The Keep (1983)

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

F. Paul Wilson (novel)
Michael Mann (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

THEY WERE ALL DRAWN TO THE KEEP. The soldiers who brought death. The father and daughter fighting for life. The people who have always feared it. And the one man who knows its secret... THE KEEP Tonight, they will all face the evil.

Plot:

Nazis guard a citadel that harbors a dangerous force that starts wreaking havoc and death upon them, forcing an uneasy alliance with a Jewish professional who can stop it.

Plot Keywords:

Good Versus Evil | WWII | Curse | Death | Cult Favorite

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Scott Glenn	...	Glaeken Trismegestus
Alberta Watson	...	Eva Cuza
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Captain Klaus Woermann
Robert Prosky	...	Father Mihail Fonescu
Gabriel Byrne	...	Major Kaempffer
Ian McKellen	...	Dr. Theodore Cuza
William Morgan Sheppard	...	Alexandru (as Morgan Sheppard)
Royston Tickner	...	Tomescu
Phillip Joseph	...	Sergeant Oster
Michael Carter	...	Molasar
John Vine	...	Lutz
Jona Jones	...	Otto
Wolf Kahler	...	S.S. Adjutant
Rosalie Crutchley	...	Josefia
Frederick Warder	...	Border Guard #1
Bruce Payne	...	Border Guard #2
David Cardy	...	Alexandru's Son
John Eastham	...	Alexandru's Second Son
Philip Bloomfield	...	Josefia's Son
Yashaw Adem	...	Carlos
Stephen Whittaker	...	S.S. Commando
Lan Ruskin	...	S.S. Commando
Stephen Jenn	...	S.S. Commando
Benedick Blythe	...	S.S. Commando
Robin Langford	...	S.S. Commando
Renny Krupinski	...	Wehrmacht Soldier
Peter Guinness	...	Wehrmacht Soldier
Sean Baker	...	Wehrmacht Soldier
Timothy Block	...	Wehrmacht Soldier

Directed by
Michael Mann

Writing credits
F. Paul Wilson		(novel)
Michael Mann		(screenplay)

Produced by
Richard Brams	....	associate producer
Colin M. Brewer	....	executive producer
Gene Kirkwood	....	producer
Hawk Koch	....	producer (as Howard W. Koch Jr.)
Gavin MacFadyen	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Christopher Franke		(as Tangerine Dream)
Edgar Froese		(as Tangerine Dream)
Johannes Schmölling		(as Tangerine Dream)

Cinematography by
Alex Thomson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Dov Hoenig
Chris Kelly

Production Design by
John Box

Art Direction by
Alan Tomkins
Herbert Westbrook

Set Decoration by
Michael Seirton

Costume Design by
Anthony Mendleson

Makeup Department
Graham Freeborn	....	makeup artist
Joyce James	....	hairdresser
Beryl Leiman	....	makeup artist
Beryl Lerman	....	makeup artist
Nick Maley	....	makeup designer
Richard Mills	....	makeup artist
Barbara Ritchie	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Patrick Clayton	....	production supervisor
Phil Sanderson	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Callum McDougall	....	third assistant director
Kieron Phipps	....	second assistant director
Roger Simons	....	assistant director

Art Department
George Ball	....	property master
Kevin Phipps	....	draughtsman

Sound Department
Robin Gregory	....	sound mixer
William Trent	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Nick Allder	....	special effects supervisor
Alan Bryce	....	special effects
Kevin Herd	....	special effects technician
Garth Inns	....	special effects
Melvyn Pearson	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Robin Browne	....	visual effects supervisor
Doug Ferris	....	matte artist
Jamie Harcourt	....	optical camera operator
Wally Veevers	....	visual effects supervisor
Keith Holland	....	visual effects camera operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Andy Bradford	....	stunts
Jim Dowdall	....	stunts
Tracey Eddon	....	stunts
Nick Hobbs	....	stunts
Alf Joint	....	stunt coordinator
Doug Robinson	....	stunts
Paddy Ryan	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Wick Finch	....	electrician
John Golding	....	second camera operator
Arthur Lavis	....	unit cinematographer
Shaun O'Dell	....	camera operator
Steve Parker	....	assistant camera
Andrew Shields	....	video playback operator
John Ward	....	steadicam operator
Micky Wilson	....	electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rosemary Burrows	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Chris Kelly	....	associate editor
Pamela Power	....	additional editor

Music Department
Bob Badami	....	music editor
Laurie Anderson	....	score mixer (uncredited)

Other crew
Enki Bilal	....	illustrator: demon
John Carr	....	laser effects
Ken Goddard	....	laser effects
Denise Horsham	....	creature crew
Bob Keen	....	creature crew
Nick Maley	....	creature designer
Nick Maley	....	prosthetics designer
Christine Overs	....	creature crew
Kevin Westley	....	set runner
David White	....	creature crew

Production Companies

• Associated Capital
• Capital Equipment Leasing

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1984) (France) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1984) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1989) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Paramount Home Video (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• CIC Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Delta Sound Services Ltd.  sound re-recording
• Filmfex Productions Ltd.  opticals
• Geoff Axtell Associates Ltd.  titles
• Joe Dunton & Company  camera equipment provided by
• LaseFX  laser effects
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Optical Film Effects Ltd.  opticals
• Rank Film Laboratories  opticals
• Vee Films Ltd.  opticals
• Visual Concept Engineering (VCE)  opticals

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:16 | Finland:K-18 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales, UK

Company:

Associated Capital

Trivia:

The film is dedicated to the memory of visual effects supervisor Wally Veevers.

Goofs:

Factual errors: One of the German soldiers who opens the tomb accidentally nudges a fake boulder which slides away way to easily.

Quotes:

Captain Klaus Woermann: Are you insane?
Major Kaempffer: SS-Einsatzkommondo, Sturmbannfuhrer Kaempffer is what I am!

Soundtrack:

Gloria

Uneven Art House Horror

Some people mention movies like LORD OF THE RINGS and BLACK HAWK DOWN as being extremely poor stories saved by their technical truimphs and watching THE KEEP I can understand where they`re coming from . This is a visually striking atmospheric movie with a rather confused and under developed script

All the best aspects of THE KEEP are mainly to do with what`s on screen . Alex Thomson`s cinematography is awesome , check out the scene of the fishing boat sailing into the rising sun , or the full moon shining out from behind the clouds or that fantastic scene where Lutz looks into the cavern as the camera pans back for almost a full minute . Michael Mann brings an unspeakably doomladen atmosphere to the movie and manages a quite remarkable image featuring the initial appearance of Molasar . Considering the budget is only 6 million dollars the special effects are quite good for this scene featuring an image of smoke , light and a haunting soundtrack . Mind you this one of the very few instances where Tangerine Dreams synth soundtrack is successful , elsewhere in the movie it`s very inappropiate . The acting too is a mixed bag . Most of the cast are merely okay while Gabriel Byrne plays just about the most blood chilling and convincing Nazi I`ve ever seen in a movie , but Scott Glen is wooden and Ian McKellen gives an awful performance as Dr Cuza , a Jewish intellectual who seems to have all the speech patterns and mannerisms of a Hollywood producer . Having said that it is interesting to see McKellen play someone who goes through a character arc similar to the one Frodo goes through in THE LORD OF THE RINGS

Michael Mann`s treatment of the screenplay is far less successful than his directing . A gestapo death squad battle against a monster , er so who are we supposed to root for ? During the war even some hardened Waffen SS men despised these murder squads and this is echoed by the character interaction between Captain Woermann and Major Kaempffer . However it turns out Woermann has profoundly anti fascist ideals in a conversation with Dr Cuza which means he stops being a character and becomes a cliche . Was everyone in Germany at this time either a Nazi or an anti Nazi with no in between ? I just wish Mann had blurred the lines a little . It should also be pointed out that Woermann`s first words of dialogue actually do sound like they come from a Nazi stormtrooper which indicates Mann has written inconsistently for the character . Another serious error with the screenplay is that it`s never really explained who Glaeken and Molasar are . Some people have described Molasar as a Golem , but he`s not . A Golem is basically a clay statue from Jewish folklore not as is Molasar an ethereal being of great power . Of course it could be that because Molasar needs Cuza`s help he appears to Cuza as a Golem but once again this seems to confused a lot of people due to the script , and I`m puzzled as to how Glaeken fits into all this . When adapting a screenplay everything should be made clear on screen to everybody , not just to people who have read the source novel

I gave THE KEEP seven out of ten mainly due to the technical achievements ( Remember this only cost $6 million ) but a word of warning only watch this if it`s in a widescreen letterbox format . I saw this on Sky movies the other night and a poor quality scanned version was used which meant the visual impact was totally absent