A Perfect World

"A convict. A cop. A hostage that will make one of them a hero."

1993 2h 18m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 1,957

DramaCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.

“A convict. A cop. A hostage that will make one of them a hero.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Kevin Costner
Robert 'Butch' Haynes
Clint Eastwood
Chief Red Garnett
Laura Dern
Sally Gerber
T.J. Lowther
Phillip 'Buzz' Perry
Bradley Whitford
Bobby Lee
Keith Szarabajka
Terry Pugh
Leo Burmester
Tom Adler
Paul Hewitt
Dick Suttle

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: John Lee Hancock, Clint Eastwood
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 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Clint Eastwood, shot by Jack N. Green. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ron Spang 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

Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood and Laura Dern carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A convict. A cop. A hostage that will make one of them a hero.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0107808 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Clint Eastwood directs. Jack N. Green behind the camera. Lennie Niehaus scores. Ron Spang cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Clint Eastwood, shot by Jack N. Green. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Lennie Niehaus. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ron Spang shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood and Laura Dern carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A convict. A cop. A hostage that will make one of them a hero.".
8IMDB entry: tt0107808 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "hostage", "texas", "prison escape", "escaped convict".
10Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack N. Green
Original score: Lennie Niehaus
Editing: Ron Spang
Production design: Henry Bumstead
Costume design: Erica Edell Phillips
Makeup / hair: Fríða Aradóttir
Sound: Rick Alexander
Stunt coordinator: Buddy Van Horn
Runtime: 138 min · 2h 18m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $30,000,000
Box office: $135,100,000
Return: 450% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: A Perfect World (1993)

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Clint Eastwood

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What people are saying

r96sk2022-02-05
★ 8/10
I'm a little split on <em>'A Perfect World'</em>, but one thing that is for certain is that I definitely enjoyed watching it. The reason that I'm split is because of how it portrays the lead character. I completely get the angle the filmmakers were going for, I'm just not convinced they pull it off. It's fun to watch, but I never once felt a connection to root for Kevin Costner's Butch. There are many a time where I was just like "Huh?". It shows a number of events that you can tell are supposed to make you connect to Butch, but I just couldn't - he is super unlikeable, like the very first thing we see him do 'on the outside' defines him and the whole film. They could've wrote him in so many different ways, to give him a positive reason for what he does. Yet, despite that it is entertaining, I cannot deny. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it works as a film for sure, but given it tries (too hard?) to attempt thought-provoking and deeper meaning I think it falls over itself - logically, I couldn't get on board. As a popcorn flick, I'm all in. P.S. How amusing to see the <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/casper/" rel="nofollow">Casper</a>'</em> connection, given the directing/acting Clint Eastwood would later make a cameo in the live-action film almost two years after this was released.

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