With November Man out, excitement for Pierce Bosnan’s return to spying is at an all-time high for many James Bond fans. November Man, based on the seventh installment of Bill Granger’s book series called There Are No Spies, is about ex- CIA agent Peter Devereaux (Pierce Bosnan). While living a quiet life in Switzerland, Devereaux is ejected out of retirement for one last mission. Although the concept of the “one last mission/job” is not a new concept for Hollywood, it definitely has its place in cinema history, branching out to a wide range of reasons why our beloved characters are being pulled back into their past lives. From a retiree’s last gig, to the bad-boy-gone-good-and-then-bad-again mission, to the revenge premise, mythology of the ex-professional can surely delight and excite us to champion our heroes for one last fight. Here are scenes from ten incredible “one last job” films,...
- 9/11/2014
- by Christopher Clemente
- SoundOnSight
Anton Corbijn transitioned from music video directing/rock-photography to feature filmmaking fairly late in his career. First up, he combined his love of music and pictures with a biopic of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis that made a star of Sam Riley and followed that up with an adaptation of Martin Booth's novel "A Very Private Gentleman," which he turned into the existential hitman drama "The American" starring George Clooney. Corbijn Is now putting together the pieces for what could be his last hurrah, an adaptation of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" author John le Carre's spy-thriller "A Most Wanted Man." Originally teased as a starring vehicle for "Das Boot" star Herbert Grönemeyer, the actor's involvement has yet to be confirmed, but a very nice cast has been building nevertheless, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright and the newest addition here, Willem Dafoe. While...
- 8/16/2012
- by Simon Dang
- The Playlist
Great performances from Nicole Kidman are generally years apart nowadays, partly because she's not as prolific as she use to be. But with Park Chan-wook's "Stoker" and Lee Daniel's "The Paperboy" both due out later in the year, 2012 is certainly shaping up to be a big one for the actress. Kidman has now seemingly added another project to her calendar, as she is in talks to star in Rowan Joffe's sophomore directorial effort, an adaptation of S.J. Watson's critically acclaimed novel "Before I Go To Sleep."
Joffe has evidently been attached to the project since late 2010 and has presumably been adapting the novel for himself to direct, as was the case with Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock," his debut behind the camera. While that film failed to light screens on fire, Joffe was the man responsible for adapting Martin Booth's "A Very Private Gentleman" into "The American" for Anton Corbijn,...
Joffe has evidently been attached to the project since late 2010 and has presumably been adapting the novel for himself to direct, as was the case with Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock," his debut behind the camera. While that film failed to light screens on fire, Joffe was the man responsible for adapting Martin Booth's "A Very Private Gentleman" into "The American" for Anton Corbijn,...
- 2/29/2012
- by Simon Dang
- The Playlist
After adapting Martin Booth's "A Very Private Gentleman" to much acclaim, it looks like Dutch rock-photographer Anton Corbijn is once again turning to a novel for inspiration with his next project now revealed to be an adaptation of John le Carré's 2008 political thriller "A Most Wanted Man." The director had previously teased his next feature film as his last but we're hoping his comments--which included the admission that he wasn't a “very good fit for ‘Spider-Man 25'"--were a deceptive combination of self-depreciation and sarcasm rather than a Soderberghian retirement pact. That said, he declared at the time that his…...
- 6/19/2011
- The Playlist
Somewhere; The American; Unstoppable; Secretariat; Megamind
Sofia Coppola has a bizarre propensity to make two thirds of a good movie. Take Lost in Translation, which provided plenty of edgy, insightful vignettes right up until the self-indulgent karaoke scene, from the laziness of which it never recovers. Or Marie Antoinette, which provoked raucous booing in France thanks to the total absence of a third act in which heads are lopped, equality established and proverbial cake eaten. Only her debut feature, The Virgin Suicides (1999), had some actual sense of an ending, and that owed more to the source novel than to Coppola's oddly incomplete direction. Now, with her fourth film, Somewhere (2010, Universal, 15), the good news is that Coppola has finally broken the two-act habit of a lifetime. The bad news is that the end result is a movie that has no acts at all. In any sense.
Looking increasingly like an artsy...
Sofia Coppola has a bizarre propensity to make two thirds of a good movie. Take Lost in Translation, which provided plenty of edgy, insightful vignettes right up until the self-indulgent karaoke scene, from the laziness of which it never recovers. Or Marie Antoinette, which provoked raucous booing in France thanks to the total absence of a third act in which heads are lopped, equality established and proverbial cake eaten. Only her debut feature, The Virgin Suicides (1999), had some actual sense of an ending, and that owed more to the source novel than to Coppola's oddly incomplete direction. Now, with her fourth film, Somewhere (2010, Universal, 15), the good news is that Coppola has finally broken the two-act habit of a lifetime. The bad news is that the end result is a movie that has no acts at all. In any sense.
Looking increasingly like an artsy...
- 4/2/2011
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Starring: George Clooney, Bruce Altman, Thekla Reuten
Director: Anton Corbijn
The Scoop: After barely surviving an assignment, assassin and master craftsman Jack (Clooney) tells his handler that his next job will be his last. As he awaits the construction of his weapon for that final assignment, he holes up in a small town in the Italian countryside where he strikes up a friendship with a clergyman and a romance with a pretty local — making himself more vulnerable than ever before. Based on the novel “A Very Private Gentleman,” by Martin Booth.
Rated R, 95 min. | Watch the trailer...
Director: Anton Corbijn
The Scoop: After barely surviving an assignment, assassin and master craftsman Jack (Clooney) tells his handler that his next job will be his last. As he awaits the construction of his weapon for that final assignment, he holes up in a small town in the Italian countryside where he strikes up a friendship with a clergyman and a romance with a pretty local — making himself more vulnerable than ever before. Based on the novel “A Very Private Gentleman,” by Martin Booth.
Rated R, 95 min. | Watch the trailer...
- 1/11/2011
- by NextMovie Staff
- NextMovie
I’ve put together a few of my favorites from what is now last year. I felt like too many films completely failed to meet their potential this year (exemplified by such inane, lackluster summer blockbusters) so I’ve named a few who I feel not only met but surpassed my expectations. It’s an eclectic mix, as I feel these lists should be but each are entirely wholesome, worthwhile films. Unfortunately I missed a few. Rabbit Hole, 127 Hours, The King’s Speech are just the tip of the iceberg, but thankfully they aren’t going anywhere. So here, in no particular order, are some of my cinematic highlights of 2010:
Inception – Christopher Nolan’s latest outing is intelligent, original and almost perfectly executed. Impossible to omit on any best of list and refreshingly rewarding, especially compared to the summer’s other, rather lackluster offerings. With a breakout performance from...
Inception – Christopher Nolan’s latest outing is intelligent, original and almost perfectly executed. Impossible to omit on any best of list and refreshingly rewarding, especially compared to the summer’s other, rather lackluster offerings. With a breakout performance from...
- 1/6/2011
- by Daniel Hemsley
- newsinfilm.com
Chicago – A movie that comes closer to the lyrical and meditative style of Michelangelo Antonioni than any other in years, Anton Corbijn’s “The American,” now on Blu-ray and DVD, is a nearly-brilliant drama that found a respectable audience in theaters even if it wasn’t quite the right one.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Universal/Focus sold the film as an action-packed thriller, a variation on the Jason Bourne trilogy, and ended up with over $35 million, a number that would have been impossible if the movie has been presented as the philosophical art house gem that it truly is. Audiences in the multiplex may have been pissed that the film has more bare breasts than gun shots but the tragedy is that discerning movie goers may have written it off as escapist fare. It’s not. It’s complex, daring stuff with one of George Clooney’s best performances. Do yourself a...
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Universal/Focus sold the film as an action-packed thriller, a variation on the Jason Bourne trilogy, and ended up with over $35 million, a number that would have been impossible if the movie has been presented as the philosophical art house gem that it truly is. Audiences in the multiplex may have been pissed that the film has more bare breasts than gun shots but the tragedy is that discerning movie goers may have written it off as escapist fare. It’s not. It’s complex, daring stuff with one of George Clooney’s best performances. Do yourself a...
- 1/3/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The Film:
The American should have been called, The Pragmatic American. Jack in the USA/Edward abroad (George Clooney) is well-paid assassin on the run from some Swedes, who have attempted to kill him. Do not be late for this feature’s opening: Jack kills his attackers nonchalantly during the first scene in the film. Then he flees to Italy where much of the film was shot to meet up with Larry, his contact. As Edward, he speaks poor Italian and walks down ancient cobblestone streets in the village of Abruzzo (interestingly enough and surely not by accident, Hemingway uses Abuzzo as the setting for his Wwi novel A Farewell to Arms). While on the run, he continues to work by constructing a rifle out of mostly auto parts for another contract killer Mathilde (Thelka Reuten). A craftsman, Edward works with precision; he is fun to watch as he snaps pieces into a compact rifle.
The American should have been called, The Pragmatic American. Jack in the USA/Edward abroad (George Clooney) is well-paid assassin on the run from some Swedes, who have attempted to kill him. Do not be late for this feature’s opening: Jack kills his attackers nonchalantly during the first scene in the film. Then he flees to Italy where much of the film was shot to meet up with Larry, his contact. As Edward, he speaks poor Italian and walks down ancient cobblestone streets in the village of Abruzzo (interestingly enough and surely not by accident, Hemingway uses Abuzzo as the setting for his Wwi novel A Farewell to Arms). While on the run, he continues to work by constructing a rifle out of mostly auto parts for another contract killer Mathilde (Thelka Reuten). A craftsman, Edward works with precision; he is fun to watch as he snaps pieces into a compact rifle.
- 12/30/2010
- by Steve Brock
- Killer Films
One of the most divisive films of the year, Anton Corbijn's "The American," arrives on DVD (and Blu-ray, Amazon VOD, etc) today. Based on Martin Booth's novel "A Very Private Gentleman," it stars George Clooney as an American assassin laying low in Italy after being hunted by some Swedish hit-men. The picture received very mixed reviews (62% at Rotten Tomatoes), and though its $35 million domestic gross (not to mention the additional $29 million made oversees) is plenty for how little it cost, most U.S. audiences came away terribly disappointed ("D-" grade on Cinemascore). And they seemed to have every…...
- 12/28/2010
- Spout
After the Holidays everyone likely has some Christmas money, gift cards or maybe you want to make an exchange. We have you covered with the new releases on Blu-ray and Netflix for the week of December 28th!
Blu-ray Releases:
And Soon The Darkness
Add to Queue Synopsis:
Stephanie (Amber Heard) and Ellie’s (Odette Yustman) vacation to an exotic village in Argentina is a perfect ‘girl’s getaway’ to bask in the sun, shop and flirt with the handsome locals. After a long night of bar-hopping, the girls get into an argument, and Stephanie heads out alone in the morning to cool off. But when she returns, Ellie has disappeared. Finding signs of a struggle, Stephanie fears the worst, and turns to the police for help. But the local authorities have their hands full already - with a string of unsolved kidnappings targeting young female tourists. Skeptical of the sheriff’s competency,...
Blu-ray Releases:
And Soon The Darkness
Add to Queue Synopsis:
Stephanie (Amber Heard) and Ellie’s (Odette Yustman) vacation to an exotic village in Argentina is a perfect ‘girl’s getaway’ to bask in the sun, shop and flirt with the handsome locals. After a long night of bar-hopping, the girls get into an argument, and Stephanie heads out alone in the morning to cool off. But when she returns, Ellie has disappeared. Finding signs of a struggle, Stephanie fears the worst, and turns to the police for help. But the local authorities have their hands full already - with a string of unsolved kidnappings targeting young female tourists. Skeptical of the sheriff’s competency,...
- 12/28/2010
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
The American
Directed by Anton Corbijn
Action fans and George Clooney enthusiasts might well be ill-prepared for The American, which, despite its marketing as a slam-bang thriller, is actually closer in spirit to Euro arthouse fare, and features Clooney in full-on “emptied out” mode. (It’s best described as a brooding drama slightly peppered with violence.) Anton Corbijn’s film, his follow-up to the lauded Ian Curtis biopic Control, is strongest when it avoids crowd-pleasing impulses to focus in on Clooney’s brooding performance and the unusually craftsmanlike nature of his work.
There lies another misdirection, as this is not a story about a hitman per se. Clooney essays “Jack” (or perhaps “Edward”; his true name is never identified), whose occupation – referred to in Martin Booth’s novel A Very Private Gentleman, the film’s source material, as a “shadow-dweller” – is to act as a hitman’s liaison who takes orders for,...
Directed by Anton Corbijn
Action fans and George Clooney enthusiasts might well be ill-prepared for The American, which, despite its marketing as a slam-bang thriller, is actually closer in spirit to Euro arthouse fare, and features Clooney in full-on “emptied out” mode. (It’s best described as a brooding drama slightly peppered with violence.) Anton Corbijn’s film, his follow-up to the lauded Ian Curtis biopic Control, is strongest when it avoids crowd-pleasing impulses to focus in on Clooney’s brooding performance and the unusually craftsmanlike nature of his work.
There lies another misdirection, as this is not a story about a hitman per se. Clooney essays “Jack” (or perhaps “Edward”; his true name is never identified), whose occupation – referred to in Martin Booth’s novel A Very Private Gentleman, the film’s source material, as a “shadow-dweller” – is to act as a hitman’s liaison who takes orders for,...
- 12/26/2010
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
An elegant George Clooney exudes mystery and inner torment as a cold-hearted assassin in picturesque Italy
Anton Corbijn, the Dutch portrait photographer long resident in Britain, made his directorial debut three years ago with Control, an accomplished portrait, shot in black and white, of the doomed rock musician Ian Curtis who committed suicide in 1980. His second feature, The American, is another portrait of a doomed figure, handsomely photographed by the same German cameraman, Martin Ruhe, but this time in beautiful colour.
It's a poised, self-conscious film that begins with a pre-credit sequence set around a snow-covered lake in Dalarna, the Swedish province where the painted wooden horses come from, and ends beside an idyllic stream in the mountainous Abruzzo region of central Italy. The pre-credit sequence resembles a Bond movie when a lyrical walk suddenly erupts into violence as lethal hunters ambush the hero and have the tables turned on them.
Anton Corbijn, the Dutch portrait photographer long resident in Britain, made his directorial debut three years ago with Control, an accomplished portrait, shot in black and white, of the doomed rock musician Ian Curtis who committed suicide in 1980. His second feature, The American, is another portrait of a doomed figure, handsomely photographed by the same German cameraman, Martin Ruhe, but this time in beautiful colour.
It's a poised, self-conscious film that begins with a pre-credit sequence set around a snow-covered lake in Dalarna, the Swedish province where the painted wooden horses come from, and ends beside an idyllic stream in the mountainous Abruzzo region of central Italy. The pre-credit sequence resembles a Bond movie when a lyrical walk suddenly erupts into violence as lethal hunters ambush the hero and have the tables turned on them.
- 11/28/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
This is the Pure Movies review for The American, directed by Anton Corbijn and starring George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli, Irina Björklund, Björn Granath, Johan Leysen, Filippo Timi and Samuli Vauramo. Written by Dan Higgins. This is a literary adaptation of Martin Booth’s A Very Private Gentleman and, as the title suggests, Clooney plays a character that is both enigmatic and elusive. In fact, he hardly talks. He has no women in his life and, from the opening scene, it is easy to see why this is the case. A priest attempts to befriend Jack (who now goes by Edward), while he finds company, solace and sex with a local prostitute called Clara. It is evident though that he is being tracked and his past seemingly instructs him to trust nobody and be suspicious of everyone, including people that he starts relationships with.
- 11/27/2010
- by Dan Higgins
- Pure Movies
George Clooney and director Anton Corbijn team up to tackle Martin Booth’s 1990 novel “A Very Private Gentlemen” – a story about a quiet man who works as a gun-maker for assassins.
The film opens up on a high note, fading-in a beautiful master shot of a snowy forrest with a log cabin in the distance. The shot lingers for a moment before introducing us to Jack/Edward (Clooney) and his lover as they share intimate moments by a log fire. The harmony doesn’t last as the two take a walk through the deep snow when a silent assassin interrupts their romantic scene. What follows is a cold and impressive sequence.
After the incident in Sweden, Jack/Edward goes into hiding within a remote Italian town where he is contracted to assist another assassin who will be working in the area. He states this is his last job, but reveals...
The film opens up on a high note, fading-in a beautiful master shot of a snowy forrest with a log cabin in the distance. The shot lingers for a moment before introducing us to Jack/Edward (Clooney) and his lover as they share intimate moments by a log fire. The harmony doesn’t last as the two take a walk through the deep snow when a silent assassin interrupts their romantic scene. What follows is a cold and impressive sequence.
After the incident in Sweden, Jack/Edward goes into hiding within a remote Italian town where he is contracted to assist another assassin who will be working in the area. He states this is his last job, but reveals...
- 11/26/2010
- by Michael Brooks
- FilmShaft.com
How did the painfully shy son of a Dutch minister become one of the world's hottest rock photographers – and now a celebrated director? Anton Corbijn talks to Stuart Jeffries
In the years since he used his dad's camera to snap an obscure prog-rock band called Solution, Anton Corbijn has remained besotted with photography. He's been such an exhaustive chronicler of U2 and Depeche Mode that he's known as both bands' invisible member. You may not know his picture byline, but you will know his images of Nirvana, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and Brian Eno. Then, three years ago, he became a film director, making the award-winning Control about troubled Mancunian glum rockers Joy Division.
Corbijn giggles. "I didn't really know how to make a film when I made Control. I had to create my own language, just as I did when I started taking photographs. I never studied either one.
In the years since he used his dad's camera to snap an obscure prog-rock band called Solution, Anton Corbijn has remained besotted with photography. He's been such an exhaustive chronicler of U2 and Depeche Mode that he's known as both bands' invisible member. You may not know his picture byline, but you will know his images of Nirvana, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and Brian Eno. Then, three years ago, he became a film director, making the award-winning Control about troubled Mancunian glum rockers Joy Division.
Corbijn giggles. "I didn't really know how to make a film when I made Control. I had to create my own language, just as I did when I started taking photographs. I never studied either one.
- 11/25/2010
- by Stuart Jeffries
- The Guardian - Film News
George Clooney stars as a hitman lying low in Anton Corbijn's stylish but ultimately uninvolving second film. By Peter Bradshaw
Anton Corbijn's new film is an intelligent, beautifully photographed, if intensely self-conscious drama about an assassin's mid-life crisis. The movie is pitched at a low key: finely judged, but at times rather exasperatingly thoughtful and muted. It purrs evenly, like the engine of a luxury automobile, with a cool, sleek satisfaction at how stylish it is. That said, it is pretty stylish, and the remote, islanded sense of loneliness and tension is well managed: Frederick Forsyth with a dash of Graham Greene.
The star is George Clooney, who here withholds from his audience the warm and witty persona he normally projects, and presents us instead with an ice-cold hitman called Jack, whose career has just suffered the most calamitous reversal. At first, like a gnarled and careworn 007, Jack...
Anton Corbijn's new film is an intelligent, beautifully photographed, if intensely self-conscious drama about an assassin's mid-life crisis. The movie is pitched at a low key: finely judged, but at times rather exasperatingly thoughtful and muted. It purrs evenly, like the engine of a luxury automobile, with a cool, sleek satisfaction at how stylish it is. That said, it is pretty stylish, and the remote, islanded sense of loneliness and tension is well managed: Frederick Forsyth with a dash of Graham Greene.
The star is George Clooney, who here withholds from his audience the warm and witty persona he normally projects, and presents us instead with an ice-cold hitman called Jack, whose career has just suffered the most calamitous reversal. At first, like a gnarled and careworn 007, Jack...
- 11/25/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
George Clooney’s latest flick – The American – is released in the UK this Friday (26th November). It’s definitely one his best films for ages – and that’s saying something coming from his stellar CV. Directed by famous photographer and Control helmer Anton Corbijn, we’ve got three brand new clips to show you.
And if you’re based in the UK, why not enter our competition to get your hands on some quality merchandise for the movie’s release. Click on the link and maybe you’ll find yourself a winner! The American Competition.
Synopsis:
The suspense thriller The American stars Academy Award winner George Clooney in the title role for director Anton Corbijn (Control). The screenplay by Rowan Joffe is adapted from Martin Booth’s 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman.
As an assassin, Jack (played by Mr. Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a...
And if you’re based in the UK, why not enter our competition to get your hands on some quality merchandise for the movie’s release. Click on the link and maybe you’ll find yourself a winner! The American Competition.
Synopsis:
The suspense thriller The American stars Academy Award winner George Clooney in the title role for director Anton Corbijn (Control). The screenplay by Rowan Joffe is adapted from Martin Booth’s 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman.
As an assassin, Jack (played by Mr. Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a...
- 11/24/2010
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
This Friday sees the release of Anton Corbijn’s The American, which stars George Clooney as a master assassin and we’ve got some very interesting prizes on offer for you this fine day.
We have one main prize of
· A signed poster by Anton Corbijn, Violante Placido and Thekla Reuten
· A soundtrack
· A copy of the book by Martin Booth (on which the film is based)
· T-shirt
And four runners up will get
· A copy of the book
· T-shirt
All you need to do is answer the following question using the form below,
What is the name of the 2007 Ian Curtis biopic directed by Anton Corbijn?
[contact-form]
The small print:
This competition is open to the UK only. Only one entry per household will be counted. The competition will close on Tuesday the 30th of November at 23.59 GMT. The winner will be picked at random from entries received.
The usual...
We have one main prize of
· A signed poster by Anton Corbijn, Violante Placido and Thekla Reuten
· A soundtrack
· A copy of the book by Martin Booth (on which the film is based)
· T-shirt
And four runners up will get
· A copy of the book
· T-shirt
All you need to do is answer the following question using the form below,
What is the name of the 2007 Ian Curtis biopic directed by Anton Corbijn?
[contact-form]
The small print:
This competition is open to the UK only. Only one entry per household will be counted. The competition will close on Tuesday the 30th of November at 23.59 GMT. The winner will be picked at random from entries received.
The usual...
- 11/23/2010
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
At this point, we're not sure what to make of writer Rowan Joffe's directorial debut with an adaptation of Graham Greene's underworld thriller "Brighton Rock." The film garnered fairly disappointing reviews from its screenings at the Toronto and London film festivals despite the fact the project boasted an exciting cast with rising thesps Sam Riley and Andrea Riseborough mixed with the experience of Helen Mirren and John Hurt, strong source material and a helmer who had just impressed us with his subdued script for Anton Corbijn's "The American," based on Martin Booth's "A Very Private Gentleman." One review described the…...
- 11/18/2010
- The Playlist
This is the daily news vodcast from the London Film Festival on Pure Movies covering the gala premiere of The American, directed by Anton Corbijn and starring George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli, Irina Björklund, Björn Granath, Johan Leysen, Filippo Timi and Samuli Vauramo. This is a literary adaptation of Martin Booth’s A Very Private Gentleman and, as the title suggests, Clooney plays a character that is both enigmatic and elusive. In fact, he hardly talks. He has no women in his life and, from the opening scene, it is easy to see why this is the case. A priest attempts to befriend Jack (who now goes by Edward), while he finds company, solace and sex with a local prostitute called Clara. It is evident though that he is being tracked and his past seemingly instructs him to trust nobody and be suspicious of everyone, including people that he starts relationships with.
- 10/22/2010
- by Dan Higgins
- Pure Movies
This is a stylish vehicle for George Clooney as an ice-cold hitman, but it lacks thrills and spills
George Clooney returns, setting aside the warm and witty persona that his fans love, and giving them instead one of his darkest and most unsympathetic characters: an ice-cold professional killer marooned in loneliness and fear. The director is Anton Corbijn – the former photographer who made his brilliant feature debut with Control, a biopic of Joy Division's frontman, Ian Curtis – working from a screenplay by Rowan Joffe. It is adapted from the 1991 novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth, originally about a reserved Englishman abroad with a brutal and murderous secret.
The movie re-imagines this expatriate loner as an American. Clooney plays Jack, an assassin first seen hiding out with a beautiful companion in a Swedish forest cabin. This blissful scene is shattered by violence, and Jack demonstrates his utter ruthlessness both to his attackers,...
George Clooney returns, setting aside the warm and witty persona that his fans love, and giving them instead one of his darkest and most unsympathetic characters: an ice-cold professional killer marooned in loneliness and fear. The director is Anton Corbijn – the former photographer who made his brilliant feature debut with Control, a biopic of Joy Division's frontman, Ian Curtis – working from a screenplay by Rowan Joffe. It is adapted from the 1991 novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth, originally about a reserved Englishman abroad with a brutal and murderous secret.
The movie re-imagines this expatriate loner as an American. Clooney plays Jack, an assassin first seen hiding out with a beautiful companion in a Swedish forest cabin. This blissful scene is shattered by violence, and Jack demonstrates his utter ruthlessness both to his attackers,...
- 10/15/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Anton Corbijn changes style, genre and country for his second feature in the director’s chair and enlists the support of the world’s biggest movie star to play the leading role. The American could easily be dismissed as a Michelangelo Antonioni-like pastiche; what with its seductive use of framing, wide vistas and ponderous pace. But Corbijn’s film surprisingly hooks the viewer some way into its second act delivering a well-measured existential thriller.
Jack (George Clooney) is an assassin losing his taste for the business. He’s sent to hide out in Italy after an incident in Sweden leaves a trail of bodies and mysterious enemies out for revenge. A lifetime as a gun for hire has left Jack distrustful and paranoid about, well, everything and everybody.
In the tiny – and highly photogenic – village of Castel Del Monte, he befriends a local priest, patrols the area looking out...
Jack (George Clooney) is an assassin losing his taste for the business. He’s sent to hide out in Italy after an incident in Sweden leaves a trail of bodies and mysterious enemies out for revenge. A lifetime as a gun for hire has left Jack distrustful and paranoid about, well, everything and everybody.
In the tiny – and highly photogenic – village of Castel Del Monte, he befriends a local priest, patrols the area looking out...
- 10/13/2010
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
Dutch director Anton Corbijn says his film .The American. can help boost tourism in Italy.s Abruzzo region which was hit by a natural calamity that caused multiple casualties last year. Major portions of the George Clooney-starrer were shot there.By Robin Bansal.I met with Clooney to finalise the plans (for him) to produce and star in the movie. I remember discussing our shared hope that filming .The American. would help boost the region.s economy, what with the money spent during production and the finished film encouraging tourism in the future,. Corbijn said in an e-mail interaction with Ians..The terrain is rugged and rocky. It.s not generally where tourists go. But it.s a wonderful area that needs preserving - beyond even the earthquake, oil drilling is harming the landscape.(But) the production firmed up its commitment to the region,. he added.Having already topped...
- 9/28/2010
- Filmicafe
The programme for this year’s festival has been announced and there are a number of literature-based films including the Opening Night Gala Never Let Me Go, Closing Night Gala 127 Hours and the provocative ‘Muslim punks’ film The Taqwacores.
With so many films in this year’s Lff programme having their origins in printed form, a discussion panel is also being held on 25th October, with a number of screenwriters discussing their adaptations in the Hollywood Reporter-sponsored event A Novel Idea: Adapting Books for the Screen.
Below a selection of the films with a literary connection screening at this year’s London Film Festival:
Literary Feature Films:
127 Hours; Dir. Danny Boyle – Gripping, adventurous film making and headline grabbing drama from Oscar winning director Danny Boyle, based on Aron Ralston’s book Between a Rock and A Hard Place (set for re-release in January).
The American; Dir. Anton Corbijn – George Clooney...
With so many films in this year’s Lff programme having their origins in printed form, a discussion panel is also being held on 25th October, with a number of screenwriters discussing their adaptations in the Hollywood Reporter-sponsored event A Novel Idea: Adapting Books for the Screen.
Below a selection of the films with a literary connection screening at this year’s London Film Festival:
Literary Feature Films:
127 Hours; Dir. Danny Boyle – Gripping, adventurous film making and headline grabbing drama from Oscar winning director Danny Boyle, based on Aron Ralston’s book Between a Rock and A Hard Place (set for re-release in January).
The American; Dir. Anton Corbijn – George Clooney...
- 9/22/2010
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
Rowan Joffe may be in Toronto to premiere (and hopefully sell) his directing debut Brighton Rock, but the awkward afterglow of this month's box-office triumph The American -- which Joffe adapted from Martin Booth's novel A Very Private Gentleman -- followed the screenwriter north to Tiff. That's where I caught up with him to talk over the film's box-office success, the split personality of its moodiness and its marketing, and what Tony Gilroy's DVD extras taught him about writing for George Clooney.
- 9/15/2010
- Movieline
PVR Pictures is all set to release the George Clooney starrer The American on 1 October, 2010. The movie, directed by European Director Anton Corbijn, is a suspense thriller and also stars Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten and Paolo Bonacelli. The screenplay of The American is by Rowan Joffe and is an adaptation of Martin Booth’s 1990 novel, A Very Private Gentleman. PVR Pictures head - worldwide distribution Deepak Sharma said, “We are very excited to bring The American to Indian audiences. It is a fast-paced action thriller with a huge star cast ...
- 9/15/2010
- BusinessofCinema
The American Directed by: Anton Corbijn Written by: Rowan Joffe (screenplay), Martin Booth (novel) Starring: George Clooney, Paolo Bonacelli, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten The American is defiantly quiet. When it began, the hum of the theater fan was louder than its ambience track. The audience shifted in their creaky chairs as the camera crawled toward a snow-covered cabin. The silence permitted me a unique opportunity to reflect on how loud movies have become. The comparative whisper of Anton Corbijn’s The American heralds a spy-thriller set so far apart from its Bourne brethren that it barely qualifies as a thriller at all. Certainly not the kind that a mainstream audience, baited with an intentionally misleading trailer, had come to see. That it stars George Clooney, one of the most trusted faces in Hollywood, only rubs salt in the wound. But if you don’t have the patience for it, it...
- 9/13/2010
- by Colin
- FilmJunk
Rating: 2.5/5
Writers: Rowan Joffe (screenplay), Martin Booth (novel)
Director: Anton Corbijn
Cast: George Clooney, Thekla Reuten, Violante Placido, Paolo Bonacelli, Johan Leysen
Studio: Focus Features
There should be no simpler formula for box office gold and critical acclaim than George Clooney, plus vague spy occupation, multiplied by Italian countryside, divided by two equally dangerous women. But what happens when our own leading man wants nothing more than to get away from said “vague spy occupation,” and everything else is just distraction from the crushing emptiness that amounts to a life of pursuit that only ends with, well, no reward. What awaits someone who has spent their entire life on the fringes of society and law? The American is not a Bourne-born spy flick with Clooney stalking through dark alleys, gun in hand, ease oozing from his being. It is a film about process, and timing, and the hazy in-between that accompanies both of them.
Writers: Rowan Joffe (screenplay), Martin Booth (novel)
Director: Anton Corbijn
Cast: George Clooney, Thekla Reuten, Violante Placido, Paolo Bonacelli, Johan Leysen
Studio: Focus Features
There should be no simpler formula for box office gold and critical acclaim than George Clooney, plus vague spy occupation, multiplied by Italian countryside, divided by two equally dangerous women. But what happens when our own leading man wants nothing more than to get away from said “vague spy occupation,” and everything else is just distraction from the crushing emptiness that amounts to a life of pursuit that only ends with, well, no reward. What awaits someone who has spent their entire life on the fringes of society and law? The American is not a Bourne-born spy flick with Clooney stalking through dark alleys, gun in hand, ease oozing from his being. It is a film about process, and timing, and the hazy in-between that accompanies both of them.
- 9/6/2010
- by Kate Erbland
- GordonandtheWhale
The American
Starring George Clooney, Violante Placido, and Paolo Bonacelli
Directed by Anton Corbijn
Rated R
Some movies are slow because they're put together wrong or there simply isn't enough to sustain 100 minutes or whatever the length is. Other movies are designed to be slow because they're methodical, concerned with the details. The American is the second kind of movie, but it's easy to make a case that it's masquerading as the first.
Not much happens in Anton Corbijn's film, an adaptation of the 1990 Martin Booth novel A Very Private Gentleman. But this isn't about what happens on screen as much as what happens behind the eyes of Jack (George Clooney).
Well, we're introduced to him as Jack. He's in Sweden, but he can't stay there long. He makes a phone call when he gets to Rome and is told when he meets the voice on the other end...
Starring George Clooney, Violante Placido, and Paolo Bonacelli
Directed by Anton Corbijn
Rated R
Some movies are slow because they're put together wrong or there simply isn't enough to sustain 100 minutes or whatever the length is. Other movies are designed to be slow because they're methodical, concerned with the details. The American is the second kind of movie, but it's easy to make a case that it's masquerading as the first.
Not much happens in Anton Corbijn's film, an adaptation of the 1990 Martin Booth novel A Very Private Gentleman. But this isn't about what happens on screen as much as what happens behind the eyes of Jack (George Clooney).
Well, we're introduced to him as Jack. He's in Sweden, but he can't stay there long. He makes a phone call when he gets to Rome and is told when he meets the voice on the other end...
- 9/3/2010
- by Colin
- GetTheBigPicture.net
George Clooney's characters tend to be drawn from one of three wells, and only one at a time: wacky, charming, or distracted. He's usually able to imbue any of these with some modicum of the charisma that's made him a movie star, and when that magnetism and chosen persona combine with the right filmmaker, the result can be wonderful: the grinning idiot of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the sly con of Out of Sight, and the morally compromised soldier of Three Kings are as good examples as any. Yet it's usually the serious and distracted persona that gives Clooney the most trouble, or at least finds him furthest out on a limb with nothing supporting him but the director's whispered command to jump. The effortlessness he brings to other roles seems less accessible to him, as if he's suddenly all too aware of the fact that he has...
- 9/2/2010
- by Daniel Carlson
In “The American,” George Clooney, as we are constantly reminded, is playing an American. He is also playing a professional assassin. For the filmmakers, there is some kind of equivalency between being an American and being an assassin. Apparently there are no professional assassins who are not American.
Based on the Martin Booth novel “A Very Private Gentleman” and directed by Anton Corbijn from a screenplay by Rowan Joffe, “The American” is about a very private gentleman indeed. Clooney’s Jack doesn’t make friends easily because they tend to die when they’re around him. An unknowing girlfriend, for example, gets it between the eyes in the opening minutes, propelling Jack into hiding in a mountainside Italian village in Abruzzo. “Don’t make friends,” his handler reminds him…read more [The Christian Science Monitor]
Despite its promotion, The American is not exactly what you would call an action movie. That doesn’t make...
Based on the Martin Booth novel “A Very Private Gentleman” and directed by Anton Corbijn from a screenplay by Rowan Joffe, “The American” is about a very private gentleman indeed. Clooney’s Jack doesn’t make friends easily because they tend to die when they’re around him. An unknowing girlfriend, for example, gets it between the eyes in the opening minutes, propelling Jack into hiding in a mountainside Italian village in Abruzzo. “Don’t make friends,” his handler reminds him…read more [The Christian Science Monitor]
Despite its promotion, The American is not exactly what you would call an action movie. That doesn’t make...
- 9/2/2010
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
There is something strange and hypnotic about “The American”, a hit man tale based on the Martin Booth novel “A Very Private Gentleman”. It is being touted as a thriller, but it is more about a man coming to grips about his past. Action junkies will no doubt be disappointed by the lack of explosions and low body count. More patient viewers will be rewarded by the constant tension throughout and the gorgeous visuals. Jack (George Clooney) is a guy with a lot of his mind. In Sweden, he is almost killed after a completed job. He’s getting sloppy by breaking one of his rules of not making any friends with the locals. Jack escapes to the picturesque region of Albruzzo in Italy. Director Anton Corbijn’s career as a photographer serves him well here. The lush snow of Sweden and the beautiful landscape of Albruzzo are perfectly captured on film.
- 9/2/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
George Clooney stars in Anton Corbijn‘s The American, in which he plays a hitman about to quit his profession. While on assignment (and in hiding) in a Italian village, he falls for a good-looking, kind-hearted local prostitute (Violante Placido). The American has been compared to the Matt Damon vehicle The Bourne Identity. I’m not sure if anyone has compared it to Jean-Pierre Melville‘s Le samouraï, which starred Alain Delon as a cold-hearted hitman. Adapted by Rowan Joffe from Martin Booth‘s novel A Very Private Gentleman, The American has received mixed reviews. Below are a few samples. Distributed by Focus Features, The American opens in the United States today. Clooney, particularly earlier in his career, was often compared to Humphrey Bogart, and his role here is reminiscent of Bogart’s hardened criminal Roy Earle from “High Sierra,” except that he’s about as emotive as a brass doorknob.
- 9/1/2010
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
Cool, understated, stripped to essentials, “The American” centers upon the sort of American anti-hero--the laconic cowboy, the perennial outcast, the reform-minded gangster making one final heist, the bad man seeking redemption--who used to appear regularly onscreen but has been pushed aside of late by action heroes and comic vulgarians. Although the themes stressed in Rowan Joffe's adaptation of the late Martin Booth's 1990 novel “A Very Private Gentleman” are conventional--escape from one's past, the fresh start made possible by the right woman--director Anton Corbijn's comparatively astringent approach invests them with a refreshing rigor while simultaneously evoking certain aspects of loner-centric…...
- 9/1/2010
- Todd McCarthy's Deep Focus
Adapted from Martin Booth’s 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman, Anton Corbijn’s slow-burning thriller The American has been given an appropriately nondescript title. For the few who encounter George Clooney’s mysterious character, his nationality is the only thing they really know about him; the audience doesn’t get to learn much more, even after spending every minute of the movie with him. This may sound like a weakness, but Corbijn and his screenwriter, Rowan Joffe, play coy for a reason; it’s the nature of their hero’s mercenary occupation, as a craftsman of weapons for assassins ...
- 9/1/2010
- avclub.com
Opening with a silent panoramic shot of winter twilight in remote Sweden, The American quickly separates itself from typical international thrillers. Unfortunately, it also means that it won't find the audience normally drawn to such films.
Based on the Martin Booth novel A Very Private Gentleman and adapted by Rowan Joffe (28 Weeks Later), The American is the tale of Jack, an assassin (George Clooney) at the end of his career, paranoid and tense, and reluctant to take one last assignment. After Jack is targeted by a hit squad, he runs to Italy only to have his handler set up a place to lay low in a remote town.
Director Anton Corbijn leans heavily on moody imagery and panoramic shots to set the mood. Corbijn, whose background is in music videos and documentaries, relies more on imagery than dialogue to drive the story. The frequent wide shots set a tone of...
Based on the Martin Booth novel A Very Private Gentleman and adapted by Rowan Joffe (28 Weeks Later), The American is the tale of Jack, an assassin (George Clooney) at the end of his career, paranoid and tense, and reluctant to take one last assignment. After Jack is targeted by a hit squad, he runs to Italy only to have his handler set up a place to lay low in a remote town.
Director Anton Corbijn leans heavily on moody imagery and panoramic shots to set the mood. Corbijn, whose background is in music videos and documentaries, relies more on imagery than dialogue to drive the story. The frequent wide shots set a tone of...
- 9/1/2010
- by Jenn Brown
- Slackerwood
Thekla Reuten and George Clooney in The American
Photo: Focus Features I already saw Roger Ebert has compared Anton Corbijn's The American to Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai so I won't try to pass the thought off as an original, but it must be mentioned because the comparison is so appropriate. While George Clooney doesn't slide into his role in The American as skillfully as Alain Delon played Jef Costello in Samourai, the similar workmanlike and dedicated nature of the two characters is unmistakable.
The American, like Le Samourai isn't the modern day shoot 'em up actioner you expect when you hear the words "assassin film," instead it's more of a moody and methodical piece that never relies on action set pieces or explosions to raise the tension, but remains about as tense as it can get nonetheless.
Adapted by Rowan Joffe (writer/director of the upcoming Brighton Rock...
Photo: Focus Features I already saw Roger Ebert has compared Anton Corbijn's The American to Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai so I won't try to pass the thought off as an original, but it must be mentioned because the comparison is so appropriate. While George Clooney doesn't slide into his role in The American as skillfully as Alain Delon played Jef Costello in Samourai, the similar workmanlike and dedicated nature of the two characters is unmistakable.
The American, like Le Samourai isn't the modern day shoot 'em up actioner you expect when you hear the words "assassin film," instead it's more of a moody and methodical piece that never relies on action set pieces or explosions to raise the tension, but remains about as tense as it can get nonetheless.
Adapted by Rowan Joffe (writer/director of the upcoming Brighton Rock...
- 9/1/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Director: Anton Corbijn Writer: Rowan Joffe (screenplay), Martin Booth (novel) Starring: George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli Jack (George Clooney) is, by all accounts and purposes, an American. His career as an assassin is high risk but offers significant financial return. In other words: Jack, like all good 'mericans, likes guns and money. (There must be a Gang of Four reference somewhere around here...) Jack tries to forget history, living life only in the present; Jack also seems to expect that others will forget his past as well. (Note: The American utilizes Jack to symbolize the United States just as The Quiet American utilizes Pyle.) The American begins in a tranquil and secluded snowbound cabin in Sweden where it seems Jack believes (or at least hopes) he has left his career behind. Unfortunately for Jack, his past catches up with him and he soon finds himself on the run again.
- 9/1/2010
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
By Anthony D’Alessandro
HollywoodNews.com: Despite his good looks and accessible leading man aura, George Clooney’s canon is comprised of social outsiders and in certain cases, as in his latest hypnotic thriller “The American” — nomads.
And to Clooney’s credit as an actor, he doesn’t get bogged down by the Hollywood system whereby his credits live and die by the strength of their box office openings. Clooney is allowed to stretch as a thespian and stretch he does in Anton Corbijn’s razor-sharp thriller about a Yank assassin who hides from Swedish killers in the medieval hilltop towns of Abruzzo, Italy. Filling the screen with his steely, pensive, puppy-dog looks, Clooney’s Jack — who goes by two aliases, Edward to his Italian g.f. and “Mr. Butterfly” to everyone else — is a man of few words; his small talk literally rivaling that of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cyborg in “Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
HollywoodNews.com: Despite his good looks and accessible leading man aura, George Clooney’s canon is comprised of social outsiders and in certain cases, as in his latest hypnotic thriller “The American” — nomads.
And to Clooney’s credit as an actor, he doesn’t get bogged down by the Hollywood system whereby his credits live and die by the strength of their box office openings. Clooney is allowed to stretch as a thespian and stretch he does in Anton Corbijn’s razor-sharp thriller about a Yank assassin who hides from Swedish killers in the medieval hilltop towns of Abruzzo, Italy. Filling the screen with his steely, pensive, puppy-dog looks, Clooney’s Jack — who goes by two aliases, Edward to his Italian g.f. and “Mr. Butterfly” to everyone else — is a man of few words; his small talk literally rivaling that of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cyborg in “Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
- 8/31/2010
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Hollywoodnews.com
It's chic for a movie critic to say that "the book is better," but in this case-considering that the story is a slow-moving psychological suspense thriller-Martin Booth's 1990 novel is the way to go. As you turn the pages you will doubtless wonder what comes next, the type of tale that intrigues on the page but comes across inert on the big screen. As directed by Anton Corbijn, "The American" is spare of dialogue (script by Rowan Joffe and the novelist), the music by Herbert Grönemeyer either non-existent or anything but intrusive, with a landscape in Italy's Abruzzo region that's, what should we say, European? The medieval town built on a hill, scene of most of the action, would be nice to drive through but would hardly entice tourists to stay overnight. This is the sort of place, however, that a fellow in the service of assassins might want to live,...
- 8/30/2010
- Arizona Reporter
Check out our full gallery of photos from the upcoming George Clooney thriller The American.
The suspense thriller stars Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten and Paolo Bonacelli. Director Anton Corbijn led the action from a script by Rowan Joffe.
Academy Award winner George Clooney stars in the title role of this suspense thriller, filmed on location in Italy. Alone among assassins, Jack (played by Mr. Clooney) is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry (Bruce Altman) that his next assignment will be his last.
Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten of “In Bruges”), is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks...
The suspense thriller stars Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten and Paolo Bonacelli. Director Anton Corbijn led the action from a script by Rowan Joffe.
Academy Award winner George Clooney stars in the title role of this suspense thriller, filmed on location in Italy. Alone among assassins, Jack (played by Mr. Clooney) is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry (Bruce Altman) that his next assignment will be his last.
Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten of “In Bruges”), is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks...
- 8/29/2010
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
Check out 4 new film clips as well as interviews and 5 broll clips from Focus Features eagerly anticipated drama "The American." The film stars and opens on September 1st. Anton Corbijn directs from the writing by Rowan Joffe based on the novel by Martin Booth. Academy Award winner George Clooney stars in the title role of this suspense thriller. As an assassin, Jack (played by Mr. Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten). Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli...
- 8/29/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
See new images of George Clooney and more in Focus Features' "The American" which opens on September 1st and is helmed by Anton Corbijn from the writing by Rowan Joffe based on the novel by Martin Booth. Grant Heslov and George Clooney produce via their Smoke House Pictures banner. Academy Award winner George Clooney stars in the title role of this suspense thriller. As an assassin, Jack (played by Mr. Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten). Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo...
- 8/24/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The American, from director Anton Corbijn (Control), arrives in theaters on September 1st, opting out of the fall fest circuit. George Clooney, who followed his charmingly vulnerable role in Up in The Air with shaggy humor in the less impressive The Men Who Stare At Goats, now returns to his commercial bread-and-butter as the side-burned assassin whose "last job" isn't as cut-and-dried as he'd hope. It never is. Moviefone posts exclusive stills (featuring Clooney and comely co-stars Violante Placido and Thekla Reuten) and the new trailer. W Magazine runs a spread of Corbijn's own pictures. A sampling and the trailer are below; here's an excerpt from the Martin Booth novel upon which the film is based. Update: And Corbijn's own production blog, with more pics. Here is the new trailer:...
- 8/19/2010
- Thompson on Hollywood
Academy Award winner George Clooney stars in the suspense thriller The American and M&C is getting fans ready for the trip with a $50 American Express Gift Card and leather Passport Case. The American arrives in theaters on September 1st and sees Clooney joined by Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli. The film features a screenplay from Rowan Joffe (.28 Weeks Later.) and was based on the novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth. It was directed by Anton Corbijn (.Control.). Synopsis: Alone among assassins, Jack (Clooney) is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact that his next assignment will be his...
- 8/16/2010
- by Patrick Luce
- Monsters and Critics
Focus Features has revealed a new featurette for the upcoming suspense thriller The American, which stars George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten and Paolo Bonacelli.
Alone among assassins, Jack (played by Mr. Clooney) is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry (Bruce Altman) that his next assignment will be his last.
Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten of “In Bruges”), is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Italian stage and screen veteran Paolo Bonacelli) and pursues romance with local woman Clara (Italian leading lady Violante Placido). But by stepping out of the shadows,...
Alone among assassins, Jack (played by Mr. Clooney) is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry (Bruce Altman) that his next assignment will be his last.
Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten of “In Bruges”), is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Italian stage and screen veteran Paolo Bonacelli) and pursues romance with local woman Clara (Italian leading lady Violante Placido). But by stepping out of the shadows,...
- 8/11/2010
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
Just because MGM has put James Bond 23 on ice, that doesn't mean that you have to be deprived of seeing a suave, globe-trotting man with a penchant for gals and guns on the big screen. Enter George Clooney in The American. Based on Martin Booth's novel A Very Private Gentlemen, The American was directed by Anton Cobjin (Control) and tells the story of Jack (Clooney), an aging assassin who lets his guard down while on his last assignment in Italy and ends up putting himself in the crosshairs.
Next Showing: The American opens September 1
Link | Posted 8/10/2010 by BrentJS
George Clooney | The American...
Next Showing: The American opens September 1
Link | Posted 8/10/2010 by BrentJS
George Clooney | The American...
- 8/10/2010
- by BrentJS Sprecher
- Reelzchannel.com
Anton Corbijn's sophomore film comes out in theaters on the 1st of September, but fans of the music video helmer, artistic director, and photographer can get their fix as of today with Inside the American. Between scenes on set for The American - the Rowan Joffe-scripted adaptation of the Martin Booth novel A Very Private Gentleman, Corbijn grabbed some candid pics -- which I imagine will be in the same fabric as some of the blog entries set up with Focus Features. Part coffee table book, part production diary, published by Schirmer Mosel - the folks who've worked with Corbijn on several photography based books, this one retails for 40 bucks.
- 8/9/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Focus Features has debuted the first TV spot for director Anton Corbijn’s The American, starring George Clooney.
Alone among assassins, Jack (Clooney) is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde, is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues romance with local woman Clara. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.
Thekla Reuten, The American Movie Photo
George Clooney, The American Movie Photo
The film also stars Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli and Bruce Altman.
Alone among assassins, Jack (Clooney) is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde, is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues romance with local woman Clara. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.
Thekla Reuten, The American Movie Photo
George Clooney, The American Movie Photo
The film also stars Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli and Bruce Altman.
- 8/2/2010
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
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