The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Evan Treborn suffers blackouts during significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life by reading his journal.

Directors:

Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber

Writers:

J. Mackye Gruber, Eric Bress

Stars:

Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Melora Walters

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ashton Kutcher	...	Evan
Melora Walters	...	Andrea
Amy Smart	...	Kayleigh
Elden Henson	...	Lenny
William Lee Scott	...	Tommy
John Patrick Amedori	...	Evan at 13
Irina Gorovaia	...	Kayleigh at 13 (as Irene Gorovaia)
Kevin G. Schmidt	...	Lenny at 13
Jesse James	...	Tommy at 13
Logan Lerman	...	Evan at 7
Sarah Widdows	...	Kayleigh at 7
Jake Kaese	...	Lenny at 7
Cameron Bright	...	Tommy at 7
Eric Stoltz	...	Mr. Miller
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Jason

Storyline

As a child, Evan Treborn was afflicted with blackouts where he would be in one place one minute and then another the next, remembering absolutely nothing in-between. Now all grown up and in college, he decides to read from an old journal he wrote to remember stuff that might have happened in the in-between, and suddenly finds himself back at a certain point in his life. He realizes that those blackouts he had were actually empty spaces of time he had to fill up later in life. Attempting to use this ability to undo unpleasant past events, Evan starts to find that every time he goes back and tries to fix things, he ends up making everything worse. How can he prevent more tragedies from happening and save the one girl he ever loved, Kayleigh (Amy Smart)?

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Plot Keywords:

butterfly effect | love | time travel | child pornography | memory | 

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Taglines:

Verändere die Zukunft, durch die Vergangenheit (Change the future, through the past.)

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

All of the prison scenes were filmed in a real prison (Washington State) with real prisoners.

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Goofs

When Evan and his mother visit the fortuneteller in the Director's Cut, she says that Evan has no "lifeline" and should therefore not exist. In the scene that follows where Evan and his mother sit outside the fortune-teller's Evan's "lifeline" is clearly visible in his palm.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[reading aloud as he writes a note]
Evan: If anyone finds this, it means my plan didn't work and I'm already dead. But if I can somehow go back to the beginning of all of this, I might be able to save her.

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Crazy Credits

The title, "The Butterfly Effect," is superimposed over a depiction of a butterfly beating its wings, which is itself superimposed upon an X-ray profile of a human brain.

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Alternate Versions

The director's cut contains a few new scenes:

• Evan discovering that his grandfather had the same gift, and also was considered crazy, like his father
• Evan and Andrea go to a palm reader that tells Evan he has no lifeline
• Andrea telling Evan she was pregnant twice before he was born.
• A scene in the prison where the prisoners publicly read Evan's journals.
• A scene in the prison where the other prisoners come to rape Evan one night.
• An extended hospital scene where Evan is visiting sick Andrea.
• An alternate ending.

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Connections

Referenced in Happy Endings: The Butterfly Effect Effect (2012)

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Soundtracks

Something Static
Written by Brian Ginsberg
Performed by Brian Ginsberg
Courtesy of June St. Entertainment

User Reviews

See it more than once!

The film has never been showed in Denmark, (where I come from) so the press has never reviewed it. It took me 2 times to get the point but when I realized every part of the film, I felt a huge rush! I'm sure when I see it the 3rd time it will be an even bigger experience to me. Every part of the film plays an important role to the main thread. Every details have a role! The film is like reading a poem from the 18th century, where every sentence means something. The director is a pure genius! Those who've criticized the film, should really see it again, because you'll then notice all the details which makes this film excellent! Without a doubt one of the best films I've seen!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 January 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Butterfly Effect

Filming Locations:

Ceperley House, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,100,000, 25 January 2004

Gross USA:

$57,938,693

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$96,822,421

Company Credits

Production Co:

BenderSpink, FilmEngine, Katalyst Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 120 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1