The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

Director:

Stephen Norrington

Writers (WGA):

Alan Moore (comic books) and
Kevin O'Neill (comic books) ...

Release Date:

11 July 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Prepare for the Extraordinary

Plot:

In an alternate Victorian Age world, a group of famous contemporary fantasy, SF and adventure characters team up on a secret mission.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide Pill | Graveyard | Altered Version Of Studio Logo | DC Comics | U Boat

Awards:

6 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. May 12	8:00 PM	FX
Tue. May 13	5:00 PM	FX

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Allan Quatermain
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Captain Nemo
Peta Wilson	...	Mina Harker
Tony Curran	...	Rodney Skinner (The Invisible Man)
Stuart Townsend	...	Dorian Gray
Shane West	...	Tom Sawyer
Jason Flemyng	...	Dr. Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde
Richard Roxburgh	...	M
Max Ryan	...	Dante
Tom Goodman-Hill	...	Sanderson Reed
David Hemmings	...	Nigel
Terry O'Neill	...	Ishmael
Rudolf Pellar	...	Draper
Robert Willox	...	Constable Dunning
Robert Orr	...	Running Officer

Also Known As:

LXG (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
LXG: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (USA) (trailer title)
Liga der außergewöhnlichen Gentlemen, Die (Germany)
The League (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of fantasy violence, language and innuendo.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Czech Republic | UK

Language:

English | German | Italian

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #39870) | South Korea:12 | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2003) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Angry Films

Trivia:

There were widespread rumors that Jason Isaacs was to play the part of British Agent Campion Bond. However, in an interview Isaacs revealed he hadn't even read the script and that all reports of him in the role were, in fact, fabricated.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the Kenyan bar fight, Quatermain pushes one of the armored men into a rhino horn on the wall. The horn goes straight through the man's back and comes out of his chest. This should not happen as the armored vest should have blocked the passage of the horn.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sanderson Reed: [to coachman] Don't... wander... off.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Son of Africa

Heavens, it wasn't THAT bad!

I've been reading the comments page in a somewhat bemused fashion. It seems to be divided between people who don't like the movie because it's not enough like the original graphic novel and people who don't like it because they've never heard of half of the characters that are members of the League. The latter seems to me to be an unutterably silly reason for disliking a film. Does nobody read the classics anymore? Nobody reads Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? I find that difficult to believe. As to the former--not enough like the graphic novel, in other words--just how in the heck can a screenwriter accommodate the dark and twisted visions of Alan Moore in a two-hour Hollywood movie, anyway?

I don't believe that one can compare anything written by Alan Moore to what ends up on the screen being ostensibly "based on the graphic novel". (The same applies to FROM HELL, which is another one most people pan, and one which I think is under-appreciated even though the style is breathtaking. I don't even want to think about the reaction that will ensue once THE WATCHMEN comes out!)

What seems to have been missed by most people is that this movie is about style as opposed to substance. It's based on a graphic novel. That's a fancy way of saying it's based on a comic book. On that level, the film succeeds admirably. The characters are archetypes of their literary forbears. They aren't supposed to be, strictly speaking, human. Of course the plot is grandiose, impractical, and over-the-top. Hello? Aren't most comic books like that? Good heavens, isn't most of STAR WARS?

I don't claim that this is a masterpiece. I do claim that's it's fun to watch if one approaches it with a willing suspension of disbelief. For a couple of bucks shelled out at the DVD rental shop, it takes one to a different world for close to two hours. On that level, it's worth a rental. It's also worth a rental, once one watches the movie, to listen to the commentary from various actors and to realize just how well these so-called "unknowns" do assorted accents that aren't even close to their own. Plus the golfing anecdotes are amusing. (And I don't even like golfing.)

This ain't CASABLANCA. Nor is it TITANIC, for which I eternally thank the gods. (Now, THERE was an overhyped piece of inaccurate trash that pretended to be history, but I digress.) But it's kind of fun, anyway, as long as one doesn't take it too seriously.