Hedwig and the Angry Inch

2001 Directed by John Cameron Mitchell

An anatomically incorrect rock odyssey

Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig undergoes a personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an “internationally ignored” but divinely talented rock diva, inhabiting a “beautiful gender of one.”

John Cameron Mitchell Miriam Shor Stephen Trask Theodore Liscinski Rob Campbell Michael Aronov Andrea Martin Ben Mayer-Goodman Alberta Watson Gene Pyrz Michael Pitt Karen Hines Max Toulch Maurice Dean Wint Ermes Blarasin Sook-Yin Lee Maggie Moore Renate Options Taylor Abrahamse Thérèse DePrez Mary Krohnert Shane Mackinnon Alan Mandell Eileen Murphy Rosie O'Donnell Mike Potter Michael Stevens

Alternative Titles

Hedwig - La diva con qualcosa in più, Hedwig - A Origem do Amor, Hedwig - Rock, Amor e Traição

drama comedy music

95 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by brat pitt ★★★★ 1

wow the owl from harry potter really Did That
Review by Cole Bradley ★★★★½

Anyone who likes this movie is probably on some level a good person.
Review by <Todd> ★★★★

"Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior?" - Johnny,
"No, but I admire his work" - Hedwig,
Hedwig is an incredibly depressing story told in an upbeat music format and it is fantastic. If production value and acting had been better I believe this is close to a perfect movie. The music is really fantastic and the stakes of the film say a lot about depression, human isolation, and general paths to happiness. The film leaves you with a lot to think about... which is what good movies should do.
Recommended to all.
Review by Cam ★★★★

Cinematic Time Capsule
2001 Marathon - Film #29
Greetings From Sunny Yugoslavia!
✅ Music
✅ Costumes
✅ Production Design
A magical tour of glam rock righteousness.
Deny me and be doomed

Cinematic Time Capsule - 2001 Ranked
Films of Sundance – 2001
Review by Robin Solsjö Höglund ★★★★ 2

The unique and touching and heartbreaking tale of an East Berlin boy who gives up inches to go to America and become Hedwig, transgender star. This will be like nothing you've ever seen before, a rollercoaster of emotion.
Review by JB ★★★★★ 1

probably my last watch of 2020
on to the next one
Review by lauren ★★★★ 2

tbt to when nph made out with his husband during the tony performance of sugar daddy
Review by JB ★★★★★

Couldn’t log this again because the site was down, panicked was an understatement
Review by ky ★★★★★

this is literally one of the only things that I wholeheartedly care about in the entire world
Review by Holly-Beth ★★★★★ 2

full offence, okay lads, this is better than all of the imdb top 250 movies... combined...
genuinely one of the most original musicals i've seen in a long, long time! i was completely transfixed for the entire runtime. i'm going to be listening to soundtrack on repeat for approx.... the rest of my life
the greatest movie of all time... ?
Review by Jaime Rebanal ★★★★★ 2

For the longest while, I have always known about Hedwig and the Angry Inch as an off-Broadway rock musical that depicted the struggles of gender identity - and the music still holds up more than simply wonderfully. But what made John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s musical carry such an enduring legacy can be felt from far more than simply in how much of a staple it has become in LGBTQ+ culture in America, but also because it’s a film that just perfectly captures how good it feels to be able to break free of the boundaries set in stone by societal expectations. At the time of the film’s release the film failed to break even at the box office…
Review by JB ★★★★

the soundtrack slaps
the cinematography and editing are fucking impeccable
the story is beautiful and sad
i currently have two different interpretations on the ending at the moment, but i think the ambiguous-factor really adds to it. but the ending was a little insane. in a god way. but insane nonetheless.

Recent reviews

Review by brazzelldazzell ★★★★

I saw this fifteen years ago, somehow the only part I remembered was the gummy bear/candy scene. Glad I revisited this, because songs like 6 inches forward, five inches back should never be forgotten.
Review by Max ★★★★

This was so much more than what I was expecting it to be. Excellent songs and I loved the occasional animation. Some (okay, a lot) of surreal moments really made this a unique experience
Review by bbbbbeaaaaa ★★★★★

fiquei com vontade de faze as tatu
Review by LakicP

Super zabavno 🥰
Review by T G ★★★★½

Undeniably special! The songs and lyrics are AMAZING (the soundtrack will be replayed on repeat) and the acting's super engulfing. Moreover the esthetics and set designs are pitch perfect and all fantastic, making the absolute most out of the restricted budget! All in all a smash hit singalong classic! Close to perfect!
Review by Gyula Leon ★★★★

Killer
Review by sam ★★★★½ 3

the story is that i went on the first real date of my life tonight and it was not great and afterwards i felt very much like half of a person... damn good movie fellas
Review by Isabela Martinez ★★★★★

"Don't you know me, Kansas City? I'm the new Berlin Wall. Try and tear me down!"
This was one of those Weird Gay Gender-Moment Glam Rock Musical Movies I watched as a 15 year old that left a profound impact on me in the prime years of my development (shout out to Velvet Goldmine and C.R.A.Z.Y). Maybe it was the painting my nails black to look more like Lou Reed, or the crazy Communist Eastern European mother, or dreaming of being Miss Farrah Fawcett Like On TV, or the never putting a bra in the dryer ("it warps!"), but I just Got It and even now, years later, I still Get It and love it even more. My only regret, in the words of my friend watching the (incredible) animations for The Origin of Love, "I wish we had done acid or something right before this".
Review by IslandUnto

Criterion
Review by Cam ★★★★

Cinematic Time Capsule
2001 Marathon - Film #29
Greetings From Sunny Yugoslavia!
✅ Music
✅ Costumes
✅ Production Design
A magical tour of glam rock righteousness.
Deny me and be doomed

Cinematic Time Capsule - 2001 Ranked
Films of Sundance – 2001
Review by Yoli_Zina ★★★★★

Love love looooove Hedwig! ❤️💛💚💙
Review by emily villarreal

it’s rare to find a film that enlists the talent of a cis gay male actor to play a gender queer lead that hasn’t undergone a significant amount of criticism in the modern zeitgeist, and yet, Angry Inch remains.