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The Handmaid's Tale

  • 1990
  • R
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
12K
YOUR RATING
Natasha Richardson in The Handmaid's Tale (1990)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:15
4 Videos
99+ Photos
Dystopian Sci-FiDramaRomanceSci-FiThriller

Under a dystopian religious tyranny, most women cannot conceive children. Those young women who can live in a form of sexual slavery to provide children for influential families.Under a dystopian religious tyranny, most women cannot conceive children. Those young women who can live in a form of sexual slavery to provide children for influential families.Under a dystopian religious tyranny, most women cannot conceive children. Those young women who can live in a form of sexual slavery to provide children for influential families.

  • Director
    • Volker Schlöndorff
  • Writers
    • Margaret Atwood
    • Harold Pinter
  • Stars
    • Natasha Richardson
    • Faye Dunaway
    • Aidan Quinn
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.0/10
    12K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Volker Schlöndorff
    • Writers
      • Margaret Atwood
      • Harold Pinter
    • Stars
      • Natasha Richardson
      • Faye Dunaway
      • Aidan Quinn
    • 85User reviews
    • 42Critic reviews
    • 53Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 1 nomination total

    Videos4

    The Handmaid's Tale
    Trailer 2:15
    The Handmaid's Tale
    The Handmaid's Tale
    Clip 1:56
    The Handmaid's Tale
    The Handmaid's Tale
    Clip 1:56
    The Handmaid's Tale
    The Handmaid's Tale: The Ceremony
    Clip 2:14
    The Handmaid's Tale: The Ceremony
    The Handmaid's Tale: Aunt Lydia
    Clip 1:49
    The Handmaid's Tale: Aunt Lydia

    Photos170

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    Top cast49

    Edit
    Natasha Richardson
    Natasha Richardson
    • Kate
    Faye Dunaway
    Faye Dunaway
    • Serena Joy
    Aidan Quinn
    Aidan Quinn
    • Nick
    Elizabeth McGovern
    Elizabeth McGovern
    • Moira
    Victoria Tennant
    Victoria Tennant
    • Aunt Lydia
    Robert Duvall
    Robert Duvall
    • Commander
    Blanche Baker
    Blanche Baker
    • Ofglen
    Traci Lind
    Traci Lind
    • Ofwarren…
    Zoey Wilson
    • Aunt Helena
    Kathryn Doby
    • Aunt Elizabeth
    Reiner Schöne
    Reiner Schöne
    • Luke
    • (as Rainer Schoene)
    Lucia Hartpeng
    Lucia Hartpeng
    • Cora
    Karma Ibsen Riley
    • Aunt Sara
    Lucile McIntyre
    • Rita
    Gary Bullock
    Gary Bullock
    • Officer on Bus
    Allison Holmes
    • June
    J. Michael Hunter
    • Preacher
    Robert D. Raiford
    • Dick
    • (as Robert Raiford)
    • Director
      • Volker Schlöndorff
    • Writers
      • Margaret Atwood
      • Harold Pinter
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews85

    6.011.9K
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    Featured reviews

    5mjneu59

    unconvincing dystopian fable

    There's nothing subtle about this screen adaptation of Margaret Atwood's cautionary fable, but the premise is nothing if not provocative: in a repressive fundamentalist dictatorship (called Gilead, but ostensibly America in the near future) the few remaining fertile women are forced to bear children, in effect becoming sexual servants to the (male) powers-that-be. Gilead may be colored red, white and blue, but there's more than a passing resemblance to Orwell's Oceana; even the act of conception is reduced to a ritual, with the euphemism 'ceremony' doubling for intercourse. A talented cast does its best with Harold Pinter's typically inscrutable screenplay, but under Volker Schlondorff's dispassionate direction the film never achieves a convincing level of oppression or paranoia. Worse, it lacks a story to match its scenario; the handmaid Offred's redemption is achieved only with the help of another man, which seems to deflate the feminist slant. The final result is nowhere near a successful movie, but never less than a fascinating failure.
    6preppy-3

    Very disturbing and depressing

    This is a nightmare vision of the future. It seems 1 out of every 100 women is fertile (for some reason). The ones who aren't perform slave labor. The ones that are are "sold" off to rich families where they have sex with the husband to produce a baby. Kate (the late and missed Natasha Richardson) is one such servant to Serena Joy (Faye Dunaway) and her husband the Commander (Robert Duvall). Kate wants out--but it seems there's no way.

    The synopsis only scratches the surface of a VERY dark and disturbing movie. It slowly shows how women are treated and used and it just gets more horrifying as it unfolds. The parallels to Hitler's Nazi Germany are fairly obvious but here we have barren women instead of Jews and gays. The good acting by everybody makes this hard to shake off. Aidan Quinn (as Nick) and Duvall are OK; Victoria Tennant is chilling as a leader of the camps; Elizabeth McGovern is just great as a fellow prisoner who befriends Kate; Dunaway is also very good in her role. Best of all is Richardson. This couldn't have been an easy role but she pulls it off beautifully. She died at far too young an age. This is basically an unknown movie and it's easy to see why--it's far too dark and disturbing for a general audience. However the ending is (sort of) uplifting (and changed from the book). Grim, dark and depressing. View it at your own risk. The ceremony sequences are almost impossible to watch and shocked the hell out of me the first time I saw this.
    csagne

    An honest attempt

    I finally watched this after watching the TV show and if anything, it shows that some books should not be adapted unless there is enough time to tell the story.

    The film tries to feature the key moments that the TV show had time to bring up, and 90 minutes (or so) simply isn't enough.

    The casting is flawed on several characters, like many reviewers point at, and the script feels rushed, which of course creates the feeling that the story progresses without any logic.

    Nonetheless you will find some scenes are really good, and in fact, those same scenes found their way into the TV show.

    The atmosphere of the book is well conveyed, I just wish they had had more time, which the largely superior TV show had.

    Watch this for reference after reading the book, after watching the show : great books can make awesome TV shows but poor films sometimes.
    8ddelamaide

    Startling visual impact

    The handmaids in brilliant red, the wives in electric blue, the children in white--Margaret Atwood's neo-fascist state comes startingly alive in Schloendorff's film. The bright colors are oppressive in their uniformity, whether in the "ceremony"--Robert Duvall's passionless copulation with Natasha Richardson as she lies in the lap of his sterile wife, Faye Dunaway--or in the party to celebrate the birth of a handmaid's child, or the execution of another handmaid for fornication. There are several fine actors--Elizabeth McGovern and Aidan Quinn also play memorable, if brief, roles--but the cinematography steals the show here, giving this anti-Utopia the same oppressive tension as the original 1984 and far surpassing any version of Brave New World. It may be that Atwood's book, which I haven't read, adds layers of depth to the characters and plot, but Schloendorff's visualisation is a real enhancement to the tale. He creates the tension of a police state with only momentary intrusions of brutality or machinery. A strong film that will gain its following with time.
    5Mr. Frog

    Harold Pinter cheapens Atwood

    An unfortunate movie which is definitely more like Harold Pinter's earlier plays than anything Margaret Atwood ever produced. No attempt is made to bring out Atwood's clever social message, and we're all supposed to be shocked at the sexual content. A shame, because Atwood's version might have made a good film.

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    Related interests

    Clive Owen and Clare-Hope Ashitey in Children of Men (2006)
    Dystopian Sci-Fi
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi
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    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      While working on the film, Robert Duvall became so fascinated with evangelism that it inspired him to write The Apostle (1997).
    • Goofs
      When Moira ties up Aunt Lydia and escapes the Red Center, it is late at night, but moments later, when she exits, it is clearly daytime.
    • Quotes

      Moira: What they get you for?

      Kate: We tried to cross the border. You?

      Moira: Gender Treachery. I like girls.

      Kate: My God! They could've sent you to the colonies for that.

      Moira: They don't send you to the colonies if your ovaries are still jumping.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Joe Versus the Volcano/The Handmaid's Tale/Bad Influence/Coupe De Ville/Love at Large (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Whispering Hope
      Written by Septimus Winner as Alice Hawthorne

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    FAQ20

    • How long is The Handmaid's Tale?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 9, 1990 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Germany
    • Official site
      • arabuloku.com
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El cuento de la doncella
    • Filming locations
      • James Adams Buchanan House, 1810 Cedar St, Durham, North Carolina, USA(Commander Fred's house)
    • Production companies
      • Bioskop Film
      • Cinecom Entertainment Group
      • Cinétudes Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $4,960,385
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $738,578
      • Mar 11, 1990
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,960,385
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 48m(108 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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