Cusm

What is the "commercial" movie - no experimental, indie, foreign - witht the fewest actual people on camera. I know The Breakfast Club is high on the list with I think 12 total people on film. Is there another one out there with fewer?

LBPound

Anaconda, Panic Room, Alien

Pants

Hitchcock's Rope has only 9

Pants

Several Concert/Comedy act movies have only 1 if you don't count the audience, but they're not narative fiction films.

Pants

Alien has only 7 if you don't count the Alien or Mother

How about 2 Girls and a Guy with Robert Downey Jr. and Heather Graham? I think it only has 3 people.

Edit: IMDB says it has 5 people in it. We may have a winner.

Groucho

Lifeboat
Rope

sundog

Nichols' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? has only four actors. I don't remember if there's an extra in the bar they visit.

Though I'm treading water here between mainstream and not . . .

Linklater's Tape has only three roles.

Then there's Robert Altman's Secret Honor with only one actor: Philip Baker Hall as Nixon. But that's all I know about it.

Cube has less than ten actors right?

Cusm

I looked some more.
Breakfast Club - 14 (including Hughs uncredited appearance)
Rope - 9 I have not seen this, does Alfred not make a cameo? If so this would bump it up to 10.
Anaconda - 9 plus numerous stunt people take this one out, I am looking for fewest people, not characters, on film - including extras, etc.
Alien - 7 + 3 Alien actors
2 Girls and a Guy - 5 Leader so far
Life Boat - 1, However I do not consider a 1911 production as commercial.
Panic Room - 15 + stunt people + Nicole Kidman on the phone

William Fuld

The answer is Hell in the Pacific, with only two - Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune.

Jericho

What about Sleuth?

The total number of people in the film (this may actually spoil stuff so...)

monkeyboy

Closetland has 2, as I remember it. Alan Rickman and Madeline Stowe. I didn't get to see it in the theater and don't remember it getting a wide release, then again, I was living in the middle of nowhere, so I'm sure I missed a lot of stuff.

borisdisco

Cool movie, I love Rickman. He is the best bad guy.

moocher

If this passes muster for a "commercial" movie, it has got to be the winner. I can't recall any major motion picture with only one cast member.

(According to IMDB, Sleuth has 6 credited cast members.)

SunMonkey

What about The Adventures of Milo & Otis. Only a narator with no actors.

Edit: Japanese film, so I guess it doesn't count even though it was released in English here in the States.

ToddSm66

Give 'em Hell, Harry! had only 1 cast member - James Whitmore. He was nominated for a Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar.

matome

Head Above Water (1996) has 5 according to the IMDB

Cameron Diaz
Harvey Keitel
Billy Zane
Craig Sheffer
Shay Duffin

Hiro11

Castaway comes to mind. There's one guy on the screen for the majority of the movie, about three main characters.

The Black Stallion has five characters, only two of whom have significant screen time.

borisdisco

It is not the fewest but "Never Cry Wolf" has only 8

Charles Martin Smith .... Farley Mowat/Tyler
Brian Dennehy .... Rosie
Zachary Ittimangnaq .... Ootek
Samson Jorah .... Mike
Hugh Webster .... Drunk
Martha Ittimangnaq .... Woman
Tom Dahlgren .... Hunter #1
Walker Stuart (I) .... Hunter #2

borisdisco

How about "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"?

niiyama

Not the fewest but 12 Angry Men has 12.

Rypro 525

no there's more, the judge, a man who comes in to take evidence, and the shot of the boy accused of murder.

Wazootyman

And boyyyyyyyy are they angry!

moocher

I stand corrected. It looks like we have a winner!

http://us.imdb.com/Credits?0073053

Although Milo and Otis technically could be considered the winner if we are talking about human characters only (i.e. "people"). Dudley Moore is a credited cast member (narrator) according to imdb. The japanese version apparently has two.

http://us.imdb.com/Credits?0097050

Ginwen

He said "on camera" though, I'm sure they have a shot or two of the audience, and possibly a shot of some of the people filming it in stuff (long time since I've seen it, but that kind of stuff is pretty typical at the beginning of these types of movies).

That movie would win if you asked which movie had the fewest actors on camera (or at least tie).

Of course, unless you also eliminate animated movies, and movies with just animals, one of them would win (or any of them).

lesterlong

The movie TAPE stars only Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Lenoard and Uma Thurman. Not really commercial but enough that it came to my town.