The Professor and the Madman

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The Professor and the Madman

Released May 10, 2019

2h 5m

History

Drama

Biography

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39%

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33 Reviews

80%

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500+ Ratings

Professor James Murray begins work on compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid-19th century.

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David Stratton

The Australian

If only The Professor and the Madman as a whole matched the central performances, but it falls short on a number of levels.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 25, 2020

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

The film is a bombastic dirge verging on the preposterous.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 19, 2020

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Elizabeth Kerr

The Hollywood Reporter

Ironically, for a movie about words, the dialogue only sparks to life on rare occasion.

May 25, 2019

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Nadine Whitney

Mr. Movie's Film Blog

The film is stuffy, sanctimonious, and so wholly riddled with self-indulgence that it has already been consigned to the dust bin of cinematic history as an abject failure.

Sep 17, 2023

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Martha K. Baker

KDHX (St. Louis)

Winchester's well-written book evolved into a mess of a movie.

Jan 5, 2021

Full Review

John Serba

Decider

Isn't the unwatchable mess we expected it to be. But it's not quite worth a recommendation either.

Dec 22, 2020

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Marcy T

Let the critics write this off. That's likely because it mentions God and has Mel Gibson in it. Whatever. The story is very well told,very accurate, in most places, to the book and gives insight to the creation of the Oxford dictionary remarkable creation. Both Gibson and Sean Penn were excellent in this portrayal of genious minds, tenacity, the haunting portrayal of mental illness, and redemption. We plan to show it to our grandchildren and encourage viewers to see it and do the same.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/13/25

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Ian S

Nice performances from Penn, Marsan, Dillane and Dormer. and were the strength of the film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/12/25

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Heather R

I thought this was an absolutely brilliant movie and outstanding performance from Sean Penn, as always..I loved Mel Gibson's performance also..So interesting to find out about how the Oxford dictionary came about, not something I ever would have thought about or even thought I'd be interested to see, but this story is just so brilliant..I thank you for making it ♥️

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/03/25

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suzanne a

Not everyones cuppa but One of Penns top works. Bravo!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/02/25

Full Review

Steven G

I invariably choose to watch movies by using a balance between critic and public reviews. I am happy the weight of the public reviews weighed in on my decision to watch this movie. It most certainly not light viewing it is intense in all ways and pulls on emotions from all directions. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and recommended it for someone who wants viewing that you will need to grasp onto, to chew hard to swallow. If you do then like me you may be amazed that this incredible story could be true history.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/20/25

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Alex S

Amazing film, put it off for a long time but very surprised how good it was.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/14/25

Full Review

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Farhad Safinia

Director

Mel Gibson

James Murray

Sean Penn

Dr. William Chester Minor

Natalie Dormer

Eliza Merrett

Jennifer Ehle

Ada Murray

Jeremy Irvine

Charles Hall

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Synopsis

Professor James Murray begins work on compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid-19th century.

Director: Farhad Safinia
Producer: Nicolas Chartier, Bruce Davey
Screenwriter: John Boorman, Todd Komarnicki, Farhad Safinia
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Production Co: Fastnet Films, Voltage Pictures, Icon Entertainment International
Genre: History, Drama, Biography
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): May 10, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 10, 2019
Runtime: 2h 5m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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