A court-martialed General rallies together twelve hundred inmates to rise against a corrupt and sadistic warden.A court-martialed General rallies together twelve hundred inmates to rise against a corrupt and sadistic warden.A court-martialed General rallies together twelve hundred inmates to rise against a corrupt and sadistic warden.
- Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMark Ruffalo performed his own stunts during the helicopter battle scene.
- GoofsIt was an error to have Irwin be a 3-star general. 3-star and 4-star generals hold their ranks temporarily, as long as they occupy a 3-star or 4-star position. When they are transferred from one 3- or 4-star position to another, the President must re-nominate them for Senate confirmation. If an officer is relieved (fired) from one of those positions, he reverts to 2-star by operation of law unless awaiting retirement (and then only for 60 days). Irwin was court-martialed, so the Army certainly wouldn't keep him in a 3-star slot. They'd relieve him and he'd go to court-martial as a 2-star. See 10 USC 601.
- Quotes
Irwin: [narrating first lines] Take a look at a castle. Any castle. Now break down the key elements that make it a castle. They haven't changed in a thousand years. 1: Location. A site on high ground that commands the territory as far as the eye can see. 2: Protection. Big walls, walls strong enough to withstand a frontal attack. 3: A garrison. Men who are trained and willing to kill. 4: A flag. You tell your men you are soldiers and that's your flag. You tell them nobody takes our flag. And you raise that flag so it flies high where everyone can see it. Now you've got yourself a castle. The only difference between this castle and all the rest is that they were built to keep people out. This castle is built to keep people in.
- ConnectionsFeatured in HBO First Look: Inside the Walls of 'The Last Castle' (2001)
- SoundtracksChiseled in Stone
Written & Performed by Dean Hall
Despite being a total box office flop, I was still sufficiently attracted by Lurie and the cast he had put together to give this film a chance (albeit on DVD rather than in the cinema). The film is a mix of two types of film and it manages to do neither of them that well, but well enough to produce an enjoyable if forgettable film. The first half of the film is a sort of drama, with Irwin teaching the men the respect and humanity that (supposedly) they once had as soldiers. This half is OK mainly because the fatherly Redford makes his character work pretty well at this stuff it isn't brilliant but it is OK to watch. The second half sees the film become increasingly illogical as the contest between Irwin and Winter intensifies up to the point where a slightly silly final action sequence. I won't say enough to spoil it for anybody, but the final sequence of events grows more and more unlikely by each passing event. Happily it is also quite exciting for what it is and the temptation to scoff at it is delayed (slightly) by the distraction value of it. It is not a great story by any means but it is workable and the director and cast are just about good enough to make the weak into the watchable, the empty into the entertaining.
Ex-Empire critic Lurie will always interest me because he had the guts to do what few critics could stop analysing others and make something themselves. His direction is good and he handles the action sequences well (their weaknesses being in their writing, not in his delivery). The cast are talented and do their best with a script that is not as good as their talent deserved. Redford has an easy task playing an elder statesman, full of charisma and high principles. He does this well as one would expect from an actor if his caliber. Gandolfini plays back his accent in an attempt to keep his character away from his 'Sopranoisms' but the script doesn't help him. Gadolfini plays a 'little man', one whom we half feel sorry for and half we dislike; he does well to keep both these sides out, but at the end of the film the script is only really interesting in making him a controlling monster and his performance doesn't really matter one way or the other. The support cast has quite a few well-known faces, most of who are pretty good. Lindo is more of an add-on but the ever-reliable Ruffalo who shows here why he now has the reputation of a solid support man.
Collins has a simple, stuttering character but it is still nice to see him in something other than a gangbanger role. The rest of the support are good enough, even if they don't have a great deal to do.
Overall this is an average film that seems to aspire to a higher level at one point and then just settle for action and explosions at later stages. None of it really amounts to much but the first half is enjoyable as a fairly clichéd drama and the second half is quite enjoyable even if it is silly and overblown. I can understand why it didn't really do much at the box office but as a DVD it works well enough to pass a few hours even if it never really does much more than go through the motions.
- bob the moo
- Oct 10, 2004
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- The Castle
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $72,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $18,244,060
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,088,213
- Oct 21, 2001
- Gross worldwide
- $27,642,707
- Runtime2 hours 11 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1