Needful Things
AMG AllMovie Guide:
Top
Needful Things
Plot
Satan opens an antique shop in a small town and lures the residents into evil actions in this supernatural chiller. Based on a novel by the prolific Stephen King, the film bears many of the author's trademarks, such as the New England setting and the focus on regular people tempted by the forces of supernatural evil. Here, the enticements toward bad behavior comes from the "Needful Things" shop, owned by new resident Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow). Gaunt's shop offers an odd collection of goods, each of which happens to be the object of desire of a local resident. Instead of money, however, Gaunt demands that townspeople perform a series of simple pranks. He has a plan, and these actions escalate until the town is at violent war with itself. The residents are brought to life by a talented cast, led by von Sydow's suave devil and including Ed Harris as the local sheriff, J.T. Walsh as a corrupt politician, and Amanda Plummer as a seemingly innocent baker. ~ Judd Blaise, RoviCast
- Max von Sydow - Leland Gaunt
- Ed Harris - Sheriff Alan Pangborn
- Bonnie Bedelia - Polly Chambers
- Amanda Plummer - Nettie Cobb
- J.T. Walsh - Danforth Keeton III
Credit
Sheila Haley - Art Director, Gordon Mark - Associate Producer, Stuart Aikins - Casting, Mary Gail Artz - Casting, Barbara Cohen - Casting, Monique Prudhomme - Costume Designer, Anthony Brand - First Assistant Director, Fraser C. Heston - Director, Rob Kobrin - Editor, Peter Yates - Executive Producer, Patrick Doyle - Composer (Music Score), Eric Batut - Musical Direction/Supervision, Sandy Cooper - Makeup, Douglas Higgins - Production Designer, Tony Westman - Cinematographer, Jack Cummins - Producer, Dominique Fauquet-Lemaitre - Set Designer, Gary Paller - Special Effects, Gordon Mark - Unit Production Manager, W.D. Richter - Screenwriter, Lawrence Cohen - Screenwriter, Richard L. Anderson - Supervising Sound Editor, Stephen King - Book Author| Need for Speed: Formula Drift 2005 Championship Review (Film), Need (2005 Film) | |
| Needing You (2000 Film), Needle (2010 Film) |
Related Videos:
Top
Needful Things
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Needful Things (film)
| Needful Things | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Fraser C. Heston |
| Produced by | Jack Cummins |
| Written by | Novel: Stephen King Screenplay: W.D. Richter |
| Starring | Max von Sydow Ed Harris Bonnie Bedelia J. T. Walsh Amanda Plummer |
| Music by | Patrick Doyle |
| Cinematography | Tony Westman |
| Editing by | Rob Kobrin |
| Studio | Castle Rock Entertainment New Line Cinema |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 27, 1993 |
| Running time | 120 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
| Box office | $15,185,672 (USA) |
Needful Things is a 1993 horror film adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name directed by Fraser C. Heston, the son of actor Charlton Heston. The film starred Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, and Bonnie Bedelia.
|
Contents
|
Plot summary
A mysterious proprietor named Leland Gaunt, claiming to be from Akron, Ohio,[1] opens a new antiques store called 'Needful Things' in the small town of Castle Rock, Maine. The store sells various items of great personal worth to the residents (some of which, like a pendant that eases pain or a toy which predicts the outcome of horse races, are clearly supernatural), and Gaunt demands payment both in cash and in small "favors," usually pranks played by his customers on their neighbors. Gaunt seems to have an innate knowledge of the townspeople and their history, and the pranks exploit their previous rivalries and prejudices, causing them to attack each other. When the normally peaceful townsfolk begin to commit acts of violence and murder, Sheriff Alan Pangborn investigates Gaunt and becomes convinced that his machinations are the source of the unrest. Gaunt is revealed to be the Devil, traveling from place to place, manipulating people into destroying themselves. Acting primarily through a corrupt boat salesman and gambler named Danforth Keeton, Gaunt succeeds in sparking a riot in the town square.
Pangborn manages to stop the violence before the town destroys itself, and the townspeople admit their pranks, exposing Gaunt's web of manipulation. Keeton, despondent at the death of his wife earlier in the film, blows up Needful Things with Gaunt inside. Defeated, the mysteriously impervious Gaunt emerges completely unharmed from the burning wreckage of his store, predicts he will encounter Pangborn's grandson in 2053, exclaims "Bob will be his name", and departs, presumably to continue his vicious, evil work. He leaves in the same sinister black car (revealed as similarly supernaturally indestructible in the extended cut), in which he arrived at the beginning of the film.
Cast
- Max von Sydow as Leland Gaunt/The Devil
- Ed Harris as Sheriff Alan J. Pangborn
- Bonnie Bedelia as Polly Chalmers
- Amanda Plummer as Netitia 'Nettie' Cobb
- J. T. Walsh as Danforth 'Buster' Keeton III
- Ray McKinnon as Deputy Norris Ridgewick
- Valri Bromfield as Wilma Wadlowski Jerzyck
- Shane Meier as Brian Rusk
- William Morgan Sheppard - Father Meehan
- Don S. Davis - Reverend Rose
Differences from the Novel
- Danforth Keeton replaces John "Ace" Merrill, who was Gaunt's helper in the novel and does not appear in the movie.
- Most of the characters in the novel either don't appear in the movie or are much less prominently featured, undoubtedly due to time constraints.
- Brian Rusk (Gaunt's first customer) succeeds in his suicide attempt in the novel, but is said to survive in the movie.
- Polly Chalmers owns a sewing shop called the "You Sew and Sew" in the novel it is hinted that her profession caused her arthritis; in the film she is a diner owner .
- Polly Chalmers breaks the necklace in the novel and must fight the rapidly-growing spider-like creature within. In the film she merely throws it down.
- Alan J. Pangborn is in mourning for his wife and son in the novel. This plot line was dropped for the movie, as was a plot about Polly's dead son and decision to leave town when pregnant and return later.
- In the novel the sheriff refuses to give Gaunt his bag, which contains the souls of all those he has tricked into committing sins. Pangborn opens the bag and something is released and a furious Gaunt reveals his true monstrous form as he drives off.
- In the novel's end, Gaunt boards a Tucker Talisman that transforms into a medieval peddler's horse-drawn wagon and rides off into the night sky. In the movie ending, he drives a black Mercedes-Benz Type 300 limousine that mysteriously vanishes after leaving Castle Rock. Though the book ends with a premonition that Gaunt is opening yet another cursed store called "Answered Prayers" elsewhere in the U.S., the movie does not.
- In the movie, Gaunt leaves, predicting he'll meet Pangborn's grandson in the distant future. This relationship between a local law officer, his son, and a mythical antagonist was later revisited more deeply in King's Storm of the Century.
- In the novel there was a feud between Catholics and Protestents which was ignored by the movie. The feud was the reason for most of the tension and animosity between the townfolk.
References
- ^ "Official website of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.". MGM.com. 2002-08-27. http://www.mgm.com/title_clip.php?title_star=NEEDFULT. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
TV listings
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
Read more
Mentioned in
Stephen King
(American writer)
Robert Easton
(Actor, Writer, Comedy/Drama)
Max von Sydow
(Actor, Director, Drama/Adventure)
» More