Heathers

This article is about the film. For the musical adaptation, see Heathers: The Musical. For the TV series, see Heathers (TV series). For other uses, see Heather (disambiguation).

Heathers
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Lehmann
Written byDaniel Waters
Produced byDenise Di Novi
Starring
CinematographyFrancis Kenny
Edited byNorman Hollyn
Music byDavid Newman
Production
company
Cinemarque Entertainment
Distributed byNew World Pictures
Release dates
October 24, 1988 (Italy)[1]
  • January 21, 1989 (1989-01-21) (Sundance)[2]
  • March 31, 1989 (1989-03-31) (United States)[3]
Running time
103 minutes[4]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3 million[5]
Box office$1.1 million[6]

Heathers is a 1989 American teen black comedy film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts.[7][8] The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and Penelope Milford. Its plot portrays four teenage girls—three of whom are named Heather—in a clique at an Ohio high school, one of whose lives is disrupted by the arrival of a misanthrope intent on murdering the popular students and staging their deaths as suicides.[3]

Waters wrote Heathers as a spec script and originally wanted Stanley Kubrick to direct the film, out of admiration for Kubrick's own black comedy film Dr. Strangelove. Waters intended the film to contrast the optimistic teen movies of the era, particularly those written by John Hughes, by presenting a cynical depiction of high school imbued with dark satire.[9]

Filmed in Los Angeles from February to early April 1988,[10] Heathers was released theatrically in the United States on March 31, 1989. It went on to win the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, and for his screenplay, Waters received the Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.[11] It has since become popular and is regarded in polls as one of the greatest coming-of-age films, and dark comedy of all time.[12][13][14] Heathers has since been adapted into a musical and a television reboot.

  1. ^ "Good Reads: HEATHERS Edition". March 28, 2019.
  2. ^ Hicks, Christopher (January 20, 1989). "United States Film Festival". Deseret News. p. 28.
  3. ^ a b Maslin, Janet (March 31, 1989). "Review/Film; When a Not-So-Bad Girl Turns Very, Very Bad". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022.
  4. ^ "Heathers (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 26, 1989. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  5. ^ "'Heathers' Anthology Series Gets Pilot Order at TV Land". TheWrap. September 6, 2016. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Heathers (1989)". AllMovie. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  8. ^ Hyler, S. E.; Moore, J. (December 1996). "Teaching Psychiatry? Let Hollywood Help!" (PDF). Academic Psychiatry. 20 (4): 213–214. doi:10.1007/BF03341883. ISSN 1042-9670. PMID 24442743. S2CID 43706355.
  9. ^ Myers, Scott (May 22, 2016). "Interview: Daniel Waters on "Heathers"". Go into the Story. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  10. ^ "Dan Waters' feature film slated for early-fall release". The South Bend Tribune. April 17, 1988. p. 38.
  11. ^ "Edgar Awards 2014: Congrats to Winners". Paul-Levine.com. May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  12. ^ "25 Essential Cult Movies". EW.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021.
  13. ^ "50 Best High School Movies". Entertainment Weekly. August 28, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  14. ^ "The 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time". Empire. October 3, 2008. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2017.