Jacob's Ladder

"The most frightening thing about Jacob Singer's nightmare is that he isn't dreaming."

1990 1h 53m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🍅

71%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 2,012🍅71%Rotten Tomatoes●62Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 126,739

DramaMysteryHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images. His girlfriend, Jezzie, and ex-wife, Sarah, try to help, but to little avail. Even Singer's chiropractor friend, Louis, fails to reach him as he descends into madness.

“The most frightening thing about Jacob Singer's nightmare is that he isn't dreaming.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Tim Robbins
Jacob
Elizabeth Peña
Jezzie
Danny Aiello
Louis
Matt Craven
Michael
Pruitt Taylor Vince
Paul
Jason Alexander
Geary
Patricia Kalember
Sarah
Eriq La Salle
Frank

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Adrian Lyne
Writers: Bruce Joel Rubin
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 / 7

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Adrian Lyne, shot by Jeffrey L. Kimball. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Tim Robbins and Elizabeth Peña and Danny Aiello carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The most frightening thing about Jacob Singer's nightmare is that he isn't dreaming.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0099871 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Adrian Lyne directs. Jeffrey L. Kimball behind the camera. Maurice Jarre scores. Tom Rolf cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

136 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Adrian Lyne, shot by Jeffrey L. Kimball. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Maurice Jarre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Tom Rolf shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Tim Robbins and Elizabeth Peña and Danny Aiello carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The most frightening thing about Jacob Singer's nightmare is that he isn't dreaming.".
7IMDB entry: tt0099871 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 18 themes, including "vietnam veteran", "new york city", "post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)", "experiment".
9Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Original score: Maurice Jarre
Editing: Tom Rolf
Production design: Brian Morris
Costume design: Ellen Mirojnick
Makeup / hair: Richard Dean
Sound: Mike Getlin
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $26,118,851
Return: 104% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes: 71% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 62/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 126,739 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

3 wins & 1 nomination total

Also by

Adrian Lyne

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
Trippy. No, you probably didn't read that right. I meant to write it in a way that sounded more like a stoner. Tripppy? Tttttrrrrrriiiippppppyyyyy, duuuude. Something like that. Anyway, I love Tim Robbins as an actor and you should take that statement into consideration when I say that this is one of his better films. What I can say is that a doctor goes to Vietnam, and then leaves his wife, marries someone else becomes a Postal Employee, and that is about as much as I can honestly say without throwing the spoiler alert up. It is one of those movies where everything you love about the plot would be a red flag on the spoiler radar... so watch it, enjoy it, you won't be disappointed. And you will see what I am talking about with the spoilers when you get there.

Production companies