Passes the Bechdel test

Stardust

Name: Stardust
Released: 2007

2007. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn and Neil Gaiman.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
9 women characters. 8 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 11 scenes out of 155.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

The film

The passage from this world to the fantasy kingdom of Stormhold is through a breach in a wall beside an English village. In the 1800s, a boy becomes a man when he ventures through the breach in pursuit of a fallen star, to prove his love for the village beauty. The star is no lump of rock, it's a maiden, Yvaine. Tristan, the youth, is not the only one looking for her: three witches, led by Lamia, want her heart to make them young; and, the sons of the dead king of Stormhold want her because she holds a ruby that will give one of them title to the throne. Assisting Tristan are his mother, the victim of a spell, and a cross-dressing pirate of the skies. Will Tristan win his true love?

Released: 10 Aug 2007
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.6 / 10
Metascore: 66 / 100
Awards: 5 wins & 11 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Tristan 183 lines, man
Yvaine 118 lines, woman
Lamia 58 lines, woman
Septimus 39 lines, man
Captain 35 lines
Victoria 31 lines, woman
Primus 30 lines, man
Sal 30 lines, woman
Slave Girl 26 lines, woman
Dunstan 25 lines, man

Full cast, 45 people

Charlie Cox as Tristan Thorn
Claire Danes as Yvaine
Michelle Pfeiffer as Lamia
Mark Strong as Septimus
Jason Flemyng as Primus
Robert De Niro as Captain Shakespeare
Sienna Miller as Victoria
Sarah Alexander as Empusa
Joanna Scanlan as Mormo
Melanie Hill as Ditchwater Sal
Mark Heap as Tertius
Rupert Everett as Secundus
David Walliams as Sextus
Adam Buxton as Quintus
Julian Rhind-Tutt as Quartus
Peter O'Toole as King
Kate Magowan as Una / Slave Girl
Jake Curran as Bernard
David Kelly as Guard
Nathaniel Parker as Dunstan Thorn
Ricky Gervais as Ferdy the Fence
Dexter Fletcher as Skinny Pirate
Henry Cavill as Humphrey
Mark Williams as Billy
Olivia Grant as Girl Bernard
Ian McKellen as Narrator (voice)
Ben Barnes as Young Dunstan Thorn
Bimbo Hart as Young Scientist
Alastair MacIntosh as Victorian Academic
Darby Hawker as Grumpy Customer
Frank Ellis as Mr. Monday
Struan Rodger as Bishop
George Innes as Soothsayer
Grant Burgin as Lackey
Eliot Sumner as Yvaine's Sister
Terry Murphy as Old Pirate
Geoff Bell as Receptionist
Mark Burns as New Bishop
Rab Affleck as Pirate
Carlos Peres as Pirate
Elwin 'Chopper' David as Pirate
Adam Fogerty as Pirate
Jordan Long as Pirate
Spencer Wilding as Pirate
Philip Harvey as Bishop's Assistant

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 8% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 155

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

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 4	0	8
5 to 8	10	7
9 to 12	7	13
13 to 16	5	8
17 to 20	18	21
21 to 24	14	7
25 to 28	0	23
29 to 32	11	24
33 to 36	16	10
37 to 40	13	21
41 to 44	22	19
45 to 48	5	18
49 to 52	0	6
53 to 56	0	11
57 to 60	2	9
61 to 64	8	7
65 to 68	9	5
69 to 72	11	3
73 to 76	3	10
77 to 80	8	6
81 to 84	10	8
85 to 88	7	21
89 to 92	4	10
93 to 96	1	2
97 to 100	2	9
101 to 104	11	7
105 to 108	1	3
109 to 112	18	15
113 to 116	13	3
117 to 120	9	14
121 to 124	0	8
125 to 128	7	6
129 to 132	3	2
133 to 136	11	8
137 to 140	11	4
141 to 144	4	0
145 to 148	0	12
149 to 152	18	14
153 to 155	5	5

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.

SAL: Who goes there? What do you want with me, a poor old flower seller? A harmless old biddy. A sweet old - LAMIA: Oh do shut up. I know what you are. And I swear by the ordinances of the sisterhood to which we belong that I mean you no harm. I wish to sh… SAL: Oh. Well. one can never be too careful. Sit down. I'll get us a pot of tea. SAL: So, stranger. What's it to be? Heads or tails?

SAL: A woman after my own heart, you are. I always choose heads. Luscious eyes and brains. Nice crispy ears. Don't mind me, though, nothing but d… SAL: How is it? LAMIA: Perfectly palatable. SAL: My very own recipe.

LAMIA: Goodness me, come in out of this wretched rain, my dear. We have food and drink. A warm bed. Plenty of hot water for a bath. YVAINE: A bath? I've never had one of those. LAMIA: Never had a bath1? Why it's a treat you'll enjoy, my love, on a cold night like this. It'll make your heart glow.

LAMIA: Now I'm only a simple inn-keepers wife, but I've been told I have a healers hands. I'd be glad to give you a massage. YVAINE: What's a massage? LAMIA: You've never ••• ? Well, bless my soul. Nothing like a massage to send you off for the finest and deepest night's sleep. YVAINE: I do have trouble sleeping at night ••.

LAMIA: Billy1 Get him1 YVAINE: Nol Put me downl We have to help himl

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 43 are women's.

297 lines from women, 387 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

9 women and 33 men in the cast. 8 women and 23 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 11 of 743. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 46 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 48% of the words (5,236), men 52% (5,779). Women have 43% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn (man)
Written by: Matthew Vaughn (man), Jane Goldman (woman)
From the novel by: Neil Gaiman (man)
Produced by: Michael Dreyer (man), Chantal Feghali (gender not listed), Matthew Vaughn (man), Lorenzo di Bonaventura (man), Neil Gaiman (man)
Shot by: Ben Davis (man)
Edited by: Jon Harris (man)
Music by: Ilan Eshkeri (man)
Production design by: Gavin Bocquet (man)
Costumes by: Sammy Sheldon (woman)
Cast by: Lucinda Syson (woman)