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Information

Year
1989
Runtime
39 min.
Director
Alan Clarke
Genres
Crime, Drama
Rating *
7.1
Votes *
1,058
Checks
1,050
Favs
75
Dislikes
14
Favs/checks
7.1% (1:14)
Favs/dislikes
5:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. corchap's avatar

    corchap

    I think most people are missing the point. its a very cold and brutal short about violence and indifference. it has 18 murders and we learn nothing about the killer or the victims 4 years ago
  2. piet's avatar

    piet

    @jarmel The explanation can be found on the film's Wikipedia page

    quote:
    The title is a tribute to the 1989 BBC short film of the same name, directed by Alan Clarke. Van Sant originally believed Clarke's title referred to the story of several blind men trying to describe an elephant and each one drawing different conclusions based on which body part they were touching. Later, he found out that it was referring to the phrase "elephant in the room," a reference to the collective denial of some very obvious problem. Van Sant's film uses the earlier interpretation, as the same general timeline is shown multiple times from multiple viewpoints.
    14 years 1 month ago
  3. jarmel's avatar

    jarmel

    I don't know the exact relationship between this and Gus Van Sant's Elephant but for me the latter borrows heavily from the Alan Clarke version. 14 years 2 months ago
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In 5 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #23 in TSPDT's Brief Encounters
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    TSPDT's Brief Encounters

    23
  2. This movie ranks #289 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
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    Time Out's 1000 Films to…

    289
  3. This movie ranks #420 in Mark Cousins's The Story of Film: An Odyssey
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    Mark Cousins's The Story…

    420
  4. This movie ranks #882 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time
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    Sight & Sound's The Grea…

    882
  5. This movie ranks #938 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
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    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…

    938
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