Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Two seemingly dumb teens set off on a quest to prepare the ultimate historical presentation with the help of a time machine.

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writers:

Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	Ted 'Theodore' Logan
Alex Winter	...	Bill S. Preston
George Carlin	...	Rufus
Terry Camilleri	...	Napoleon
Dan Shor	...	Billy the Kid
Tony Steedman	...	Socrates
Rod Loomis	...	Freud
Al Leong	...	Genghis Khan
Jane Wiedlin	...	Joan of Arc
Robert V. Barron	...	Abraham Lincoln
Clifford David	...	Beethoven
Hal Landon Jr.	...	Captain Logan
Bernie Casey	...	Mr. Ryan
Amy Stoch	...	Missy / Mom (as Amy Stock-Poynton)
J. Patrick McNamara	...	Mr. Preston

Storyline

In the small town of San Dimas, a few miles away from Los Angeles, there are two nearly brain dead teenage boys going by the names of Bill S, Preston ESQ. and Ted Theodore Logan, they have a dream together of starting their own rock and roll band called the "Wyld Stallyns". Unfortunately, they are still in high school and on the verge of failing out of their school as well, and if they do not pass their upcoming history report, they will be separated as a result of Ted's father sending him to military school. But, what Bill and Ted do not know is that they must stay together to save the future. So, a man from the future named Rufus came to help them pass their report. So, both Bill and Ted decided to gather up historical figures which they need for their report. They are hoping that this will help them pass their report so they can stay together.

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Plot Keywords:

time travel | reference to star wars | abraham lincoln character | joan of arc character | napoleon bonaparte character | 

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Taglines:

Time flies when you're having fun.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Music | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The keyboard shown in the ending scene is an ARP Omni 2. The Omni 2 is an analog synthesizer that was manufactured by ARP Instruments, Inc. from 1978 and 1981.

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Goofs

The 15th-century castle commandant orders that the spies be executed in the Iron Maiden, which Bill and Ted take to mean Iron Maiden. This "medieval instrument of torture" was invented in 1793 for display in museums.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rufus: Hi, welcome to the future. San Dimas, California, 2688. And I'm telling you it's great here. The air is clean, the water's clean, even the dirt, it's clean. Bowling averages are way up, mini-golf scores are way down. And we have more excellent water slides than any other planet we communicate with. I'm telling you this place is great! But it almost wasn't. You see, 700 years ago, the two great ones, ran into a few problems. So now I have to travel back in time to help them out. If ...

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Alternate Versions

In the Television version, there are a few minor dialogue edits. For example, in the scene where Ted falls down a flight of stairs in a suit of armor and a "medieval dude" run the suit through, Bill says to the man who did that "You killed Ted you medieval Dickweed", the Dialogue is changed to "You killed Ted you medieval 'Bonehead'"

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Connections

Referenced in Outside Xbox: 7 Keanu Reeves Games to Play until Cyberpunk 2077 Is Here (2020)

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Soundtracks

No Right To Do Me Wrong
Written by Lee Ving, David Wills, and Micahel Ballew
Published by Toxic Tunes
Performed by Range War
Produced by Lee Ving and Bill Horn

User Reviews

Anyone who hates this film has a sad and sorry existence

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure was probably one of the most compelling films I've experienced since I first watched it. It has an idea only an indie director could possibly think of, but it avoids all of the campy expositions which would turn it into some bad "B" film. The story was great, and it was really one of the best depictions of high schools idiots in the history of Hollywood. I mean, you did not see these guys taking tokes or drinking in their spare time, which really vexed some people. They're just stupid for the sake of the story. While the technical aspects weren't special, they worked when they needed it. This film also had one of the best music soundtracks in the history of Hollywood, even if it was from the 1980s. Too many good things to say about this film besides the fact it is a film which doesn't take itself seriously.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

Release Date:

17 February 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dudes

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,167,651, 20 February 1989

Gross USA:

$40,485,039

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$40,508,994

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG), De Laurentiis Film Partners, Interscope Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1