (uncredited)
Samuel Cohen .... post-production sound (uncredited)
Michael 'Gonzo' Gandsey .... adr recordist (uncredited)
Michael 'Gonzo' Gandsey .... sound recordist (uncredited)
Martin Schloemer .... sound recordist (uncredited)
Austin Storms .... adr recordist (uncredited)
 
Special Effects by
Charles Cooley .... special effects assistant
Jor Van Kline .... special effects coordinator
A. Brent Carlson .... special effects assistant (uncredited)
 
Visual Effects by
Collin Fowler .... visual effects coordinator: Illusion Arts (uncredited)
Mark Kenaston .... digital artist (uncredited)
 
Stunts
Thomas M. Ficke .... stunt coordinator (as Tom Ficke)
Danny Downey .... stunts (uncredited)
Casey Easlick .... utility stunts (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Chris Blauvelt .... first assistant camera (as Christopher Blauvelt)
Eric Alan Edwards .... time-lapse photographer (as Eric Edwards)
Bruce 'Sarge' Fleskes .... gaffer
Scott Patrick Green .... still photographer (as Scott Green)
Mike Hanauska .... grip
Brent Lawson .... best boy grip
Brian C. Lawson .... dolly grip (as Brian Lawson)
Bruce Lawson .... key grip
Stephen MacDougall .... loader (as Steve MacDougall)
Matías Mesa .... Steadicam operator (as Matias Mesa)
Steve Pape .... electrician
Steve Purcell .... electrician
Hector Rodriguez .... second assistant camera
Chris Steele .... electrician
Shawn Sundby .... grip
Scott Walters .... best boy electric
James Walton .... 24 frame playback operator: Cascade Video Systems
 
Casting Department
Sally Gates .... extras casting: Extras Only Casting
Jonathan Leeder .... casting associate (uncredited)
David Rapaport .... casting associate (uncredited)
Danny Stoltz .... extras casting (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marsha Barlett .... costumer
Tamy Cropper .... set costumer
Leslie Gilbertson .... costumer
Marychris Mass .... wardrobe supervisor
 
Editorial Department
Peter Appleton .... first assistant editor
John Dowdell .... video colorist
Kiersten Harter .... first assistant editor
Mato .... color timer
Veronica Vichit-Vadakan .... apprentice editor
Bruce Bolden .... colorist (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Wendy Arnold .... craft service assistant
Carolyn Barber .... assistant to producers
Ryan Brown .... production assistant
A. Brent Carlson .... production assistant (as Brent Carlson)
Erin Corzine .... assistant to producers
Patricia Donahue .... craft service assistant
Jeff Ettlin .... production assistant
Dara Etzel .... assistant production coordinator
Roger D. Faires .... location manager (as Roger Faires)
Jack Gibson .... production assistant
Mary Jasionowski .... accountant
Heather Jenkins .... extras coordinator
Michael D. Jones .... assistant production coordinator (as Michael Jones)
Kelsey Kline .... extras coordinator
Alicia Kreutzkampf .... craft service assistant
Eric Lahey .... production assistant
Chris Lawson .... production assistant
Corwin Light-Williams .... video game designer
Nick Monahan .... assistant accountant
Greg Moutran .... key set production assistant
Dawnn Pavlonnis .... extras coordinator
Deborah Ricketts .... video clip clearance
Taylor Saxon .... set medic
Leah Sinrich .... assistant to producers
Gabe Smith .... production assistant
Rebecca Thornell .... clearances
Don Williams .... assistant craft service
Patsy Williams .... key craft service
John C. Worsley .... video game designer
Amy Davies .... extras coordinator/pa (uncredited)
Stephen Finders .... location assistant (uncredited)
 
Thanks
Richard Francis .... special thanks
 
Crew believed to be complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsSpecial EffectsOther Companies
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for disturbing violent content, language, brief sexuality and drug use - all involving teens.
Runtime:
81 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The gun that Alex uses is a Bushmaster Carbon 15 Type 21 semi-automatic varmint rifle, and the gun that Eric uses is an Interdynamic KG-9 assault pistol. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The shirt that Nate is wearing when he is shot is not the shirt he is wearing when the GSA is having a discussion. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Mr. McFarland: What? Hey! Where are you going? Come here.
John McFarland: Oh, my God, Dad.
Mr. McFarland: Get in the car. You're gonna be late for school. Come on.
John McFarland: Mom's gonna kill you.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Paris, je t'aime (2006) more
Soundtrack:
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor, No. 2 Moonlight - Adagio Sostenuto more

FAQ

Why did Alex and Eric kiss in the shower?
What happened at the end of the movie?
Who gets shot in the freezer at the end of the film?
more
21 out of 37 people found the following comment useful.
A slow paced cinematic gem with an intense ending, 2 December 2003
8/10
Author: MovieManMenzel from United States

I have been waiting for Elephant to hit theaters near Philadelphia and New Jersey for a good two months now. It finally arrived this past weekend in Philadelphia so I decided to make a day out of it and see Elephant along with some other Indies.

Elephant is basically a slow paced film, which follows many students in a day at their High School before a school shooting. Each character is followed in the film and is an average student you would find at a high school for example, the jock and the cheerleader girlfriend, the nerdy girl, the troublemaker, the dork who everyone picks on, etc. The movie seems extremely real as though this is your local high school and these are students that attend the school.

The director and writer of this film Gus Van Sant did a great job. The camera angles are the expertly shot. Gus Van Sant did a great job of following the characters in the film and building some characteristics of each character. The film for the most part is silent and this makes the film more effective. The movie rewinds many times to focus on its different characters.

The acting was great especially since everyone in this movie is a nobody and looks like the actors and actresses all just came out of high school. It made the film even more powerful that we did not see big teen cast in this film but just a bunch of nobodies.

The movie's ending is not a pleasant one and ends abruptly. The film has a very powerful ending and is very creepy. It makes you really think. I really liked it.

The film is marketed as a movie about a school shooting but I think it's more than just that. Its a very true life film that makes you question the people you attend school with. It is a film that very few will see but is one powerful film. Its ending alone being not a happy one is worth the price of admission alone. If you get a chance to see Elephant, I highly recommended it. My final rating is for Elephant is an 8/10

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (637 total)

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Did Eric want to go ahead with it ? bustamanterichard58-602-531546
me dont like elephant fst5000
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The GAY Point of the Movie (Spoliers) - Comments Welcome calawoffice
What's in a name? sebeljub
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