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• Trivia (22)
• Plot Description
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Release Date
• USA: Mar 9, 1990
DVD Release Date
• R1: Dec 11, 2001
MPAA Rating
R
Running Time
1 hour, 49 minutes
Country USA, Germany
Studio Bioskop, Cinecom Pictures, Cinetudes Film Productions, Odyssey Pictures, Warner Brothers
More info on IMDb.com
Other Titles
• The Handmaid's Tale
• Die Geschichte der Dienerin (1990)
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Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalypse, Fantasy, Futuristic, Escape
Plot: Based on Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, THE HANDMAID'S TALE presents a harrowing vision of (as the film's opening legend reads) "the very near future." In Gilead, formerly the United States, a series of ecological disasters rendering most women infertile has been followed by a coup d’état by puritanical right-wing fundamentalists. Attempting to escape the increasingly unjust and brutal oligarchy, Kate (Natasha Richardson) is captured by border guards while her husband is killed and her daughter lost. Because she is fertile, Kate is sent for training as a handmaid, where she meets the defiant Moira (Elizabeth McGovern). Kate then becomes handmaid to the Commander (Robert Duvall) and is forced to enact a ceremony, based on the biblical story of Rachel, in which she lies between the Commander and his infertile wife, Serena Joy (Faye Dunaway), so he can impregnate her. The ceremony leaves Serena Joy angry, the Commander unfulfilled, and Kate humiliated, rebellious, and desperate for freedom. The splendid performance of the ensemble cast is highlighted by McGovern's wrenching turn as the disaffected "gender traitor." Celebrated playwright Harold Pinter supplies a stark, affecting screenplay for director Volker Schlöndorff (THE TIN DRUM), who retains all the sting of Atwood's
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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| Written by |
| Harold Pinter
The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Tailor of Panama, Mansfield Park |
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| Cast |
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 | Faye Dunaway
Chinatown, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc |
 | Aidan Quinn
Legends of the Fall, Practical Magic, Frankenstein |
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 | Robert Duvall
The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, Apocalypse Now |
 | Traci Lind
The Road to Wellville, The End of Violence, Fright Night Part II |
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[more] |
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Movie Database
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