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The father-son trip from literal hell—literally.
TMDB
69
IMDb
70
Rotten Tomatoes
88
Google
86
Watch(US)

David (1988)

harrowingtrue-crime adjacent90s-TV-movie grit

Overview

DramaTV Movie

The true story of David Rothenberg whose disturbed father set him on fire.

Flag of USUS
Content warning
parental betrayaltrauma and recoverymedia exploitation of sufferingforgiveness vs. justice

Standout Aspects

Acting

Bernadette Peters delivers devastation in mom jeans.

Direction

Erman stages the fire sequence with unflinching restraint.

Best for:Solo: You need to ugly-cry alone without judgment.·Date Night: Only if you hate your date. Seriously, don't.
Heads up:Disturbing: Child set on fire by parent—graphic burn treatment scenes.·Triggers: Domestic violence, custody battle manipulation, medical trauma.
John Erman

Director

John Erman

ReleasedOct 25, 1988
Runtime1h 36m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacesteady
Intensityhigh
Tonedark
Feelheavy
ITC Entertainment
Donald March Productions

Top Cast

Bernadette Peters

Bernadette Peters

Marie Rothenberg

John Glover

John Glover

Charles Rothenberg

Dan Lauria

Dan Lauria

John

George Grizzard

George Grizzard

Dr. Achauer

Christopher Allport

Christopher Allport

Terry

Georgann Johnson

Georgann Johnson

Loraine

Jordan Charney

Jordan Charney

Judge

Matthew Lawrence

Matthew Lawrence

David Rothenberg

Cheryl Anderson

Cheryl Anderson

Dee Fraser

Jack Rader

Jack Rader

Dick Hafdahl

Lisa Blake Richards

Lisa Blake Richards

Judy Curtis

Barbara Tarbuck

Barbara Tarbuck

Sue Martinez

Caryn Ward

Caryn Ward

Jennifer

Ask about David

Opens AI chat

Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

The real David Rothenberg later worked as a jazz musician under the name Dave Dave; he died in 2018.

Cultural

This was peak 'disease-of-the-week' TV movie era, when networks competed to traumatize viewers with true stories.

Gallery

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