National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

At a 1962 college, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney

Stars:

John Belushi, Karen Allen, Tom Hulce

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hulce	...	Larry Kroger (as Thomas Hulce)
Stephen Furst	...	Kent Dorfman
Mark Metcalf	...	Doug Neidermeyer
Mary Louise Weller	...	Mandy Pepperidge
Martha Smith	...	Babs Jansen
James Daughton	...	Greg Marmalard
Kevin Bacon	...	Chip Diller
John Belushi	...	John Blutarsky
Douglas Kenney	...	Stork
Chris Miller	...	Hardbar (as Christian Miller)
Bruce Bonnheim	...	B.B.
Karen Allen	...	Katy
James Widdoes	...	Robert Hoover
Tim Matheson	...	Eric Stratton
Peter Riegert	...	Donald Schoenstein

Storyline

Faber College has one frat house so disreputable it will take anyone. It has a second one full of white, anglo-saxon, rich young men who are so sanctimonious no one can stand them except Dean Wormer. The dean enlists the help of the second frat to get the boys of Delta House off campus. The dean's plan comes into play just before the homecoming parade to end all parades for all time.

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Plot Keywords:

academic probation | toga party | lust | fraternity | stuffed bra | 

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Taglines:

A comedy from Universal Pictures that will escape sometime this summer.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Other than John Belushi's opening yell, the food fight was filmed in one shot, with the actors encouraged to fight for real. Flounder's groceries handling in the supermarket was another single shot. Stephen Furst deftly caught the many items John Landis and Tim Matheson threw at him, amazing Landis. By filming the long courtroom scene in one day, Landis won a bet with Ivan Reitman.

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Goofs

When the psych midterm exam is being mimeographed, although it says "PSYCHOLOGY 101" at the top, it appears to be a history exam (topics included on the paper include "Greece from the age of Pericles to the fall of the Athenian Empire" and "crisis and social conflict in Rome from the Gracchi to Sulla").

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Quotes

Flounder: What is my Delta Tau Chi name?
Bluto: Dorfman, I've thought long and hard about this. Your Delta Tau Chi name is... Flounder.
Flounder: Flounder?

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the credits there is an advertisement: "While in Hollywood, visit Universal Studios." The phrase "(Ask for Babs.)" is below that.

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Alternate Versions

There is a version of "Animal House", which contains an alternate soundtrack, wherein the background music is mostly 80s rock music. This is especially clear in the cafeteria scene, where the lack of "don't know much about history" is evident (and catastrophic). This version has been aired at least once in Danish television.

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Connections

Referenced in Father Ted: Are You Right There Father Ted? (1998)

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Soundtracks

Theme from A Summer Place
(uncredited)
Written by Max Steiner
Performed by Percy Faith and His Orchestra

User Reviews

Vulgar, but also incredibly funny with a truly wonderful performance from Belushi

Animal House is not my favourite comedy or anything, but I like it very much. I do like comedy, I like John Landis and I like John Belushi, so naturally I thought yeah I think I'll like this film. And I did. While light on plot and quite vulgar strictly speaking, it is still hugely enjoyable thanks to the performances. Animal House is beautifully filmed, has a good soundtrack and John Landis does a great job directing, while the sight gags are smart and the script has enough hilarious one-liners to keep you chuckling. As for favourite scenes, I have two specific favourites, the food fight and the wonderful rallying speech. The acting is very good, while Kevin Bacon, Tom Hulce, Peter Reigert and Donald Sutherland give great performances, it is John Belushi's film all the way as he gives one of his best ever performances in this film. In conclusion, very good film and funny. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

28 July 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Laser Orgy Girls

Filming Locations:

729 East 11th Street, Eugene, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$276,538, 30 July 1978

Gross USA:

$141,600,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$141,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Oregon Film Factory, Stage III Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Todd-AO)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1