Movie poster for Elephant

Elephant (2003) is a film by director Gus Van Sant, an account of a school shooting in fictional Watt High School, in Portland, Oregon. Van Sant was awarded Best Director and also the Palme d'Or prize at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for this film. Download high resolution version (825x1166, 73 KB)Elephant movie poster This is a copyrighted poster. ... Download high resolution version (825x1166, 73 KB)Elephant movie poster This is a copyrighted poster. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... Gus Van Sant Gus Van Sant Jr. ... A school massacre is an incident of attempted mass murder, involving at least one actual death, that occurs at a school. ... The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... Japanese high school students in uniform High school, or Secondary school, is the last segment of compulsory education in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan (Republic of China) (only junior high school) and the United States. ... Portland skyline. ... State nickname: Beaver State Other U.S. States Capital Salem Largest city Portland Governor Ted Kulongoski Official languages None Area 255,026 km² (9th)  - Land 248,849 km²  - Water 6,177 km² (2. ... The Palme dOr (Golden Palm) is the name of the highest prize given to a film at the Cannes Film Festival. ... The palace in which the festival takes place. ...

The title

The title is a tribute to the Alan Clarke, 1989 film for BBC, also called Elephant, which reflected on sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Van Sant similarly portrays school violence as something unfathomable, not unlike many other disturbing things in the lives of teenagers, which invite convenient explanations but ultimately frustrate analysis. See also Alan Clark, Allan Clarke. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was formed in 1927 by means of a royal charter. ... Northern Ireland is one of four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. ...

Van Sant has explained the "elephant" idea in several ways, besides the direct reference to Clarke's earlier work. It is an allusion to the proverbial "elephant in the living room", a large problem that no one talks about but everyone must find their way around as they go about their daily lives. It also invokes the Indian parable about the blind wise men who, unable to grasp the whole, interpret the elephant only in terms of the part they can comprehend: "An elephant is a tree", said the blind man who grasped the leg; "An elephant is a snake", said the one who touched the trunk; etc. Finally, during the press conference at Cannes, Van Sant mentioned that the creative staff had also experimented with allusions to certain policies and attitudes represented by the Republican Party, whose party symbol is an elephant. An Elephant in the Corner is an issue that is extremely obvious to a group of people, but which is very carefully not being discussed. ... An ill digested lesson The Governess. ... Blindness can be defined physiologically as the condition of lacking sight. ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Stegodon (extinct) Deinotherium (extinct) Mammuthus (extinct) Elephantidae (the elephants) is the only extant family in the order Proboscidea. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ...

Filming location

The movie was filmed at Whitaker Middle School in northeast Portland, Oregon; which had been closed in the summer of 2001 because of air-quality problems. For the twenty-day course of filming, the production company reopened parts of the school and used many extras to replicate the feel of an actual location. Portland skyline. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Japanese secondary school students in uniform A school is most commonly a place designated for learning. ...

North American premiere and release

Elephant premiered in North America at a benefit for a youth shelter held at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, October 4, 2003. The film was released for incremental distribution by HBO, in 100 theaters in the United States, beginning October 24. English language release on DVD and VHS began on May 4, 2004. World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Portland skyline. ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in Leap years). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... HBO logo HBO (Home Box Office) is a premium cable television network. ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... DVD is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for storing data, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... Top view VHS cassette with US Quarter for scale Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed The Video Home System, better known by its acronym VHS, is a recording and playing standard for video cassette recorders (VCRs), developed by JVC (with some of its critical technology under lucrative... May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Prior to its distribution, the film generated minor controversy and divided reviews following the Cannes debut, particularly in the gay community. In the movie the two male killers kiss one another in the shower before they dispassionately commence their Columbine-like frenzy of murder. Gay, in addition to meaning happy, also means, simplistically, preferring the same sex (i. ... The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Jefferson County near Littleton, Colorado, United States. ...

Unconventional method

Van Sant originally intended to make a film for television about the Columbine massacre, shortly after the event; the idea of a factual account was eventually dropped. The approach chosen is described by reviewers as "poetic" and "dreamlike", and by Van Sant himself as a rejection of conventional narrative, building on what he learned from work on Gerry. The script was "written" to its final form during shooting, with cast members improvising freely and collaborating in the direction of scenes. Up-and-coming gay author JT Leroy, a friend of Mr. Van Sant's (who will be directing the movie version of JT's novel, as well) was among the writers. The Columbine High School massacre occurred on April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Jefferson County near Littleton, Colorado, United States. ... Non-fiction is a truthful account or representation of a subject which is composed of facts. ... Narrative is a term which has several and changing meanings. ... Spoiler warning: Gerry is a 2002 film directed by Gus Van Sant starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. ... Gay, in addition to meaning happy, also means, simplistically, preferring the same sex (i. ... JT Leroy (JT LeRoy, Terminator), a young American author, has written two novels, Sarah and The Heart is Deceitful Above all Things and the novella Harolds End Few hard facts are known about the enigmatic author. ...

Characters

The teen actors were chosen for the parts based on interviews and their ability to improvise before the camera. Some of the characters were developed from details selected from the interviews.

• Alex - Harassed by jocks, accomplished but frustrated pianist and sketch artist. His advice to Eric: "Have fun". Performed by Alex Frost.
• Eric - Slacker, Alex's best friend and the other killer.
• John McFarland - Managing his alcoholic father, he has trouble at school
• Mr. McFarland - John's father, who is an alcoholic
• Mr. Luce - Principal of the school
• Gay-Straight Alliance - An organization at many high schools which brings open-minded people together for fun as well as more serious discussion
• Nathan & Carrie - Popular lifeguard and football player and his girlfriend
• Elias - Photography student building his portfolio with portraits of other students.
• Michelle - Ashamed of her body, the film follows her through the locker room and into the library where she assists.
• Brittany, Jordan & Nicole - Three bulimic "teenyboppers" who talk incessantly, gripe about parents and squabble with one another
• Benny - Kind and fearless student who rescues Acadia by helping her jump out of a window.
• Acadia - John McFarland's girlfriend and member of the Gay-Straight Alliance

Many of the main characters' names are in fact the same as their real-life equivalents. Some of the habits shown in the movie (aside from the shootings) are done by the real cast as well, with Eli being an actual photographer and Alex actually playing the piano during his scenes (as well as incidental music elsewhere). This article is about the modern musical instrument. ... Alex Frost playing piano on the movie Elephant Alex Frost is a young actor from Portland, Oregon. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... Lens and mounting of a large format camera Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light. ... Bulimia nervosa, more commonly known as bulimia, is a psychological condition in which the subject engages in recurrent binge eating followed by intentionally doing one or more of the following in order to compensate for the intake of the food and prevent weight gain: vomiting inappropriate use of laxatives, enemas...

See also

• Alex and Eric are fictionalized references to Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
• The movie Elephant briefly received blame for the Red Lake High School Massacre.

Eric David Harris (April 9, 1981 – April 20, 1999) and Dylan Bennet Klebold (September 11, 1981 – April 20, 1999) were the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre near Littleton, Colorado on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, murdering 12 classmates and one teacher. ... Aerial photograph taken during the aftermath of the school massacre. ...

External links

• Gus Van Sant's Elephant alludes to Columbine violence (http://www.sacticket.com/24hour/entertainment/movies/news/story/892267p-6216217c.html)
• Elephant (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363589/) at the Internet Movie Database