Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | |
---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
Directed by | Mel Stuart |
Produced by |
|
Screenplay by | Roald Dahl |
Based on |
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl |
Starring | |
Music by | |
Cinematography | Arthur Ibbetson |
Edited by | David Saxon |
Production
company |
|
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date
|
|
Running time
|
99 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3 million |
Box office | $4 million |
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, who himself wrote the film's screenplay. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) as he receives a Golden Ticket and visits Willy Wonka's chocolate factory with four other children from around the world.
Filming took place in Munich in 1970, and the film was released by Paramount Pictures on June 30, 1971. With a budget of just $3 million, the film received generally positive reviews and earned $4 million by the end of its original run. Paramount distributed the film until 1977, and beginning in the 1980s, Warner Bros. assumed control of the rights for home entertainment purposes. The film then made an additional $21 million during its re-release by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment banner in 1996. The film became highly popular in part through repeated television airings and home entertainment sales. In 1972, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, and Wilder was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, but lost both to Fiddler on the Roof. The film also introduced the song "The Candy Man", which went on to become a popular hit when recorded by Sammy Davis Jr.. In 2014, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".