Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Hippopotamus

  • 20172017
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
4K
YOUR RATING
Matthew Modine, Roger Allam, Fiona Shaw, and Emily Berrington in The Hippopotamus (2017)
Disgraced poet Ted Wallace is summoned to his friend's country manor to investigate a series of unexplained miracles.
Play trailer2:25
4 Videos
13 Photos
  • Comedy
Disgraced poet Ted Wallace is summoned to his friend's country manor to investigate a series of unexplained miracles.Disgraced poet Ted Wallace is summoned to his friend's country manor to investigate a series of unexplained miracles.Disgraced poet Ted Wallace is summoned to his friend's country manor to investigate a series of unexplained miracles.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
4K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • John Jencks
  • Writers
    • Stephen Fry(based on the novel by)
    • Blanche McIntyre
    • Tom Hodgson
  • Stars
    • Roger Allam
    • Tim Charles
    • Rod Glenn
Top credits
  • Director
    • John Jencks
  • Writers
    • Stephen Fry(based on the novel by)
    • Blanche McIntyre
    • Tom Hodgson
  • Stars
    • Roger Allam
    • Tim Charles
    • Rod Glenn
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 37User reviews
    • 22Critic reviews
    • 46Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos4

    US Trailer
    Trailer 2:25
    US Trailer
    The Hippopotamus
    Trailer 2:26
    The Hippopotamus
    The Hippopotamus
    Clip 2:55
    The Hippopotamus
    The Hippopotamus
    Clip 2:55
    The Hippopotamus

    Photos13

    The Hippopotamus (2017)
    The Hippopotamus (2017)
    The Hippopotamus (2017)
    The Hippopotamus (2017)
    The Hippopotamus (2017)
    The Hippopotamus (2017)
    Roger Allam in The Hippopotamus (2017)
    Rod Glenn in The Hippopotamus
    Tommy Knight in The Hippopotamus
    Matthew Modine, Roger Allam, Tim McInnerny, and Fiona Shaw in The Hippopotamus (2017)
    The Hippopotamus (2017)
    The Hippopotamus (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Roger Allam
    Roger Allam
    • Ted Wallace
    Tim Charles
    Tim Charles
    • Saturninus
    Rod Glenn
    Rod Glenn
    • Bassianus
    Amanda Holt
    • Beatrice Quiet
    Amy Marchant
    • Nancy Chunkle
    Adrian Bouchet
    Adrian Bouchet
    • Marcus Andronicus
    Simon Markey
    Simon Markey
    • Ally Pecher
    Claire Lacey
    • Anita Hare
    Andrew Alexander
    • Matthew Lake
    Russell Tovey
    Russell Tovey
    • Rupert Keynes
    Paul Bown
    • Roddy
    • (as Paul Brown)
    Emily Berrington
    Emily Berrington
    • Jane Swann
    Dean Ridge
    Dean Ridge
    • Simon Logan
    Thaila Zucchi
    • Mrs. Vance
    Fiona Shaw
    Fiona Shaw
    • Anne Logan
    Matthew Modine
    Matthew Modine
    • Michael Logan
    Tommy Knight
    Tommy Knight
    • David Logan
    John Standing
    John Standing
    • Podmore
    • Director
      • John Jencks
    • Writers
      • Stephen Fry(based on the novel by)
      • Blanche McIntyre
      • Tom Hodgson
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Golden Years
    6.1
    Golden Years
    A Deal Is a Deal
    6.1
    A Deal Is a Deal
    The Scapegoat
    7.2
    The Scapegoat
    Hippopotamus
    5.2
    Hippopotamus
    Brighton
    4.9
    Brighton
    The Escape Artist
    7.6
    The Escape Artist
    All at Sea
    5.8
    All at Sea
    Bright Young Things
    6.5
    Bright Young Things
    Uncle Frank
    7.3
    Uncle Frank
    Turks & Caicos
    6.5
    Turks & Caicos
    Wild Target
    6.7
    Wild Target
    Greed
    5.8
    Greed

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie contains four Game of Thrones (2011) cast members, including Roger Allam, Tim McInnerny, Sebastian Croft, and Sir John Standing.
    • Quotes

      Ted Wallace: Feeling like twelve types of dick, I was suddenly struck by an image of David sprouting wings and flying away. Certainly that would be a miracle worth investigating.

    • Soundtracks
      Tasty Numbness
      Written by Antonio Sanchez and Dario Boente

      Performed by Antonio Sanchez and Dario Boente

      Piano by Dario Boente

      © Published by Greedy Silence Music* & Dario Boente Music (ASCAP)

      -Administered by Kobalt Music Publishing Limited

    User reviews37

    Review
    Top review
    Quaintly captivating, but read the book first.
    Interesting case study of the old 'adapting-a-novel to-film' quandary. As usual, the first impression you get is that they've fallen between two stools - taken a subtly crafted and nuanced story and brainstormed how to make it a hit with the daytime-movie-of-the-week crowd. In respect of that ambition, it belly-flops as they almost always do. The not immediately likeable anti-hero's voice-overs rescue it to a large extant, and the unexpected and slightly mind-boggling revelation of the real mechanics behind the supposed miracles also shifts gears and jolts you into a certain reappraisal of what has gone before. It definitely references two films I've seen - "Rueben, Rueben" (1983), for the amusing, lecherous, literary drunk, and "Equus" (1977), for reasons you'd better watch both films to learn. Enjoy it as a curio. Films of unfilmable books are at least interesting celluloid oxymorons. How else could it have been done? One option would have been as a faithful, dutiful transcript of the novel - like the 1981 TV production of 'Brideshead Revisited' - but I don't think budget would have covered that. Maybe - if I were a 'suit' and in charge - scrap all the POV soliloquys - just strip it to the plot and build an Agatha Christie "Poirot' style detective story around that. The actual bones of the plot are strong enough to survive this sort of re-fleshing. But then, I'm not responsible to a boss for ginormous amounts of money spent. Let's not judge. It's definitely a movie that will make you think. Not just a slab of pre-processed Hollywood audience-feed, anyway.
    helpful•6
    0
    • billovalley
    • Mar 15, 2019

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 1, 2017 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Гіпопотам
    • Filming locations
      • West Wycombe House, West Wycombe Park, West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
    • Production company
      • The Electric Shadow Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $273,588
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 29 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Matthew Modine, Roger Allam, Fiona Shaw, and Emily Berrington in The Hippopotamus (2017)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Hippopotamus (2017) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    Editors' Picks: What to Watch Now on Netflix
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Hollywood Romances: Our Favorite Couples
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Double Take: Celebrity Twins
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.