Dead Ringers

"Two bodies. Two minds. One soul."

1988 1h 55m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

🍅

86%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 1,057🍅86%Rotten Tomatoes●86Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 58,399

ThrillerHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Elliot, a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly. Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire, but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness.

“Two bodies. Two minds. One soul.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jeremy Irons
Beverly Mantle / Elliot Mantle
Geneviève Bujold
Claire Niveau
Heidi von Palleske
Cary
Barbara Gordon
Danuta
Shirley Douglas
Laura
Stephen Lack
Wolleck / Anders Wolleck
Nick Nichols
Leo
Lynne Cormack
Arlene

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Cronenberg
Writers: Norman Snider, David Cronenberg
Languages: English
Countries: Canada, 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

Earned back only 62% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Cronenberg, shot by Peter Suschitzky. 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 Howard Shore. 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 Ronald Sanders shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Jeremy Irons and Geneviève Bujold and Heidi von Palleske carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Two bodies. Two minds. One soul.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Cronenberg directs. Peter Suschitzky behind the camera. Howard Shore scores. Ronald Sanders cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 62% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
238 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
4Directed by David Cronenberg, shot by Peter Suschitzky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ronald Sanders shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jeremy Irons and Geneviève Bujold and Heidi von Palleske carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Two bodies. Two minds. One soul.".
9IMDB entry: tt0094964 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 20 themes, including "bondage", "based on novel or book", "nurse", "sadism".

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky
Original score: Howard Shore
Editing: Ronald Sanders
Production design: Carol Spier
Costume design: Denise Cronenberg
Makeup / hair: Barbara Szablowski
Sound: Andy Nelson
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $13,000,000
Box office: $8,038,508
Return: 62% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Dead Ringers (1988)
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 86/100
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 58,399 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

20 wins & 14 nominations total

Canadian Screen Award for Best Screenplay
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Motion Picture
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

David Cronenberg

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

John Chard2014-09-26
★ 8.5/10
I've often thought that there should be beauty contests for the insides of bodies. Dead Ringers is directed by David Cronenberg who also co-adapts the screenplay with Norman Snider from the book "Twins" written by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland. It stars Jeremy Irons and Genevieve Bujold. Music is by Howard Shore and cinematography by Peter Suschitzky. Identical twin gynaecologists Beverly and Elliott Mantle (Irons) run a high end fertility clinic in the city. Both in tune with each in spite of being different personalities, their world starts to fold inwards when Beverly falls in love with drug dependent actress Claire Niveau (Bujold). Inspired by the real life story of gynaecologist twins Cyril and Steve Marcus (who were both found dead from suicide brought about by drug addiction), Dead Ringers is an amalgamation of unsettling horror and icy cold playfulness; in other words a perfect canvas for auteur Cronenberg to paint some of his peccadilloes. Cronenberg doesn't need to be gory, gimmicky or schlocky, he instead utilises the characters on the page to spin a clinical character study. Themes pulsing throughout involve individuality, identity, misogyny, narcissism, eroticism and addiction, all played out in the mystical world of surgery and in-human metaphysics. The tempo never rises above a steady heart beat, rumbling along ominously, until we enter the home straight and the director delivers a devastating yet deeply moving conclusion. Backed by a stunning dual performance from Irons, and a ballsy one from Bujold, Dead Ringers is a film of genuine greatness and a piece of work that's alive with smart ideas. 8.5/10
talisencrw2016-07-12
★ 9/10
Sheer brilliance. Deep down, EVERYONE has a love/hate thing about identical twins. On the one side, they wish they had that kind of communion with someone, that sort of magical intimacy they share, having someone basically the exact same as themselves...yet that same one-of-a-kind companionship is scary as hell. I haven't seen, from my fellow Canadian, either 'Scanners' (1981) or 'Naked Lunch' (1991), so I can't honestly say whether or not my assertion can be thus extended, but I dare ANYONE to find in horror a finer run than Cronenberg had, in 'Videodrome', 'The Dead Zone', 'The Fly'...and this, 'Dead Ringers'.
tmdb476334912018-04-07
★ 4/10
David Cronenberg reveals himself to be a total pseud. "Our identities blur together. We are one soul." Give me a break