The Professor and the Madman

"The incredible true story that defined our world."

2019 2h 4m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 1,322

HistoryDramaMysteryThriller

Synopsis

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Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid 19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, Dr. William Minor.

“The incredible true story that defined our world.”

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Cast

Mel Gibson
James Murray
Sean Penn
Dr. William Chester Minor
Natalie Dormer
Eliza Merrett
Eddie Marsan
Muncie
Jennifer Ehle
Ada Murray
Jeremy Irvine
Charles Hall
David O'Hara
Church
Anthony Andrews
Benjamin Jowett

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Farhad Safinia
Writers: John Boorman, Todd Komarnicki, Farhad Safinia
Languages: English
Countries: France, Ireland, Mexico, United States of America, Iceland, Belgium

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 20% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 6 countries: France, Ireland, Mexico, United States of America, Iceland, Belgium.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Farhad Safinia, shot by Kasper Tuxen. 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 Bear McCreary. 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 Dino Jonsäter 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

Mel Gibson and Sean Penn and Natalie Dormer carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The incredible true story that defined our world.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Farhad Safinia directs. Kasper Tuxen behind the camera. Bear McCreary scores. Dino Jonsäter cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, Ireland, Mexico, United States of America, Iceland, Belgium. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 20% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 7 years ago.
3International production across 6 countries: France, Ireland, Mexico, United States of America, Iceland, Belgium.
4Directed by Farhad Safinia, shot by Kasper Tuxen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Bear McCreary. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Dino Jonsäter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Mel Gibson and Sean Penn and Natalie Dormer carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The incredible true story that defined our world.".
9IMDB entry: tt5932728 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "based on novel or book", "professor", "lunatic asylum", "biography".

The technical file

Cinematography: Kasper Tuxen
Original score: Bear McCreary
Editing: Dino Jonsäter
Production design: Tom Conroy
Stunt coordinator: Eimear O'Grady
Runtime: 124 min · 2h 4m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $4,957,273
Return: 20% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Professor and the Madman (2019)

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Community reviews

What people are saying

SWITCH.2019-11-24
★ 4/10
In all likelihood, you will leave this film with a little more of an understanding of how the dictionary came to be, and a little more resentment for Gibson (one of the producers) for pushing this project to happen, regardless of its lacklustre subject. It's pleasant enough, but it's clear England must produce a certain number of period dramas a year and 2019 was just about to fall under the quota - thank god for the dictionary movie. Usually with book-to-film adaptations, there is a spike in sales of said book - I can't imagine anyone rushing out to buy a dictionary after this though. - Brent Davidson Read Brent's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-professor-and-the-madman-mel-gibsons-dictionary-origin-story-a-dry-read
mitohobe2021-05-06
★ 8/10
I really like it. It had a story within a true Story. Which in my opinion made it a little complex and exciting. Good for young adults and up. Teenagers might not find it so compelling but that's just a short time in their life when they're looking for total entertainment and action. This is not that film but there is a great story to be told with a interesting backdrop of facts. Mel Gibson is excellent!! Be ready to be surprised with a few turns and twists. I really like this movie. I think it was very entertaining and interesting and at times exciting. Get your popcorn ready kick back and enjoy a movie that every other word is not the f word or the GD word. I really enjoyed it and as usual, Mel Gibson always deliver.
CinemaSerf2022-03-28
★ 7/10
This is the best effort I've seen from Sean Penn since "Milk" almost twelve years ago. His portrayal of the schizophrenic William Chester Minor who, having spent almost 40 years of his life in Broadmoor psychiatric hospital, became one of the single most significant contributors to the orginal Oxford Dictionary of English is superb. He captures the flaws of this paranoid etymologist warts and all, and gels very well with Mel Gibson who, as the compiler of the tome - Dr. James Murray - also turns in a good, strong and, latterly, sympathetic and understanding performance too. This is essentially a double-hander with Natalie Dormer, Eddie Marsan and Steve Coogan helping to explain the story and releasing some of the emotional steam from time to time. It's a little slow in places, two hours could have done justice to this interesting story which seems overly padded at time. As you'd expect; it looks great with plenty of serious attention to detail and it also shines a little light on Victorian/Edwardian attitudes to mental illness.