Born in Flames

1983 1h 20m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🍅

89%

FRESH

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 89🍅89%Rotten Tomatoes★6.5IMDB · 2,418

DramaScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In near-future New York, ten years after the “social-democratic war of liberation,” diverse groups of women organize a feminist uprising as equality remains unfulfilled.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Honey
Honey
Adele Bertei
Isabel
Jean Satterfield
Adelaide Norris
Florynce Kennedy
Zella Wylie
Pat Murphy
Newspaper editor
Kathryn Bigelow
Newspaper editor
Becky Johnston
Newspaper editor
Hillary Hurst
Leader of Women's Army

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lizzie Borden
Writers: Ed Bowes, Lizzie Borden
Languages: English, French, Spanish
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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lizzie Borden, shot by Ed Bowes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Honey and Adele Bertei and Jean Satterfield carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0085267 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 89 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lizzie Borden directs. Ed Bowes behind the camera. Lizzie Borden cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
243 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Spanish.
4Directed by Lizzie Borden, shot by Ed Bowes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Lizzie Borden shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Honey and Adele Bertei and Jean Satterfield carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0085267 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 89 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 20 themes, including "strike", "revolution", "socialism", "feminism".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ed Bowes
Editing: Lizzie Borden
Runtime: 80 min · 1h 20m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Born in Flames (1983)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 2,418 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

2 wins total

Also by

Lizzie Borden

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

CinemaSerf2025-09-20
★ 6/10
Somehow or other, the US of A has seen a revolution replace it’s government with a form of left-leaning social democracy that aims to prioritise the needs of just about everyone from feminists to gays but as with any idealistic political system, it is failing to deliver on all of it’s promises. Irritated by these failures, a group of New York women have taken to their radio stations to galvanise the disaffected and mount a counter-revolution to revitalise the original values and bring down the government. Presented in part as if it were a fly-on-the-wall report being given to the likes of J. Edgar Hoover, what now ensues is actually quite relevant in many ways as today’s society deals with arguments about meritocracies, quotas and political correctness. What this isn’t, really, is a very plausible scenario and the idea that an army of militant lesbians could take over a nation of 300 millions is far-fetched. For a start, what would happen to the other, less compliant, women (let’s assume men simply don’t matter here) in the country? A country where religious considerations don’t now feature at all? It must have been quite some coup! The entire concept here reminded me of a student project conceived after a night on the tequila and delivered thanks to the cash they raised during a fresher week thrash. The production is cluttered with thinly veiled allegory, but it’s all so polarising and politically charged that if that’s not your stance then the thing might just end up annoying more than engaging: but the one thing it isn’t is ambiguous. The soundtrack is quite an eclectic mix that at times does much of the heavy lifting which is useful as the dialogue becomes angrily and simplistically repetitious to the point that it labours it’s point just a bit too relentlessly and unrealistically. It is a film that was probably thought-provoking forty years ago, but for me it just comes across now as a bit of an ill-thought out rant.

Production companies