Encino Man

"When the stone age meets the rock age."

1992 1h 28m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 754

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

High school misfits Stoney and Dave discover a long-frozen primeval man buried in their backyard. But the thawed-out Link—as the boys have named him—quickly becomes a wild card in the teens' already zany Southern California lives. After a shave and some new clothes, Link's presence at school makes the daily drudgery a lot more interesting.

“When the stone age meets the rock age.”

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Cast

Sean Astin
Dave Morgan
Brendan Fraser
Linkovich "Link" Chomovsky
Megan Ward
Robyn Sweeney
Mariette Hartley
Mrs. Morgan
Richard Masur
Mr. Morgan
Pauly Shore
Stanley "Stoney" Brown
Robin Tunney
Ella
Michael DeLuise
Matt Wilson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Les Mayfield
Writers: Shawn Schepps, George Zaloom, Shawn Schepps
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

34 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Encino Man Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Les Mayfield, shot by Robert Brinkmann. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by J. Peter Robinson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Eric A. Sears shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sean Astin and Brendan Fraser and Megan Ward carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Les Mayfield directs. Robert Brinkmann behind the camera. J. Peter Robinson scores. Eric A. Sears cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Made its money back 5.8× over at the box office.
334 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Encino Man Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Les Mayfield, shot by Robert Brinkmann. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by J. Peter Robinson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Eric A. Sears shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Sean Astin and Brendan Fraser and Megan Ward carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "When the stone age meets the rock age.".
10IMDB entry: tt0104187 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 8 themes, including "high school", "prom", "fish out of water", "los angeles, california".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Brinkmann
Original score: J. Peter Robinson
Editing: Eric A. Sears
Production design: James Allen
Costume design: Marie France
Makeup / hair: Cydney Cornell
Stunt coordinator: Gilbert B. Combs
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $40,700,000
Return: 581% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Encino Man (1992)

Part of

Encino Man Collection

Encino Man is a 1992 comedy film starring Sean Astin, Pauly Shore, and Brendan Fraser in the title role as an unfrozen prehistoric human. In 1996, a gender-flipped TV sequel was created.