ⓘ Details

Movie TitleWhat Dreams May Come

Release DateOctober 2, 1998

TaglineAfter life there is more. The end is just the beginning.

Runtime113 minutes / 1 hour 53 minutes

DirectorVincent Ward

Screenplay Written ByRonald Bass

Based OnThe 1978 novel What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson

Is It a Remake?No. It is an adaptation of Richard Matheson’s novel, not a remake of an earlier film.

BudgetReported between approximately $80 million and $90 million; Box Office Mojo lists $85 million

Box OfficeApprox. $55.4 million domestic / approx. $75.4 million worldwide

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👥 Main Cast

Robin WilliamsChris Nielsen

Cuba Gooding Jr.Albert Lewis

Annabella SciorraAnnie Nielsen

Max von SydowThe Tracker

Jessica Brooks GrantMarie Nielsen

Josh PaddockIan Nielsen

Rosalind ChaoLeona

Lucinda JenneyMrs. Jacobs

Maggie McCarthyStacey Jacobs

Wilma BonetAngie

Matt SalingerReverend Hanley

June CarrylWoman in Car Accident

Werner HerzogFace

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Academy Award Winner — Best Visual Effects: Nicholas Brooks, Joel Hynek, Kevin Mack and Stuart Robertson

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Art Direction-Set Decoration: Eugenio Zanetti and Cindy Carr

⭐ Art Directors Guild Winner — Excellence in Production Design

⭐ Satellite Award Winner — Best Visual Effects

⭐ Saturn Award Nominee — Best Fantasy Film

⭐ Saturn Award Nominee — Best Supporting Actor: Cuba Gooding Jr.

⭐ Saturn Award Nominee — Best Make-Up

⭐ No Golden Globe or BAFTA nomination was verified for the film.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

After losing their children in a tragic accident, Chris and Annie Nielsen struggle to rebuild their lives. When Chris is later killed in a car crash, he awakens in a breathtaking afterlife shaped by Annie’s paintings, guided by Albert and surrounded by impossible beauty. But when Annie dies by suicide and becomes trapped in a personal hell of grief and despair, Chris refuses to accept eternity without her. Against every warning, he journeys into the darkest reaches of the afterlife to find his wife, risking his own paradise for one last chance to bring her home.

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❝ Key Quotes

“A whole human life is just a heartbeat here in Heaven.” — Albert

“Good people end up in Hell because they can’t forgive themselves.” — Albert

“I forgive you.” — Chris Nielsen

“Sometimes, when you win, you lose.” — Chris Nielsen

“That which you believe becomes your world.” — Albert

“I found you in Hell. Don’t you think I could find you in Jersey?” — Chris Nielsen

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💡 Trivia

Director

What Dreams May Come was directed by Vincent Ward.
The screenplay was written by Ronald Bass, adapted from Richard Matheson’s 1978 novel.
The title comes from Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” soliloquy.
Ward’s approach turns the afterlife into a visual emotional landscape, where heaven and hell are shaped by memory, love, grief, guilt, and imagination.
The film is often remembered less as a conventional drama and more as an ambitious visual meditation on love after death.

Cast / Casting

Robin Williams stars as Chris Nielsen, a pediatrician whose love for his wife drives him beyond heaven itself.
Annabella Sciorra plays Annie Nielsen, an artist consumed by grief after losing her family.
Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Albert, Chris’s guide through the afterlife.
Max von Sydow plays The Tracker, helping Chris search for Annie in the darker regions of the afterlife.
Rosalind Chao plays Leona, a heavenly figure tied closely to Chris’s family and memory.
Werner Herzog appears in the film as one of the faces in the damned realm.

Soundtrack / Score

The final score was composed and conducted by Michael Kamen.
Ennio Morricone originally composed a score for the film, but it was replaced after editorial changes.
Kamen adapted “Beside You” by the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble as a core musical theme.
The score was recorded at AIR Studios and Abbey Road Studios.
The soundtrack album was released by Beyond Records in October 1998.
The music supports the film’s romantic and spiritual tone, moving between grief, wonder, dread, and reunion.

Location

The film used locations in California, Montana, and Venezuela.
IMDb lists Angel Falls in Canaima National Park, Venezuela as one of the filming locations.
IMDb also lists Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana.
Giggster identifies Northern California locations including Piedmont, San Rafael, Alameda, San Jose, and Oakland.
Part of the film’s hell sequence was shot on the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany while it was berthed at Mare Island in Vallejo, California.

Behind-The-Scenes

The film was produced by Stephen Deutsch / Stephen Simon and Barnet Bain.
Eduardo Serra served as cinematographer, while David Brenner and Maysie Hoy edited the film.
Eugenio Zanetti served as production designer and received an Academy Award nomination for the film’s art direction.
The visual effects were created by teams including Mass.Illusion, POP Film, and Digital Domain.
VFX Voice notes that the painted afterlife effect used optical-flow techniques to turn live-action footage into moving paintings.
The film’s original prints were reportedly lost in the 2008 Universal Studios backlot fire, and a replacement print was later found in Europe.

Nostalgia

What Dreams May Come remains one of Robin Williams’ most visually distinctive dramatic films.
The movie is often remembered for its bold, painterly heaven imagery more than for its box-office performance.
Its afterlife visuals stood out in the late 1990s, earning the film an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
The film has developed a devoted following among viewers who connect with its themes of grief, love, depression, and spiritual reunion.
It is also one of those movies that can make audiences say, “Wow, this is beautiful,” and then immediately wonder why they are emotionally wrecked.

Easter Eggs

The title’s connection to Shakespeare’s Hamlet fits the film’s obsession with death, uncertainty, dreams, and the afterlife.
The heaven sequences are shaped by Annie’s paintings, turning her art into the world Chris inhabits after death.
The film’s afterlife rules are heavily altered from Richard Matheson’s novel, which draws more extensively on spiritualist and metaphysical ideas.
The alternate ending included on later home-media releases follows the novel more closely, emphasizing reincarnation.
The film’s color palette shifts dramatically between the painted beauty of heaven and the desaturated horror of Annie’s personal hell.

Misc.

What Dreams May Come is rated PG-13.
AFI classifies the film as drama and romance, while Box Office Mojo lists drama, fantasy, and romance.
Rotten Tomatoes’ synopsis describes Chris being guided through a self-created afterlife before journeying into hell to save Annie.
The film grossed less than its reported production budget, but its visual effects work earned major industry recognition.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists the episode as Episode 195, with Don rating it 4.75, Ken rating it 2.00, Jon rating it 4.75, and an overall rating of 3.83.

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