Twelve Monkeys (1995)

In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Writers:

Chris Marker (film La Jetée), David Webb Peoples (screenplay),

Stars:

Joseph Melito, Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe

Top 250 #180 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joseph Melito	...	Young Cole
Bruce Willis	...	James Cole
Jon Seda	...	Jose
Michael Chance	...	Scarface
Vernon Campbell	...	Tiny
H. Michael Walls	...	Botanist
Bob Adrian	...	Geologist
Simon Jones	...	Zoologist
Carol Florence	...	Astrophysicist
Bill Raymond	...	Microbiologist
Ernest Abuba	...	Engineer
Irma St. Paule	...	Poet
Madeleine Stowe	...	Kathryn Railly
Joey Perillo	...	Detective Franki
Bruce Kirkpatrick	...	Policeman No. 1

Storyline

An unknown and lethal virus has wiped out five billion people in 1996. Only 1% of the population has survived by the year 2035, and is forced to live underground. A convict (James Cole) reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to 1996 to gather information about the origin of the epidemic (who he's told was spread by a mysterious "Army of the Twelve Monkeys") and locate the virus before it mutates so that scientists can study it. Unfortunately Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990, six years earlier than expected, and is arrested and locked up in a mental institution, where he meets Dr. Kathryn Railly, a psychiatrist, and Jeffrey Goines, the insane son of a famous scientist and virus expert.

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Plot Keywords:

virus | future | monkey | animal | 1990s | 

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Taglines:

The future is history.

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Genres:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

5 January 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

12 Monkeys

Filming Locations:

344 North Gay Street, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,320,430 (UK) (19 April 1996)

Gross:

£3,532,343 (UK) (17 May 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Atlas Entertainment, Classico

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo DTS Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "TV Ball" prop was notoriously problematic, with either the electronics or hydraulics breaking almost every time it was used.

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Goofs

Near the beginning of the film, Cole collects a cockroach as it crawls through the snow. Cockroaches aren't active in winter, and wouldn't be found crawling through snow. Also, the cockroach he picks up is a Madagascar hissing cockroach, not found in the US.

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Quotes

[first lines]
James Cole: Jose - psst! Jose, what's going on?
Jose: Bad news, man
James Cole: Volunteers?
Jose: Yeah. And they said your name.
[pause]
Jose: Hey, maybe they'll give you a pardon, man.
James Cole: [sarcastic] Yeah, that's why none of the volunteers come back. They all get a pardon.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits: Inspired by the film "La Jetée" written by Chris Marker

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Connections

Referenced in What the Pythons Did Next... (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Sleep Walk"
(1959)
Written by Johnny Farina (as John Farina), Ann Farina, Santo Farina
Performed by B.J. Cole

User Reviews

This is amazing stuff

Normally I try to avoid Sci-Fi movies as much as I can, because this just isn't a genre that really appeals to me. Light sabers, UFO's, aliens, time traveling... most of the time it's nothing for me. However, there is one movie in the genre that I'll always give a place in my list of top movies and that's this "Twelve Monkeys" I remember to be completely blown away by it the first time, but even now, after having it seen several times already, I'm still one of its biggest fans. Every time I see it, this movie seems to get better and better.

Somewhere in the distant future all people live underground because an unknown and lethal virus wiped out five billion people in 1996, leaving only 1 percent of the population alive. James Cole is one of them. He's a prisoner who lives in a small cage and who is chosen as a 'volunteer' to be sent back to in time to gather information about the origin of the epidemic. They believe it was spread by a mysterious group called 'The Twelve Monkeys' and need the virus before it mutated, so that scientists can study it. But their time traveling machine doesn't work perfectly yet and he is accidentally sent to 1990, where he meets Dr. Kathryn Railly, a psychiatrist, and Jeffrey Goines, the insane son of a famous scientist and virus expert...

What I like so much about this movie is the fact that it is never clear whether all what you are seeing is real or not. Is this just an illusion, created in the mind of a mentally ill man or is it real? Does he really come from the future and can he really travel through time? Was the population really wiped out by a virus, released by the army of The Twelve Monkeys? Those are all questions that will leave you wondering from the beginning until the end. If the makers of this movie had chosen to make it all more obvious, I'm sure that I would never have liked it as much as I did now. It's just that mysteriousness that keeps me interested time after time. But that's not the only good thing about this movie of course. The acting is amazing too. Normally I'm not too much a fan of Bruce Willis, but what he did in this movie was just astonishing. Together with Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt he should have won several awards for it, because together with the amazing story, they made this movie work so incredibly well.

Even after several viewings, I'm still a huge fan of this movie. Except for this movie, I have only seen one other Terry Gilliam movie and that's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", which wasn't bad, but didn't really convince me either. However, it's this movie that really makes me look forward to his other work. I give it a 9/10, maybe even a 9.5/10.