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Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

  • 1989
  • PG
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
136K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,297
214
Keanu Reeves, Robert V. Barron, Terry Camilleri, George Carlin, Al Leong, Tony Steedman, and Alex Winter in 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.
Play trailer1:57
19 Videos
99+ Photos
AdventureComedyMusic

Two rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate history presentation after being presented with a time machine.Two rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate history presentation after being presented with a time machine.Two rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate history presentation after being presented with a time machine.

  • Director
    • Stephen Herek
  • Writers
    • Chris Matheson
    • Ed Solomon
  • Stars
    • Keanu Reeves
    • Alex Winter
    • George Carlin
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    136K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,297
    214
    • Director
      • Stephen Herek
    • Writers
      • Chris Matheson
      • Ed Solomon
    • Stars
      • Keanu Reeves
      • Alex Winter
      • George Carlin
    • 285User reviews
    • 129Critic reviews
    • 50Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 nominations

    Videos19

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:57
    Watch Official Trailer
    Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
    Trailer 1:34
    Watch Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
    Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
    Trailer 1:55
    Watch Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
    Class
    Trailer 0:46
    Watch Class
    Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
    Trailer 0:30
    Watch Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
    Where Did Keanu Reeves Hide a 'Bill & Ted' Easter Egg?
    Clip 3:03
    Watch Where Did Keanu Reeves Hide a 'Bill & Ted' Easter Egg?
    What We Know About 'Bill & Ted Face the Music' ... So Far
    Clip 3:22
    Watch What We Know About 'Bill & Ted Face the Music' ... So Far
    '80s Movie Quiz With "Stranger Things" Star Gaten Matarazzo
    Clip 3:41
    Watch '80s Movie Quiz With "Stranger Things" Star Gaten Matarazzo
    Keanu's Endless Summer or Reeves Reloaded
    Clip 3:09
    Watch Keanu's Endless Summer or Reeves Reloaded
    'Endgame' Is Only the Beginning for 'Spider-Man'
    Clip 4:07
    Watch 'Endgame' Is Only the Beginning for 'Spider-Man'
    Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure: The Chores
    Clip 1:49
    Watch Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure: The Chores
    Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure: The History Report
    Clip 1:42
    Watch Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure: The History Report

    Photos241

    Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Jane Wiedlin, Robert V. Barron, Clifford David, Al Leong, Rod Loomis, and Tony Steedman in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Keanu Reeves, George Carlin, and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Keanu Reeves, Dan Shor, and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    George Carlin in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Keanu Reeves, Dan Shor, Tony Steedman, and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Keanu Reeves, Tony Steedman, and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Keanu Reeves, George Carlin, and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Keanu Reeves, Dan Shor, Tony Steedman, and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Keanu Reeves
    Keanu Reeves
    • Ted 'Theodore' Logan
    Alex Winter
    Alex Winter
    • Bill S. Preston
    George Carlin
    George Carlin
    • Rufus
    Terry Camilleri
    Terry Camilleri
    • Napoleon
    Dan Shor
    Dan Shor
    • Billy the Kid
    Tony Steedman
    Tony Steedman
    • Socrates
    Rod Loomis
    Rod Loomis
    • Freud
    Al Leong
    Al Leong
    • Genghis Khan
    Jane Wiedlin
    Jane Wiedlin
    • Joan of Arc
    Robert V. Barron
    Robert V. Barron
    • Abraham Lincoln
    Clifford David
    Clifford David
    • Beethoven
    Hal Landon Jr.
    Hal Landon Jr.
    • Captain Logan
    Bernie Casey
    Bernie Casey
    • Mr. Ryan
    Amy Stoch
    Amy Stoch
    • Missy
    • (as Amy Stock-Poynton)
    • …
    J. Patrick McNamara
    J. Patrick McNamara
    • Mr. Preston
    Frazier Bain
    • Deacon
    Diane Franklin
    Diane Franklin
    • Princess Joanna
    Kimberley Kates
    Kimberley Kates
    • Princess Elizabeth
    • (as Kimberley LaBelle)
    • Director
      • Stephen Herek
    • Writers
      • Chris Matheson
      • Ed Solomon
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Alex Winter claimed that he gets two types of letters from teachers; positive ones from history teachers for encouraging students to learn about history, and negative ones from English teachers for affecting the way students speak.
    • Goofs
      There is a heinous number of most egregious anachronistic errors in the depiction of the famous historical dudes, their lives, their works, their time periods and the state of their hearing.
    • Quotes

      Ted: Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.

    • 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'"
    • Connections
      Edited from War and Peace (1956)
    • Soundtracks
      I Can't Break Away
      Written by Mitch Bottler and Gary Zekley

      Published by Colgems - EMI Music Inc. and Teenie Bopper Music

      Performed by Big Pig

      Produced by Nick Launay

      Courtesy of A&M Records, Inc.

    User reviews285

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Strange things are afoot at the Circle K
    Two high school friends must pass their final history assignment or face the end of their dreams of forming a rock band.

    I saw this movie aged nine on its original release and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think my mind was blown by how cool it made the subject of history seem and how harmlessly likeable the main protagonists were. Unlike me, my parents, who are Baby-Boomer generation, sat through it with me and did not appreciate Bill and Ted's dumb valleys, surfer dude, stoner-like personalities. Much to their distain I rewatched it more than once.

    My mother said on one viewing 'How can you watch those two ignorant American boys?' To which I replied 'Can you tell me about Socrates and Lincoln?' Just as I suspected she could not tell me anymore than the film could. In fact she'd never even heard of Socrates or any other Greek philosophers. From that moment on she never uttered a word.

    I watched it yesterday, aged forty with my four yearly daughter and appreciate how it might have come across to my mother at the time. However, the key to enjoying it as an adult is not taking it the slightest bit seriously. The dumbness of the main characters is part of what makes them so charming and the concept that a future of civilisation will be based on a Californian teenage sub-culture is a joke you just have to buy into and enjoy.

    The basic plot structure is solid and it uses all its silliness in a clever way with the time-travel sci-fi moments. I love the little details like the stolen car-keys and Ted forgetting to wind his watch.

    Some jokes hit the mark more now than they did for me as a child, particularly some of the innuendo involving Bill's stepmom and Bill's confirmation to Sigmund Freud of his 'minor oedipal complex'. Ironically, looking back at this time-travel themed movie is like taking a journey back to the 1980s with it's fashion, music and shopping-mall culture.

    Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are perfect as characters who are essentially two halves of the same brain. George Carlin is to coin a phrase 'excellent' as their guardian angel type friend from the future. Also, the visual effects during the time-travel sequences stand up reasonably well by today's standards.

    I took a lot of entertainment from it as child and my daughter stuck with it till the end.

    For me it is a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.
    helpful•8
    0
    • snoozejonc
    • Sep 19, 2020

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    FAQ10

    • What is "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" about?
    • Is "Bill & Ted's Excellent Aventure" based on a book?
    • Where and when does the movie take place?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 17, 1989 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • German
      • Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
    • Also known as
      • Dudes
    • Filming locations
      • Metrocenter Mall - 9801 N. Metro Pkwy W., Phoenix, Arizona, USA(Joan of Arc scenes)
    • Production companies
      • De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)
      • De Laurentiis Film Partners
      • Interscope Communications
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $8,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $40,485,039
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $6,167,651
      • Feb 20, 1989
    • Gross worldwide
      • $40,508,994
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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    Keanu Reeves, Robert V. Barron, Terry Camilleri, George Carlin, Al Leong, Tony Steedman, and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
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