A Nightmare on Elm Street
If Nancy doesn't wake up screaming, she won't wake up at all!
Country
Production
Genre
Budget
$1 800 000
Revenue
$25 504 513
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Robert Shaye, John Burrows, Sara Risher, Stanley Dudelson, Joseph Wolf
Operator
Jacques Haitkin
Composer
Charles Bernstein
Artist
Gregg Fonseca
Audition
Annette Benson
Editing
Patrick McMahon, Rick Shaine, Amy Rabins
All team (58)
All team (58)
Short description
Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming the scene where Nancy takes a bath lasted twelve hours.
- The film sequence where Nancy Thompson fights Freddy Krueger in the real world ranked third in Play.com's Japanese edition's "Scariest Moments in Cinema" ranking.
- The original Freddy glove was also used in the second film, but was then lost. According to DVD commentary, the original glove can be spotted in "Evil Dead 2" (1987).
- About 200 actresses auditioned for the role of Nancy Thompson, including Jennifer Grey, Demi Moore, Courteney Cox, and Tracy Gold.
- ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ was the first film shot at New Line Cinema. Before that, New Line was a distributor of films from other studios.
- During filming, the film's distributor terminated its contract with New Line. As a result, the crew worked for two weeks without pay until a new distributor was found. Throughout this period of financial uncertainty, no one left the project.
- The actor credited as Rod Lane in the film's credits is named Nick Corri. However, this actor is widely known as Hsu Garcia.
- In the scene where Glen (Johnny Depp) dies, a poster for the Rush album 'Grace Under Pressure' is hanging above his bed.
- Nancy's bathtub was hermetically installed atop a special tank built into the floor, with a cutout section for the tub.
- In her room, after nearly being killed in the bathroom, Nancy looks at her reflection in the mirror and exclaims, "Oh my God, I look twenty years old." Many critics found this line quite amusing, noting that Heather Langenkamp was twenty at the time of filming. However, according to commentary on the DVD, Heather says she was 18 or 19 years old then.
- Initially, Freddy Krueger's appearance was intended to be even more gruesome and repulsive. For example, his teeth could be seen through the thin skin of his jaw, and the bones of his skull were supposed to be visible… However, the filmmakers had to abandon this concept because such an appearance could not be created with makeup, and the technology of the time did not allow for the use of believable special effects.
- According to Wes Craven, the idea for the film came to him after he read several newspaper articles about a group of young Cambodians who died from terrible nightmares. The young people suffered from nightmares and refused to sleep for as long as possible. When they finally fell asleep from exhaustion, they woke up with wild screams and died of a heart attack.
- According to Wes Craven, he named Freddy Krueger after a boy who bullied him in school. Wes created Freddy's appearance based on a disfigured homeless man who frightened him as a child.
- Johnny Depp ended up auditioning for the film completely by chance, having come along with a friend. Upon seeing Johnny, Craven suggested he read for the role of Glen.
- To stay awake, Nancy watches "The Evil Dead" (1981). However, she isn't watching the film itself, but rather, most likely, a theatrical trailer.
- Wes Craven's wife, Mimi Craven, played the nurse who is present during the "examination" of Nancy's dreams.
- Wes Craven specifically chose a red and green striped sweater for Freddy because he had read somewhere that the human eye finds it difficult to perceive these colors together.
- On April 4, 2007, a British man, Jason Moore, was sentenced to prison after attacking his friend with a clawed glove very similar to the one worn by Freddy. According to psychiatrists, the thirty-seven-year-old Moore was simply obsessed with Freddy and his bloody deeds. He had watched the film many times, even immediately before the attack. The detective investigating the case stated that Moore's weapon was "the most terrifying weapon he had ever seen."
- Viewers may notice the words "Elm Street" only in the opening and closing credits. The phrase is never spoken throughout the film.
- Freddy's original glove was also used in the second film, but was subsequently lost. According to the DVD commentary, the original glove can be seen in the movie 'Evil Dead II' (1987).
- According to Wes Craven, he named Freddy Krueger after a guy who bullied him in school. Wes based Freddy's appearance on a disfigured homeless man who had frightened him as a child.
- When Freddy Krueger pursues Nancy, she tries to escape him up the stairs, but steps into some viscous substance. According to Wes Craven, it was oatmeal; according to Jacques Etkin – whipped pancake batter; according to Heather Langenkamp, it was something rubbery.
- Wes Craven helped Sean S. Cunningham shoot some footage for "Friday the 13th" (1980). In turn, Sean shot some footage for Wes's film.
- Johnny Depp stumbled into the film's audition completely by chance, accompanying a friend. Seeing Johnny, Craven offered him to read for the role of Glen.
- Joseph Wipp, who played Sergeant Parker, later portrayed Sheriff Burke in Wes Craven's 'Scream' (1996).
- According to Wes Craven, the idea for the film came to him after reading several newspaper articles about a group of young Cambodians who died from terrible nightmares. These young people suffered from nightmares and refused to sleep for as long as possible. When they finally fell asleep from exhaustion, they would wake up screaming wildly and die of heart failure.
- When Freddy Krueger pursues Nancy, she tries to escape from him up the stairs but steps into some kind of viscous substance. According to Wes Craven, it was oatmeal; according to Jacques Etienne, it was whipped pancake batter; and according to Heather Langenkamp, it was something rubbery.
- Wes Craven helped Sean S. Cunningham shoot a few scenes for 'Friday the 13th' (1980). In turn, Sean shot a few scenes for Wes's film.
- To film the scene with the geyser of blood, filmmakers used the same rotating set that had been used for Tina's death. The room was flipped upside down, as was the camera, creating the effect of a normally positioned room. Then, several gallons of red-dyed water were poured into the room. Regular fake blood wasn't suitable for this scene, as it was impossible to create a blood geyser with it. During the filming of this scene, the room began to be flipped in the wrong direction, causing fake blood to splatter all over the set and general chaos. In addition, the electricity went out in the pavilion, and, according to Craven, the crew, covered head-to-toe in blood, spent some time in complete darkness.
- The film's script was ready as early as 1981, but no film studio was interested in producing it.
- "A Nightmare on Elm Street" was Johnny Depp's film debut.
- In the scene where Glen (Johnny Depp) dies, a poster of the band "Rush's" album "Grace Under Pressure" hangs above his bed.
- According to Englund, he was inspired by the performances of actors such as Klaus Kinski and James Cagney when creating the image of Freddy.
- Over 2000 liters of fake blood were used during the filming of the movie.
- In the final scene, the car's sunroof fell too quickly and unexpectedly for the actors, so the reaction on their faces is genuine.
- To keep herself from falling asleep, Nancy watches 'The Evil Dead' (1981). However, she isn't watching the movie itself, but most likely a theatrical trailer.
- This film saved New Line Cinema from bankruptcy. Subsequently, the studio was jokingly referred to as "the house that Freddy built."
- According to Englund, while creating the character of Freddy, he was inspired by the performances of actors such as Klaus Kinski and James Cagney.
- A torn poster for 'The Evil Dead' (1981) can be seen in the film.
- Wes Craven specifically chose a red and green sweater for Freddy because he had read somewhere that it is difficult for the human eye to perceive these colors together.
- Approximately 500 gallons of fake blood were used during the filming of the movie.
- A torn poster for "The Evil Dead" (1981) can be spotted in the film.
- In the series “Just the Ten of Us” (1988-1990), Heather Langenkamp speaks about a rusty knife on a cutting board: “It looks like something out of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street.’”
- To film the blood geyser scene, the filmmakers used the same rotating set that had been used for Tina's death scene. The room was flipped upside down, as was the camera, which created the effect of the room being in a normal position. Then, several gallons of red-dyed water were poured into the room. Ordinary stage blood was unsuitable for this scene, as it was impossible to create a blood geyser using it. During the filming of this scene, the room began to rotate in the wrong direction, resulting in fake blood splashing across the entire set and causing general chaos. Additionally, the power in the studio went out, and according to Craven, the film crew, covered in blood from head to toe, spent some time in pitch darkness.
- A deleted scene reveals that Nancy and her other friends were not the only children in their families; they had siblings who also died at the hands of Freddy.
- Nancy's bathtub was hermetically sealed on top of a special tank built into the floor, with a section cut out for the tub.
- Wes Craven originally envisioned Freddy Krueger as a 'silent' serial killer similar to Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. However, during the project's development and through numerous sequels, Freddy evolved into a maniac with a very dark sense of humor who loved to chat.
- Wes Craven originally conceived Freddy Krueger as a 'silent' serial killer similar to Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. However, during the development of the project, and thanks to numerous sequels, Freddy transformed into a maniac with a very dark sense of humor who loves to chat.
- Freddy Krueger's appearance was originally intended to be even more vile and repulsive. For example, his teeth were meant to be visible through the thin skin of his jaw, and the bones of his skull were supposed to be seen... However, the filmmakers had to abandon this concept because such a look could not be achieved with makeup, and the technology of the time did not allow for realistic special effects.
- Around 200 actresses auditioned for the role of Nancy Thompson, including Jennifer Grey, Demi Moore, Courteney Cox, and Tracy Gold.
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