Water for Elephants

"Life is the most spectacular show on earth."

2011 2h 2m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 2,671

DramaRomance

Synopsis

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In this captivating Depression-era melodrama, impetuous veterinary student Jacob Jankowski joins a celebrated circus as an animal caretaker but faces a wrenching dilemma when he's transfixed by angelic married performer Marlena.

“Life is the most spectacular show on earth.”

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Cast

Robert Pattinson
Jacob Jankowski
Reese Witherspoon
Marlena Rosenbluth
Christoph Waltz
August Rosenbluth
Paul Schneider
Charlie
Jim Norton
Camel
Hal Holbrook
Old Jacob
Donna W. Scott
Barbara
Richard Brake
Grady

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Francis Lawrence
Writers: Jeff Errico, Anthony Leonardi III, Tani Kunitake
Languages: English, Polish
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

Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Polish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

256+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Francis Lawrence, shot by Rodrigo Prieto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Francis Lawrence directs. Rodrigo Prieto behind the camera. James Newton Howard scores. Alan Edward Bell cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Polish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.
2Released 15 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Polish.
4256+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Francis Lawrence, shot by Rodrigo Prieto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Alan Edward Bell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Life is the most spectacular show on earth.".
10IMDB entry: tt1067583 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 9 themes, including "based on novel or book", "elephant", "clown", "great depression".

The technical file

Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto
Original score: James Newton Howard
Editing: Alan Edward Bell
Production design: Jack Fisk
Costume design: Jacqueline West
Makeup / hair: Kate Biscoe
VFX supervisor: Paul Graff
Sound: Jeremy Peirson
Stunt coordinator: Chris O'Hara
Runtime: 122 min · 2h 2m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $38,000,000
Box office: $117,094,902
Return: 308% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Water for Elephants (2011)

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Francis Lawrence

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What people are saying

Andres Gomez2014-10-01
★ 7/10
The chemistry between Witherspoon and Pattinson doesn't really work but the simple "man meets a woman" story works and Waltz nails his character as usual. This movie was a nice surprise.

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