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Passes the Bechdel test

12 Monkeys

1996. Directed by Terry Gilliam, written by Chris Marker and David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    13 women characters. 9 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 3 scenes out of 174.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

Poster for 12 Monkeys

The film

James Cole, a prisoner of the state in the year 2035, can earn parole if he agrees to travel back in time and thwart a devastating plague. The virus has wiped out most of the Earth's population and the remainder live underground because the air is poisonous. Returning to the year 1990, six years before the start of the plague, Cole is soon imprisoned in a psychiatric facility because his warnings sound like mad ravings. There he meets a scientist named Dr. Kathryn Railly and Jeffrey Goines, the mad son of an eminent virologist. Cole is returned by the authorities to the year 2035, and finally ends up at his intended destination in 1996. He kidnaps Dr. Railly in order to enlist her help in his quest. Cole discovers graffiti by an apparent animal rights group called the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, but as he delves into the mystery, he hears voices, loses his bearings, and doubts his own sanity. He must figure out if Goines, who seems to be a raving lunatic, holds the key to the puzzle.

Released
05 Jan 1996
Genres
Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated
R
IMDb
8 / 10
Metascore
75 / 100
Awards
Nominated for 2 Oscars. 11 wins & 25 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Cole 231 lines, man
  2. Railly 191 lines, woman
  3. Jeffrey 76 lines, man
  4. Astrophysicist 25 lines, woman
  5. Raspy Voice 20 lines, man
  6. Fale 19 lines, man
  7. Dr. Mason 15 lines, man
  8. Botanist 14 lines
  9. Dr. Fletcher 14 lines, man
  10. Microbiologist 14 lines, man
Full cast, 68 people
  • Bruce Willis as James Cole
  • Madeleine Stowe as Dr. Kathryn Railly
  • Brad Pitt as Jeffrey Goines
  • Christopher Plummer as Dr. Goines
  • David Morse as Dr. Peters
  • Jon Seda as Jose
  • Christopher Meloni as Lt. Halperin
  • Joey Perillo as Detective Franki
  • LisaGay Hamilton as Teddy
  • Matt Ross as Bee
  • Annie Golden as Woman Cabbie
  • Michael Chance as Scarface
  • H. Michael Walls as Botanist
  • Bob Adrian as Geologist
  • Bill Raymond as Microbiologist
  • Ernest Abuba as Engineer
  • Nell Johnson as Ward Nurse
  • Rozwill Young as Billings
  • Joseph Melito as Young Cole
  • Frank Gorshin as Dr. Fletcher
  • Aaron Michael Lacey as WWI Sergeant
  • Vernon Campbell as Tiny
  • Simon Jones as Zoologist
  • Carol Florence as Astrophysicist / Jones
  • Irma St. Paule as Poet
  • Frederick Strother as L.J. Washington
  • Charles Techman as Professor
  • Rick Warner as Dr. Casey
  • Anthony 'Chip' Brienza as Dr. Goodin
  • Bruce Kirkpatrick as Policeman No. 1
  • Wilfred Williams as Policeman No. 2
  • Joilet Harris as Harassed Mother
  • Drucie McDaniel as Waltzing Woman Patient
  • John Blaisse as Old Man Patient
  • Louis Lippa as Patient at Gate
  • Stan Kang as X-Ray Doctor
  • Pat Dias as WWI Captain
  • Felix Pire as Fale
  • Karl Warren as Pompous Man
  • Joseph McKenna as Wallace
  • Stephen Bridgewater as Airport Detective
  • Ray Huffman as Plump Businessman
  • Charley Scalies as Impatient Traveler
  • Paul Meshejian as Detective Dalva
  • Kevin Thigpen as Kweskin
  • Jann Ellis as Marilou
  • Michael Ryan Segal as Weller
  • Korchenko as Thug No. 1
  • Robert O'Neill as Wayne
  • Harry O'Toole as Louie / Raspy Voice
  • Chuck Jeffreys as Thug No. 2
  • Barry Price as Agent No. 1
  • John Panzarella as Agent No. 2
  • Janet Zappala as Anchorwoman
  • Lisa Talerico as Ticket Agent
  • Tiffany Baldwin as Student in Airport (uncredited)
  • C.J. Byrnes as Psychiatric Patient (uncredited)
  • Tom Detrik as FBI Agent (uncredited)
  • Joe Gerety as Sprayer (uncredited)
  • Bonnie Loev as Time Portal Nurse (uncredited)
  • Raymond Mamrak as Travler (uncredited)
  • Allelon Ruggiero as Inpatient (uncredited)
  • Thang as Monkey Member (uncredited)
  • Sal Mazzotta as Prisoner Joey (uncredited)
  • Bart the Bear as Bear
  • Donald Faison as Psychiatric Prisoner (uncredited)
  • Richard Stanley as Man in Transit Lounge (uncredited)
  • Crispian Sallis as Man (Uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 14% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 174

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 406
5 to 800
9 to 1200
13 to 1600
17 to 20729
21 to 242829
25 to 28240
29 to 32720
33 to 36130
37 to 4044
41 to 44721
45 to 48425
49 to 5297
53 to 5669
57 to 60710
61 to 6420
65 to 681014
69 to 7239
73 to 761428
77 to 801010
81 to 84314
85 to 88026
89 to 9210
93 to 9600
97 to 10001
101 to 10400
105 to 10800
109 to 1121813
113 to 1161420
117 to 120622
121 to 124110
125 to 128716
129 to 132912
133 to 1361719
137 to 14012
141 to 144115
145 to 148724
149 to 15202
153 to 15623
157 to 160165
161 to 16442
165 to 168216
169 to 172930
173 to 17412

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
MARILOU: You were great. RAILLY: You're leaving? MARILOU: The reservation's at nine thirty -- it's getting late.
RAILLY: No -- I'm in a state of hyper- alertness. I can't sleep. MARILOU: Did you take the sedative? RAILLY: I hate those things. They mess my head up.
TICKET AGENT: Don't see a lot of this... cash. RAILLY: It's...a long story. TICKET AGENT: They'll begin boarding in about twenty minutes. Have a nice flight, Mrs. Simmons.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 32 are women's.

250 lines from women, 535 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

13 women and 51 men in the cast. 9 women and 30 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 23 of 915. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 51 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 28% of the words (3,105), men 72% (7,991). Women have 32% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 10 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 9% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Terry Gilliam (man)
Written by
David Webb Peoples (man), Janet Peoples (woman)
Produced by
Charles Roven (man)
Shot by
Roger Pratt (man)
Edited by
Mick Audsley (man)
Music by
Paul Buckmaster (man)
Production design by
Jeffrey Beecroft (man)
Costumes by
Julie Weiss (woman)
Cast by
Margery Simkin (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    0 women, 19 men, 36 not listed

  • Production

    2 women, 9 men, 15 not listed

  • Art

    0 women, 11 men, 14 not listed

  • Sound

    0 women, 10 men, 8 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 9 men, 6 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    2 women, 3 men, 7 not listed

  • Lighting

    0 women, 4 men, 5 not listed

  • Visual Effects

    0 women, 1 men, 7 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 34 on average. Men: 38 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

LisaGay Hamilton 31, Madeleine Stowe 37

Men

Jon Seda 25, Matt Ross 25, Brad Pitt 32, Christopher Meloni 34, Bruce Willis 40, David Morse 42, Joey Perillo 43, Christopher Plummer 66

Exhibit H: the money

It made 5.8 times what it cost.

Budget
$29 million
Box office
$169 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 174 scenes and 915 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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