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IMDb > The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 110 | slideshow) Videos (see all 44)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) -- Benjamin Button (Pitt) was born under unusual circumstances. As everyone around him grew older, he aged backwards, making the challenges of life such as creating friendships, finding a job and falling in love all the more difficult and heartbreaking.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) -- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - "Under the Table" Clip
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) -- Wanna see Erin in a dress? Markos in a suit? Claire making a cake? Check out the action at the semi-formal.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) -- Trailer for this film about a man who grows backwards
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) -- Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 9% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
David Fincher
Writers (WGA):
Eric Roth (screenplay)
Eric Roth (screen story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 December 2008 (USA) more
Tagline:
Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments more
Plot:
Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 3 Oscars. Another 28 wins & 66 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(1376 articles)
Aaron Sorkin Provides Relief to ‘Moneyball’
 (From newsinfilm. 10 July 2009, 6:41 PM, PDT)

Producers Look At Button Technology To Age Potter Kids
 (From WENN. 9 July 2009, 6:31 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
very affecting film more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Benjamin Button (USA) (working title)
The Curious Case (International: English title) (informal short title)
more
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking.
Runtime:
166 min
Country:
USA
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Filming Locations:
Burbank, California, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The look that David Fincher, visual-effects supervisor Eric Barba and special makeup-effects artist Greg Cannom devised for Benjamin as a child resemble the later stages of progeria, a condition technically named Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, a rare disease that makes its young sufferers appear aged. Those who didn't attend medical school may be most familiar with it from the Ralph Macchio TV movie The Three Wishes of Billy Grier (1984) (TV). And Robin Williams had a fictional version of progeria in Jack (1996). more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: Benjamin is sailing his father's sailboat on Lake Pontchartrain about 1962. It is a classic wooden vessel correct for the time period but has been outfitted with modern Harken brand ball bearing blocks (pulleys) that hadn't been invented yet. Harken blocks were introduced in 1968 for small racing dinghies. The type needed for a keel boat of that size weren't marketed until the early 70s. more
Quotes:
Benjamin Button: What if I told you that instead of gettin' older, I was gettin' younger than everybody else? more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Parks and Recreation: Rock Show (#1.6)" (2009) more
Soundtrack:
THAT'S HOW RHYTHM WAS BORN more

FAQ

Is this movie based on a book?
Is it possible to read Fitzgerald's story online?
How similar is the film to "Forrest Gump"?
more
363 out of 570 people found the following comment useful:-
very affecting film, 11 December 2008
10/10
Author: Kent Smith from Los Angeles

I just saw Benjamin Buttons in a preview and left it very moved. It certainly was not the film I was expecting to see. The characters and story hit at a deep level.

The distractions to the astonishing tale are mostly technical -- the level of art direction is so high that it sometimes almost pulls you out of the plot. Scenes in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, particularly, are exquisitely mounted and detailed at a level I've never before seen in a movie. Vast scenes are mounted -- war scenes, events in cities and towns with huge numbers of celebrants, exteriors on the sea, in the snow, in wonderful old towns with every detail in place, leaving you -- or me, at least -- utterly dazzled.

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are outstanding character actors, though they're invariably positioned as Hollywood glamour figures. That's just a distraction; they're terrific technical actors, capable of a great range of characters and complex scenes. And they're both tremendously empathetic: one feels what they're depicting. There's nothing magical about that, they're just highly skilled, and thoroughly deserve the positions they've achieved in the film world. This title was made for them: complicated, filled with inner contradictions, and of course there's the age range -- we see their lives spanning decades.

Indicative of the careful and detailed production is the way, early on, that historic scenes are presented. Rather than simply cutting back to earlier times, the film presents scenes from the teens and early 20's as though they were old movies, complete with erratic exposure and scratched emulsion. BUT they are in (rather washed-out) color. It works. You feel as though you are seeing authentic moments from a much earlier time.

I saw the film with a friend who works in the effects industry. His first comments at the end had to do with the high level of digital work, as well as its pervasive use. Yet I think few viewers will even be aware that the film is absolutely filled with visual effects. That there is a truly ancient old man (near the beginning) walking around with Brad Pitt's features, certain suggests some visual magic. But it's far more subtle than anything most films have presented. Generally the effects don't call attention to themselves. They simply anchor the film in an earlier time, and you buy the fact that, somehow, you're seeing the world as it was long ago, at a far deeper level than sets and costumes provide.

Only time will tell, but it seems to me that this is a film that will be watched for a very long time.

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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I really, REALLY wanted to like this movie, but it was AWFUL!! ivee489
What a glorious waste of potential dmckinley1
The DVD should come with a cyanide pill. Harold_of_Whoa
did this movie put anyone else... skatinnun123
One thing I didn't understand... citizenx3
The True Meaning of this Film jewer3303
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