# What Dreams May Come

> 1998 film by Vincent Ward

**Wikidata**: [Q839434](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q839434)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Dreams_May_Come_(film))  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/what-dreams-may-come

## Summary
What Dreams May Come is a 1998 American fantasy drama film directed by Vincent Ward and starring Robin Williams. The film explores themes of love, death, and the afterlife through the story of a man who dies and journeys through heaven and hell to save his wife.

## Key Facts
- Release date: October 2, 1998 (United States)
- Director: Vincent Ward
- Lead actor: Robin Williams as Chris Nielsen
- Budget: $85 million
- Box office gross: $55,382,927
- Runtime: 113 minutes
- Production companies: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Interscope Communications
- Distributor: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (USA), Universal Pictures (international)
- Based on: 1978 novel by Richard Matheson
- Genre: Fantasy drama, romance
- Academy Award: Won Best Visual Effects (1999)
- IMDb ID: tt0120889
- Rotten Tomatoes: 52% critics score, 52% audience score
- Metacritic: 44/100

## FAQs
**What is the plot of What Dreams May Come?**
The film follows Chris Nielsen (Robin Williams), who dies in a car accident and enters the afterlife. When his wife Annie (Annabella Sciorra) commits suicide and is trapped in hell, Chris defies heavenly authorities to rescue her, journeying through various afterlife realms to save their eternal love.

**Who are the main cast members?**
The film stars Robin Williams as Chris Nielsen, Cuba Gooding Jr. as Albert Lewis, Annabella Sciorra as Annie Nielsen, Max von Sydow as The Tracker, and Rosalind Chao as Leona. The cast also includes Jessica Brooks Grant and Josh Paddock as the Nielsen children.

**What awards did the film win?**
What Dreams May Come won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 71st Academy Awards (1999). The award recognized the film's groundbreaking visual depiction of the afterlife, including its painted heaven sequences and surreal hellscapes.

**How was the film received by critics?**
The film received mixed reviews from critics, holding a 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 44/100. While praised for its visual effects and ambitious themes, many critics found the story overly sentimental and the execution uneven.

**What is the source material for the film?**
The film is based on the 1978 novel "What Dreams May Come" by Richard Matheson. The book explores similar themes of the afterlife and eternal love, though the film adaptation makes significant changes to the story and visual presentation.

## Why It Matters
What Dreams May Come matters as a visually ambitious exploration of afterlife mythology that pushed the boundaries of digital effects in the late 1990s. The film's depiction of heaven as a living painting and hell as a personalized torment represented groundbreaking visual effects work that earned it an Academy Award. Beyond its technical achievements, the film tackled profound philosophical questions about love, suicide, and the nature of existence that resonated with audiences seeking spiritual and emotional depth in mainstream cinema. Its commercial performance, while not matching its budget, demonstrated audience appetite for metaphysical storytelling in the fantasy genre.

## Notable For
- Academy Award-winning visual effects that created unprecedented depictions of heaven and hell
- Robin Williams' dramatic performance in a fantasy context, showcasing his range beyond comedy
- Groundbreaking use of digital painting techniques to create living artwork environments
- Exploration of suicide and its consequences in mainstream Hollywood cinema
- Adaptation of Richard Matheson's metaphysical novel for a mass audience
- One of the most expensive films of 1998 with a $85 million budget
- Visual effects that influenced subsequent afterlife and fantasy films
- Soundtrack featuring classical music and original score by Michael Kamen
- Production design that blended traditional painting with computer-generated imagery
- Themes of eternal love transcending death and damnation

## Body

### Production and Development
What Dreams May Come was directed by New Zealand filmmaker Vincent Ward, known for his visually distinctive films. The project was developed by Interscope Communications and produced by Stephen Simon, with a substantial budget of $85 million, making it one of the most expensive films of 1998. The screenplay was adapted from Richard Matheson's 1978 novel by Ronald Bass, who made significant changes to the source material for cinematic adaptation.

### Visual Effects and Technical Innovation
The film's visual effects were groundbreaking for their time, winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The effects team, led by Joel Hynek, created heaven as a living painting where the environment responded to the protagonist's thoughts and emotions. This was achieved through a combination of traditional painting techniques and computer-generated imagery, with artists literally painting the digital environments frame by frame. The depiction of hell was equally innovative, using surreal, expressionistic imagery to represent personalized torment rather than traditional fire-and-brimstone depictions.

### Cast and Performances
Robin Williams stars as Chris Nielsen, delivering a dramatic performance that showcased his range beyond his established comedic persona. Williams was drawn to the film's spiritual themes and the opportunity to explore profound questions about death and love. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Albert Lewis, Chris's spiritual guide in the afterlife, while Annabella Sciorra portrays Annie Nielsen, Chris's wife whose suicide creates the film's central conflict. Max von Sydow appears as The Tracker, a character who helps Chris navigate hell.

### Themes and Philosophical Content
The film explores complex themes of love, death, suicide, and the nature of the afterlife. It presents a vision of heaven as a personalized paradise created by individual consciousness, while hell is depicted as a state of mind rather than a physical location. The film's treatment of suicide is particularly notable, presenting it as a tragic choice that traps the soul in a state of perpetual torment rather than offering release. These themes were controversial at the time of release but contributed to the film's lasting impact on audiences interested in spiritual and metaphysical storytelling.

### Reception and Legacy
Upon release, What Dreams May Come received mixed critical reviews but found appreciation among audiences drawn to its visual spectacle and emotional themes. The film's box office performance of $55.4 million against its $85 million budget was considered disappointing, though it has since gained a cult following. The film's visual effects work continues to be studied and referenced in discussions of digital art and computer-generated imagery in cinema.

### Music and Soundtrack
The film's score was composed by Michael Kamen, known for his work on action and drama films. The soundtrack blends orchestral music with classical pieces, including works by Mahler and other composers. The music plays a crucial role in establishing the film's emotional tone and spiritual atmosphere, complementing the visual effects to create an immersive experience.

### Cultural Impact
What Dreams May Come has maintained cultural relevance through its exploration of afterlife mythology and its visual innovations. The film has been referenced in discussions about digital art, visual effects, and the representation of spiritual concepts in mainstream cinema. Its depiction of heaven and hell as personalized psychological states rather than traditional religious concepts has influenced subsequent films dealing with similar themes.

### Technical Specifications
The film has a runtime of 113 minutes and was shot in various locations including Venezuela, where the production captured stunning natural landscapes that were incorporated into the afterlife sequences. The aspect ratio is 2.35:1, and the film was released in both standard and IMAX formats in select theaters. The visual effects work involved over 300 artists and technicians working across multiple facilities.

### Distribution and Release
What Dreams May Come was released by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in the United States on October 2, 1998, with international distribution handled by Universal Pictures. The film's marketing emphasized its visual effects and star power, though the complex metaphysical themes proved challenging to convey in traditional promotional materials. The film was later released on home video and has been available on various streaming platforms, where it has found new audiences.

### Related Works
The film is part of a tradition of Hollywood films exploring afterlife themes, including "Heaven Can Wait" (1978), "Ghost" (1990), and "The Sixth Sense" (1999). It shares thematic elements with other metaphysical films of the late 1990s and early 2000s, though its visual approach and treatment of suicide set it apart from contemporaries. The film's source novel by Richard Matheson has also been influential in the genre of spiritual and metaphysical fiction.

## References

1. [Source](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120889/)
2. [Source](http://stopklatka.pl/film/miedzy-pieklem-a-niebem)
3. [Source](http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=17994.html)
4. [Source](http://www.metacritic.com/movie/what-dreams-may-come)
5. Swedish Film Database
6. [Source](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1999)
7. The Movie Database
8. What Dreams May Come. Rotten Tomatoes
9. [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120889/releaseinfo)
10. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
11. [Source](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120889/?ref_=bo_se_r_1)
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