Needful Things

1993
R
2h 1m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

28K

YOUR RATING

Theatrical Trailer from Columbia Pictures

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1 Video

38 Photos

Crime Drama Fantasy Horror Thriller

A mysterious new shop opens in a small town which always seems to stock the deepest desires of each shopper, with a price far heavier than expected.A mysterious new shop opens in a small town which always seems to stock the deepest desires of each shopper, with a price far heavier than expected.A mysterious new shop opens in a small town which always seems to stock the deepest desires of each shopper, with a price far heavier than expected.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

28K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 7 nominations

Videos1

Trailer 2:00

Needful Things

Photos38

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
This was the feature film debut for director Fraser C. Heston, who had played the infant Moses in The Ten Commandments (1956). During the filming, he took Max von Sydow (who played Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)) aside to discuss how he would play the upcoming scene. One observer noted, "That's something you don't see every day - Moses telling Jesus how to play the devil."

Goofs
One man buys a first edition, signed copy of "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson. In later scenes, he and the little girl who stole it refer to the title as "Huck Finn" by Mark Twain. In the video and DVD release, his words are dubbed over to correct the mistake. On the television broadcast, the mistake was not corrected. This is an audio mismatch and a continuity error, depending on which version you saw.

Quotes
[after Buster drives himself and Gaunt into Gaunt's shop and blows it up, Gaunt emerges from the ruins, completely unscathed]
Leland Gaunt: [stepping through the debris] Oh... you know, there are days I really hate this job. This is not my best work, not by a long shot. Oh, sure, a few murders and a couple of rather lovely explosions. I would hardly call it a rousing success, but what the hell? I'll be back.
[to Alan]
Leland Gaunt: In the meantime, you and Polly, you are two terrific kids, and you'll marry her. Trust me. She's a lovely girl, Alan. You'll have a wonderful family. Oh, by the way, give my regards to your grandson. Bob will be his name, international trade his game. I'll see him in Jakarta. 2053, August 14th, 10 a.m. A nice, sunny day. We'll make headlines.

Alternate versions
On May 22, 1996, the TBS network aired a 187-minute extended edition. The extra footage includes more of the citizens of Castle Rock and their lives, namely the character of Cora Rusk, played by Lisa Blount, shown only in passing in the current version.

Connections
Featured in Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater: Viki Williamson Night (1995)

Soundtracks
Achy Breaky Heart
Written by Don Von Tress
Performed by Billy Ray Cyrus
Courtesy of Mercury/Nashville
By Arrangement with PolyGram Special Markets

User reviews130

Review

Featured review

7/10

A hilarious dark comedy and maybe the most underrated movie ever

There's just nothing wrong with this movie, really. It's a rare case where critics absolutely blew it. It has a great plot idea, great actors and is generally entertaining as hell, even after having watched it four times or more.

Much of the criticism doesn't make any sense to me. Someone wrote that the town was ugly from the beginning. Well, otherwise it would be way less realistic. Gaunt used the ugly stuff that was already there to destroy the place and it's citizens, that's what Ed Harris' whole soliloquy at the end was all about. Some critics say it's unpleasant and depressing. I just don't see how. Don't watch any movies about say war then, if this is too dark or too ugly for you. What the hell. Personally i laughed a great deal. It's not a master piece by any means, but a good dark comedy. A fun little movie.