Prick Up Your Ears
Directed by Stephen Frears
Biographer John Lahr is writing a book about playwright Joe Orton. Joe and Kenneth meet at drama school and live together for ten years as lovers and collaborators. Both want to be writers, but only one of them is successful.
Where to Watch Prick Up Your Ears
- Charles LondonMarch 25, 2025Let's see, a true story - with salacious sex, insane jealousy, and a psychotic murder/suicide - about a 1960's pop-culture playwright/novelist/screenwriter with connections to The Beatles. Sounds good and is good. Be assured though, despite the dark-sounding nature of the plot, there is plenty of humor throughout the film. Superstar actors, Vanessa Redgrave and Gary Oldman, give excellent performances but it's much-less-known Alfred Molina that steals the show as Joe Orton's under-appreciated, over-abused, and emotionally-ill friend/lover/collaborator.
Prick Up Your Ears Trivia
Prick Up Your Ears was released on May 1, 1987.
Prick Up Your Ears was directed by Stephen Frears.
Prick Up Your Ears has a runtime of 1h 51m.
Prick Up Your Ears was produced by Andrew Brown.
Biographer John Lahr is writing a book about playwright Joe Orton. Joe and Kenneth meet at drama school and live together for ten years as lovers and collaborators. Both want to be writers, but only one of them is successful.
The key characters in Prick Up Your Ears are Joe Orton (Gary Oldman), Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina), Peggy Ramsay (Vanessa Redgrave).
Prick Up Your Ears is rated R.
Prick Up Your Ears is a Drama, Biography film.
Prick Up Your Ears has an audience rating of 7.9 out of 10.
Prick Up Your Ears has made $1.7M at the box office.