IMDb > Insignificance (1985)
Insignificance
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Insignificance (1985) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   1,048 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Nicolas Roeg
Writer:
Terry Johnson (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Insignificance on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 August 1985 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Comedy more
Tagline:
The object of every man's fantasy and the greatest mind of the century are about to meet. more
Plot:
Four 1950's icons meet in the same hotel room and two of them discover more in common between them than they ever anticipated. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Marilyn. Never Allowed to Rest in Peace
 (From FilmExperience. 3 August 2009, 9:00 AM, PDT)
Doc Filmmaker Havana Marking's Top Ten Films of All Time
 (From ioncinema. 1 June 2009)
User Comments:
Enjoyment, like space-time, is relative more (14 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)
Michael Emil ... The Professor

Theresa Russell ... The Actress

Tony Curtis ... The Senator

Gary Busey ... The Ballplayer
Will Sampson ... Elevator Attendant

Patrick Kilpatrick ... Driver
Ian O'Connell ... Assistant Director
George Holmes ... Actor
Richard Davidson ... Director of Photography
Mitchell Greenberg ... Technician
Raynor Scheine ... Autograph Hunter

Jude Ciccolella ... Gaffer
Lou Hirsch ... Charlie
Ray Charleson ... Bud
Joel Cutrara ... Bar Drunk

Raymond J. Barry ... Ballplayer's Father
John Stamford ... Young Ballplayer
Desirée Erasmus ... Prostitute
David Lambert ... Young Professor
Cassie Stuart ... Young Actress
Meachell Dunsmoor ... Actress as a Child
Daniel Benzali ... First Theatrical Agent
R.J. Bell ... Second Theatrical Agent
Shinobu Kanai ... Japanese Woman
David Montague ... Young Senator
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Directed by
Nicolas Roeg 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Terry Johnson  writer

Produced by
Alexander Stuart .... executive producer
Jeremy Thomas .... producer
 
Original Music by
Stanley Myers 
 
Cinematography by
Peter Hannan 
 
Film Editing by
Tony Lawson 
 
Casting by
Lucy Boulting 
Margery Simkin 
 
Production Design by
David Brockhurst  (as David Brocklehurst)
 
Art Direction by
Arthur Max Shafransky 
Celia Barnett (uncredited)
 
Costume Design by
Shuna Harwood 
 
Makeup Department
Jan Archibald .... hair stylist
Christine Beveridge .... makeup artist
Sue Bide .... makeup designer
 
Production Management
Simon Bosanquet .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lee Cleary .... third assistant director
Ann Egbert .... key second assistant director
Zsuzsanna Mills .... second assistant director
Joseph P. Reidy .... assistant director: New York (as Joe Reidy)
Michael Zimbrich .... first assistant director
 
Art Department
Karen Brooks .... production buyer
Diana Johnstone .... set dresser
Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski .... assistant art director
Maxie McDonald .... property master
Thomas Hudson Reeve .... set property man (as Tom Reeve)
Reg Richards .... construction manager
Stephen Shapiro .... set constructor
Ernest Smith .... scenic artist
Lester Smith .... draughtsman
 
Sound Department
George Akers .... dialogue editor
Ted Ball .... sound maintenance
Alan Bell .... sound editor
Chris Gurney .... boom operator
Paul Le Mare .... sound
Jacques Leroide .... assistant dubbing editor
Brenda Ray .... boom operator: New York
Hugh Strain .... sound recordist
Martin Trevis .... boom operator
 
Special Effects by
Alan Whibley .... special effects
 
Visual Effects by
Alan Church .... optical cameraman: General Screen Enterprises
Shulamit Levin .... digital restoration (2007 restored version)
Tony Willis .... effects cameraman (uncredited)
 
Stunts
Tracey Eddon .... stunts
Terry Forestal .... stunt coordinator
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Mark Cridlin .... assistant camera
Colin Davidson .... focus puller
Anil Devani .... photosonics technician
Alfie Emmins .... best boy
James P. Gruebel .... key grip: New York (as Jim Gruebel)
Alex Henderson .... still photographer
John Krauss .... gaffer: New York
Edward Lachman .... additional camera operator: New York (as Ed Lachman)
Reg Parsons .... gaffer
John Payne .... grip
Bob Smith .... camera operator
 
Casting Department
Pat Golden .... casting: New York
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brandon Everett .... wardrobe assistant
Susie Money .... wardrobe assistant: New York
Sonja Roth .... wardrobe supervisor
Ray Usher-Cooper .... wardrobe master (as Raymond Usher Cooper)
Allison Wyldeck .... wardrobe assistant (as Alison Wyldeck)
 
Editorial Department
Chris Cook .... assistant editor
Christopher Thompson .... assistant editor (as Chris Thompson)
 
Music Department
Gerry Butler .... orchestrator
Gil Evans .... music arranger: Mozart
Ray Williams .... music coordinator
Hans Zimmer .... composer: additional music
 
Other crew
Tamara Bally .... production coordinator: New York
Sevilla Delofski .... assistant to producer
Brian Gibbs .... production accountant
Lisa Granditer .... secretary to producer
Mary Holdsworth .... script supervisor
Tom Hugh-Jones .... unit runner
Pauline Hume .... graphic artist: titles
Sara Keene .... publicist
Roxy Konrad .... production coordinator (as Roxy Glassford)
Rachel Neale .... location manager (as Rachael Neale)
Gary Nixon .... assistant accountant
Betty Swinburne .... accounts secretary
Ron Swinburne .... supervising production accountant
 

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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Iceland:L | Australia:M | Spain:13 | New Zealand:R13 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16
Filming Locations:
New York City, New York, USA
Company:
Recorded Picture Company (RPC) more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The four icons are, respectively: Marilyn Monroe, her husband Joe DiMaggio, Albert Einstein and senator Joseph McCarthy. more
Quotes:
The Actress: I only said I knew, because you said you knew.
The Professor: I lied. Knowledge isn't truth. It's just mindless agreement. You agree with me, I agree with someone else - we all have knowledge. We haven't come any closer to the truth. You can never understand anything by agreeing, by making definitions. Only by turning over the possibilities. That's called thinking. If I say I know, I stop thinking. As long as I keep thinking, I come to understand. That way, I might approach some truth.
more
Movie Connections:
Features Hiroshima mon amour (1959) more
Soundtrack:
America more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful.
Enjoyment, like space-time, is relative, 24 May 2004
8/10
Author: pwoods1 from Adelaide, South Australia

Nicolas Roeg's projects are variable to say the least, but are never less than interesting. "Insignificance" is obviously, first and foremost, an adapted stageplay: it's wordy and pretty-much 'room-bound'. BUT, it pays to view this film more than once: the underlying themes are not overtly presented and, what's more, it takes a while to adjust to the juxtaposition and role-reversals of the four protagonists: Einstein, McCarthy, Munroe, and DiMaggio.

Einstein is wracked by guilt over Hiroshima yet fancies the simplicity of a sexual liaison with Munro; Munro is sick of being seen as a bimbo and craves intellectual credence; Senator McCarthy is at the height of his witch-hunting powers but is an impotent sleazebag; DiMaggio is insecure about his celebrity, self-obsessed, and prone to violence. Each of them contains the seeds of their own destruction. Each character has a troubled, abused/abusive past and a questionable future. Gradually, we see that obsession itself is the central theme. America's obsession with its postwar cultural icons and mores; the obsessions of the protagonists for something none can have: peace-of-mind and/or happiness.

Compared with the theory of relativity, a proposed unified-field theory and, indeed, the cosmos itself, all the aspirations and interactions of Roeg's protagonists seem insignificant. Yet these aspects of the physical universe (it's all quantum, trust me!) affect us when they are applied to the development of the means to destroy us. Monroe's mention of the principle behind the neutron-bomb (without naming it as such) is not an anachronism per se, but can only be understood by a contemporary audience. Indeed, ALL the references within the script are only accessible to a knowledgeable viewer: one au fait with '50s occurrences/personality cults and how they affect us in the 21st century.

This film and its screenplay are either very, very clever, or extremely opaque and pretentious. Ultimately, however, probably insignificant.

live long and prosper :)

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