Something Wild

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jonathan Demme directs. Tak Fujimoto behind the camera. Laurie Anderson scores. Craig McKay cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 140 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 2Directed by Jonathan Demme, shot by Tak Fujimoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by Laurie Anderson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor Craig McKay shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith and Ray Liotta carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "Something Different. Something Daring. Something Dangerous.".
• 7IMDB entry: tt0091983 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Classified under 14 themes, including "new york city", "robbery", "police", "chase".

The technical file

Cinematography

Tak Fujimoto

Original score

Laurie Anderson

Editing

Craig McKay

Production design

Norma Moriceau

Costume design

Norma Moriceau

Sound

Tom Fleischman

Stunt coordinator

John Robotham

Runtime

114 min · 1h 54m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$7,000,000

Box office

$8,362,969

Return

119% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Something Wild (1986) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

92% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

73/100

IMDB rating

6.9/10 · 24,278 votes

MPAA

R

Also by

Jonathan Demme

• 
  Enzo Avitabile Music Life

  2013 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Stop Making Sense

  1984 · ★ 8.4
• 
  The Silence of the Lambs

  1991 · ★ 8.3
• 
  Columbo

  1971 · ★ 8.1
• 
  The Killing

  2011 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Philadelphia

  1993 · ★ 7.7

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Charlie Runs Into a Coworker

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Lulu Robs the Liquor Store

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Charlie Meets Lulu

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Orion Pictures

  US

• RE

  Religiosa Primitiva

• 

  A Luta Continua

  US

Key crew

• ProducerKenneth Utt
• ProducerJonathan Demme
• EditorCraig McKay
• Executive ProducerEdward Saxon
• Set DresserKevin Oates
• Assistant Property MasterWinston 'Ford' Lawless
• Art Department AssistantKathy Bird
• Assistant CameraBilly Gerardo
• ThanksChip Taylor
• Assistant Property MasterKathleen Dolan
• Best Boy ElectricJohn Smith
• First Assistant DirectorRon Bozman
• Camera OperatorAnthony Jannelli
• GafferCharles Meere III
• Associate ProducerCamilla Toniolo
• Boom OperatorLinda Murphy
• Sound Re-Recording MixerTom Fleischman
• Assistant CameraVinnie Gerardo
• Second Assistant DirectorKyle McCarthy
• ElectricianKurt Illinger
• Wardrobe SupervisorJulie Parker
• First Assistant EditorDiane Schaub
• OtherAlisa Lepselter
• Still PhotographerDon Smetzer

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• new york city
• robbery
• police
• chase
• psychopath
• handcuffs
• dark comedy
• road trip
• travel
• stabbing
• class reunion
• date from hell
• eccentric woman
• free-spirited woman

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1986-11-07R
• Physical1987-07-15R· VHS

Also known as

International titles

• Fin de semana salvajeMX
• Fin de semana salvajeSV
• Totalmente SelvagemBR