The Saint (1997)

Director:

Phillip Noyce

Writers (WGA):

Leslie Charteris (character)
Jonathan Hensleigh (story)

Release Date:

4 April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Cunning. Devious. Dangerous. Treacherous.

Plot:

Simon Templar has no real family, no real home and Simon Templar isn't even his real name. Yet Simon Templar ...

Plot Keywords:

The Saint | Fusion | Energy | Disguise | Thief

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Val Kilmer	...	Simon Templar
Elisabeth Shue	...	Dr. Emma Russell
Rade Serbedzija	...	Ivan Tretiak
Valeri Nikolayev	...	Ilya Tretiak (as Valery Nikolaev)
Henry Goodman	...	Dr. Lev Botvin
Alun Armstrong	...	Inspector Teal
Michael Byrne	...	Vereshagin, Tretiak's Aide
Yevgeni Lazarev	...	President Karpov (as Evgeny Lazarev)
Irina Apeksimova	...	Frankie (as Irina Apeximova)
Lev Prygunov	...	General Sklarov (as Lev Prigunov)
Charlotte Cornwell	...	Inspector Rabineau
Emily Mortimer	...	Woman on Plane
Lucija Serbedzija	...	Russian Prostitute
Velibor Topic	...	Skinhead
Tommy Flanagan	...	Scarface

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence, brief strong language, some sensuality and drug content.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Colour:

Colour (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Foreign Affairs Ministry building, Moscow, Russia

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

This film uses the classic 'Saint' theme tune that, though often thought of as starting with the 1960's television show, actually began in the 1930's and 1940's RKO Saint films and appeared in the radio show with _Vincent Price (I)_. This theme tune, having appeared in numerous post 1960's television adaptations of the Saint, serves as one of the most frequently and longest lasting theme tunes of a media franchise.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Emma is looking through suspect sketches at New Scotland Yard with the two detectives, the female detective says that the suspect is known by many different names, including "Louie" (or "Louis") "Guanella". Emma's response is "Of course... all names of Catholic saints." In the case of "Louie Guanella", this is incorrect. Luigi Guanella was a Catholic priest from Northern Italy, born in 1842 and died in 1912. Guanella was beatified in 1964 but has NOT yet been canonized (made a saint) by the Roman Catholic Church. He is therefore referred to as Blessed Luigi Guanella, not Saint (Luigi) Guanella.

Quotes:

Ilya Tretiak: Geedy westerner, wants more money.
Ivan Tretiak: Who cares? Can't spend hard currency in hell.

Movie Connections:

Remake of "The Saint" (1962)

Soundtrack:

Pearl's Girl

Am I the only one to like it?

I liked this movie. Not as "The Saint" but as an elaborate action movie with a twist. Val Kilmer bears nothing in him that even gets close to Roger Moore's character - but if you look away from that and try to see it as an ordinary film, it's really good.

First of all, Val Kilmer performs fairly well, despite his weird accents. I really liked his artist type guy who seduces Emma Russell, he was great fun.

As for the story, well...I didn't bother to check for anomalies, I knew I'd find plenty. I only have two more things to say:

1. Elisabeth Shue is absolutely stunningly beautiful in this film.

2. The cool car that we only get to see a few seconds is a Volvo C70, a worthy replacement for the Volvo P1800 that Moore's Saint drove around in.