FILM 1842: ZARDOZ

FILM 1842: ZARDOZ

TRIVIA: According to John Boorman, Sean Connery had a very hard time finding work after Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Boorman was allegedly able to hire Connery for $200,000.

John Boorman made this film after his project to film J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" was canceled.

The opening sequence is an introduction added by John Boorman, at the request of 20th Century Fox executives, to help the audience understand the film.

The Irish government initially refused to allow the production team to import prop guns because of terrorist attacks occurring at the time.

Radio spots (available on the DVD) were narrated by Rod Serling.

Reportedly, Charlotte Rampling looked forward to her sex scene with Sean Connery, then was disappointed when it was over and done with so quickly.

Cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth filmed scenes with the lens wide open, fog filters on the camera, and smoke machines on set to achieve a diffused, impressionistic look. It worked on first-generation prints, but when the film was duplicated for release the image quality was so bad it was almost unusable. The studio forbade any cinematographers from using that process on future films.

This film is listed among The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made in John Wilson's book "The Official Razzie® Movie Guide."

Burt Reynolds, a big box-office star at the time, who had previously worked with John Boorman on Deliverance (1972), was the first choice for the lead role of Zed. He bowed out due to illness.

Director Ben Wheatley is a huge fan of the movie.

FILM 1742: THE ROCK

TRIVIA: Sir Sean Connery insisted the producers build a cabin for him on Alcatraz, as he didn't want to travel from the mainland to the island every day. He got what he asked for.

Quentin Tarantino was an uncredited screenwriter on this film, along with Jonathan Hensleigh, who wrote the shooting script, and Aaron Sorkin.

The premiere of the movie was held in the Prison Recreation Yard on Alcatraz.

Michael Bay's favorite movie of his own.

Dedicated to Don Simpson, who died during production.

Don Simpson was largely responsible for creating the critical General Hummel character. Simpson watched a 60 Minutes (1993) segment about the U.S. government's refusal to acknowledge soldiers who had died during covert overseas missions, and later read Colonel David H. Hackworth's memoirs which harshly criticized U.S. planning during the Vietnam War. He combined these elements into Hummel's character and, as Jonathan Hensleigh described, created "a really compelling villain: a soldier with a noble end, but, unfortunately, psychotic means."

In the scene in the interrogation room where FBI agent Stanley Goodspeed introduces himself to John Mason (Sir Sean Connery), John replies "But of course you are". This was exactly the same line he used when he met Plenty O'Toole in the casino scene in the Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

The guy who gets his car stolen by Sean Connery is the same guy who got his car stolen by Ed Harris in National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), another of Jerry Bruckheimer's movies which also starred Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris.

Cinematographer John Schwartzman is one of Nicolas Cage's cousins. Schwartzman's step-mother, Talia Shire is Cage's aunt.

FILM 1361: THE UNTOUCHABLES

TRIVIA: Robert De Niro tracked down Al Capone's original tailors and had them make him some identical clothing for the movie.

Brian De Palma met Bob Hoskins over a drink in Los Angeles to discuss playing Al Capone if De Palma's first choice Robert De Niro were to pass on the role. Since De Niro had not yet said yes, Hoskins told De Palma he would do it if he were available. When De Niro finally took the role, De Palma sent Hoskins a thank you note, and the studio paid Hoskins, who had a "pay or play" deal, $200,000. Hoskins called De Palma and asked if there were any more movies the director did not want him to be in.

An envelope is dropped on the desk of Eliot Ness in one scene. It is assumed to be a bribe but the amount inside is never revealed. In real life, Al Capone promised Eliot Ness that two $1,000 notes would be on his desk every Monday morning if he turned a blind eye to his bootlegging activities (an enormous amount of money then). Ness refused the bribe and in later years struggled with money. He died almost broke at the age of 54.

In real life, Al Capone, knowing that killing a Prohibition agent would only lead to more trouble than he or his outfit could handle, actually had a non-violence order to his men, concerning the Untouchables. While Capone did repeatedly attempt to buy them off, he never once attempted to kill Ness or any of his men.

The scene where Al Capone (Robert De Niro) pulls out a baseball bat at a dinner party and suddenly beats to death one of his men is based on a true incident which happened on May 7, 1929. Two of Capone's most feared hit men, Albert Anselmi and John Scalise, had hatched a plot to kill Capone and take over his gang. Capone got wind of it and invited all his associates to a dinner party, including Anselmi and Scalise. In the middle of the party, Capone pulled out a baseball bat and battered both men to death, then shot them both in the head. A conflicting version of the story has Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo, one of Capone's hit men, as the man who bludgeoned the traitors to death.

Despite the final courtroom scene in this movie, the real Al Capone and Eliot Ness never came face to face during their battles.

Michael Douglas, Don Johnson and Mel Gibson were considered for the role of Eliot Ness and rejected. Harrison Ford was offered but turned down the role before Kevin Costner was signed.

When Agent George Stone is introduced, Malone finds out that his real name is Giuseppe Petri and he was born in Italy. In Italian, Giuseppe Petri can be literally translated as "Joseph Stone".

Sean Connery turned up to the shoot in his golf clothes they did a close open and Sean was dismissed for the day. He came back after a full day of golf, acted for five minutes then went to go home. Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith grabbed him after the scene and said that was very clever of you, you just got back from golf turn up for five minutes and do your scene and that's it. Connery turned to them and said, "this is not my first BBQ."

Patricia Clarkson's film debut.