Insignificance (1985)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Nicolas Roeg

Writer:

Terry Johnson (writer)

Release Date:

2 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

The object of every man's fantasy and the greatest mind of the century are about to meet.

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.

Plot Keywords:

Albert Einstein | 1950s | Marilyn Monroe | Joe Dimaggio | Whistle

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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

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

Production Companies

• Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
• Zenith Entertainment

Distributors

• Artisan Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Cineplex-Odeon Home Video (1986) (Canada) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Island Alive
• Karl-Lorimar Home Video (KLV-TV) (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA (1986) (Canada) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1985) (UK) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1985) (UK) (video) (Betamax)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (all media)

Other Companies

• Abbey Road Studios  music recorded at
• De Lane Lea Sound Centre  sound re-recorded at
• General Screen Enterprises  titles and opticals
• Joe Dunton & Company  camera equipment provided by
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | New Zealand:R13 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC)

Trivia:

The photo collage calendar of Theresa Russell, echoing Marilyn Monroe's famous Playboy pose, was created by British artist David Hockney at the request of director Nicolas Roeg, and has since been exhibited at museums throughout the world.

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.

Movie Connections:

Features Hiroshima mon amour (1959)

Soundtrack:

Wild Hearts

What if...

New York, 1953. One hot night, four famous iconic figures will come together. The professor (Albert Einstein) has come to NY to give a speech, which he has, the senator (Joesph MacCarthy) on his back. Later that night his gets a surprise visitor; a famous actress (Marilyn Monroe). Who actually wants to discuss the theories of Relativity. Soon her ball-playing husband (Joe DiMaggio) turns up at the hotel room, begging to work things out for their crumbling relationship. Flashbacks of childhood, important events, perceived consequences of their actions creep in to show how these individuals cope with despair and a hidden fear waiting to break out.

Now that's one-of-a-kind! Adapted off a stage-play by Terry Johnson (who would also script the screenplay for the film), "Insignificance" is an odd, quirky, seductive and downright curious fictional pop-culture gimmick in the hands of director Nicolas Roeg. This inspired and cerebral experimental effort might be rooted in its stage-play origins, because it does feel theatrical and most of the action occurs in a hotel backdrop and one main suite. The cramp look only enhanced the moody and smoky atmosphere of New York to great effect. However these limitations can't contain the fruitful and daring ideas that Roeg manages to randomly storm up visually and through the meaningful material. The way he reflects on the characters' (who are suggestively famous figures, without the need of naming of them) philosophical journeys and interpretations of their notions is stimulating in a spiritual sense, with the memories gelling into the present and visions showing their fears of realisations, which depending on what you're seeing is either beautiful, or hauntingly implemented. There's plenty of food for thought and hints within the verbosely innovative (if sometimes awkward) script, with the main focus concerning the present situation, but the flashbacks gives us the personal make-up (sex, power, enlightenment and glory) of what makes them who they are and how much of a burden it can be in there already demanding lives. Sure the story might not lead to anything by the end, and it can feel disjointed, but the dreamy vibe and intelligent arrangement irons out those folds and makes sure it never turns giddy. Peter Hannan's sensually fluid photography and Stanley Myers' titillatingly oozing blues soundtrack fit in snugly with Roeg's stylistically subdue and established style of directing. He makes it look like he's working with something big and large-scale, but otherwise that's not the case and a small little universe is created. The vintage costumes and locations of the period all come off fittingly enough. What made the film for me had to be the impressive acting it boasted from the main four. Theresa Russell's perky, drop dead gorgeous appeal of the sexy pin-up actress is a growing portrayal that definitely held the film together along with an genuinely excellent and endearing performance by Michael Emil as the professor. Tony Curtis marvellously plays it up as witch-hunting senator and Gary Busey is suitably good in the stoically gravel manner as the ballplayer. Showing up in minor, but amusing support roles happen to be Will Sampson and Patrick Kilpatrick.

A memorably striking, fresh and tour de force meditation piece of metaphysics linked together by four different extremes. Some might find it pretentiously estrange and too talky, but this one had me wrapped up in its own little unique world to worry too much about its shortcomings.