The Age of Innocence

"In a world of tradition. In an age of innocence. They dared to break the rules."

1993 2h 18m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1,258

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 19th century New York high society, a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.

“In a world of tradition. In an age of innocence. They dared to break the rules.”

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Cast

Daniel Day-Lewis
Newland Archer
Michelle Pfeiffer
Ellen Olenska
Winona Ryder
May Welland
Alexis Smith
Louisa van der Luyden
Geraldine Chaplin
Mrs. Welland
Jonathan Pryce
Rivière
Richard E. Grant
Lawrence "Larry" Lefferts
Alec McCowen
Sillerton Jackson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Martin Scorsese, Jay Cocks
Languages: English, Italian
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

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 95% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Martin Scorsese, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In a world of tradition. In an age of innocence. They dared to break the rules.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Martin Scorsese directs. Michael Ballhaus behind the camera. Elmer Bernstein scores. Thelma Schoonmaker cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 95% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
4Directed by Martin Scorsese, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Thelma Schoonmaker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "In a world of tradition. In an age of innocence. They dared to break the rules.".
9IMDB entry: tt0106226 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "infidelity", "new york city", "based on novel or book", "upper class".

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Original score: Elmer Bernstein
Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker
Production design: Dante Ferretti
Costume design: Gabriella Pescucci
Makeup / hair: Manlio Rocchetti
Sound: Tom Fleischman
Runtime: 138 min · 2h 18m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $34,000,000
Box office: $32,255,440
Return: 95% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Age of Innocence (1993)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
National Board of Review Award for Best Director
Academy Award for Best Costume Design

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Martin Scorsese

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-06-19
★ 6/10
I can’t help but think the praise this gets is as much to do with Martin Scorsese venturing far from his usual style of violent, gritty, drama onto the manicured lawns more readily frequented by Merchant Ivory. Though he does it well enough, this story of New York high society takes a very long time to get to exactly where we expect it to get to, and along the way the tedium of it’s, frequently unrequited, love triangle(s) make heavy going to watch. It’s all about lawyer “Newland” (Daniel Day-Lewis) who is affianced to “May” (Winona Ryder) but seemingly way more intoxicated by her cousin, the “Countess Olenska” (Michelle Pfeiffer) who has fled from an abusive marriage in Europe as the nineteenth century comes to a close. Though it may not actually be set in Victorian Britain, it’s fair to say the the societal expectations, snobberies and double-standards are just as prevalent and hypocritical here too and though a countess she may be, a divorced one will still be shunned and shamed by the likes of matriarch “Mrs. Mingott” (Miriam Margolyes). “Newland” initially feels obliged to stand in her corner a little - out of a sense of loyalty to his future wife’s family, but of course the more they interact the more a predicable relationship develops. “May”, meantime, isn’t impervious to her beau’s change in affections but is not entirely sure in which direction they are now pointing, and so the seeds are now sown for a story of love, lust, betrayal and quite possibly sadness, too. It does look good with all the costumes, stately houses and production design delivering a classy product - but for my money, a product is exactly what it is. There isn’t a scintilla of chemistry between DD-L and anyone, really, and Pfeiffer delivers her lines as if she were rehearsing for an Oscar Wilde stage play. Ryder only features sparingly but she does inject a semblance of decent vulnerability to the proceedings and both Margolyes and Geraldine Chaplin add a little extra class to the proceedings, albeit in rather set-piece scenes, as it trundles along - but this is a story we’ve seen or read many times before, just transferred to a new city where the elite behave just as they would in London or Paris or Vienna, only without the titles and the provenance. Perhaps because we Brits are weaned on period drama, it’s harder to see the wood for the trees but for me this is nothing at all special and the arrival, towards the end, of Richard E. Grant really sums up it’s gorgeous blandness. Stick with the 1934 version.

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