Tears of the Sun (2003)

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Writers (WGA):

Alex Lasker (written by) &
Patrick Cirillo (written by)

Release Date:

7 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

The only thing necessary for evil the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Plot:

Bruce Willis plays a Special-Ops commander who leads his team into the jungle of Nigeria to rescue a doctor played by Monica Belluci who will only go with them if they agree to rescue 70 refugees too.

Plot Keywords:

Refugee | Rebel | Doctor | Jungle | Nigeria

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	Lieutenant A.K. Waters
Monica Bellucci	...	Dr. Lena Fiore Kendricks
Cole Hauser	...	James 'Red' Atkins
Eamonn Walker	...	Ellis 'Zee' Pettigrew
Johnny Messner	...	Kelly Lake
Nick Chinlund	...	Michael 'Slo' Slowenski
Charles Ingram	...	Demetrius 'Silk' Owens
Paul Francis	...	Danny 'Doc' Kelley
Chad Smith	...	Jason 'Flea' Mabry
Tom Skerritt	...	Captain Bill Rhodes
Malick Bowens	...	Colonel Idris Sadick
Awaovieyi Agie	...	Musa
Akosua Busia	...	Patience
Hadar Busia-Singleton	...	Amaka
Ida Onyango	...	Lasana
Fabrice Yahve Habimana Jr.	...	Bujo
Sammi Rotibi	...	Arthur Azuka
Benjamin Ochieng	...	Colonel Emanuel Okeze
Jimmy Jean-Louis	...	Gideon
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Sister Grace
Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy	...	Sister Siobhan
Pierrino Mascarino	...	Father Gianni
Peter Mensah	...	Terwase
Howard Mungo	...	President Samuel Azuka
Kanayo Chiemelu	...	General Mustafa Yakubu
Nkeonye Nwankwo	...	Refugee Woman
Alpha Osman Davis	...	Alpha
Morris Sesay	...	Man with Goat
Cle Shaheed Sloan	...	Mission Rebel (as Cle Sloan)
Kobby Dankyi	...	Rebel Officer
Lahai Fahnbulleh	...	Injured Old Man
Allison Dean	...	Rape Victim
Rodney Charles	...	Christopher Marwa
Jewel McDonald	...	Village Woman
George Reid	...	Tortured Villager
Yannick Doth	...	Teenage Rebel Soldier
Ousmane Sall	...	Village Attacker
Harry Van Gorkum	...	Carrier Reporter
Michael Clossin	...	Rhodes' Aide
Randall J. Gillet	...	Seahawk Pilot
William Wood	...	Carrier Corpsman
Chinyere A. Joyce	...	Chanting Woman
Martha Neavill	...	Chanting Woman (as Martha Myles)
Gerald Michael Burch	...	Refugee Camp Guard
Frederick Harris Jr.	...	Refugee Camp Guard
Elton C. Garner Jr.	...	Refugee Camp Guard
Floyd W. Vaughn	...	Relief Worker (as Floyd W. Vaughan)
John Anyak	...	Refugee
Ganohon Ansansame	...	Refugee
Kelani Babatunde	...	Refugee
Pele Leba Castro	...	Refugee
Haddy Cham	...	Refugee
Mariama Cisse	...	Refugee
Nafisatou Cisse	...	Refugee
Ngone' Dia	...	Refugee
Khady Dieng	...	Refugee
Fortune Diginee	...	Refugee
Fidelis Ezch	...	Refugee
Awino Gam	...	Refugee
Santino Garang	...	Refugee
Josanne Hutchinson	...	Refugee
Evelyn Kabba	...	Refugee
Fatmata Kargbo	...	Refugee
Hannah Koroma	...	Refugee
Gabriel Magok	...	Refugee
Sarah M. Mansaray	...	Refugee
Sophia Mark	...	Refugee
Abraham Nhiany	...	Refugee
Nathaniel Nyok	...	Refugee
Christiana Obani	...	Refugee
Esther Quaye	...	Refugee
Martha Quaye	...	Refugee
Alice B. Shaw	...	Refugee
Antonio Suco	...	Refugee
Faustino Suco	...	Refugee
Carmel Nyirabimana-Izuba	...	Refugee
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mark Bedell	...	F-18 Pilot (uncredited)
Justin Rodgers Hall	...	Rebel Soldier (uncredited)
Jordan Kirkwood	...	Navy Seal (uncredited)
Franky Mwangi	...	African Child from Mission (uncredited)
Anthony Vaughan	...	Military Drill Choreography (uncredited)

Directed by
Antoine Fuqua

Writing credits (WGA)
Alex Lasker		(written by) &
Patrick Cirillo		(written by)

Produced by
Ian Bryce	....	producer
Stephen J. Eads	....	associate producer
Heidi Fugeman	....	associate producer
Mike Lobell	....	producer
Arnold Rifkin	....	producer
Joe Roth	....	executive producer
Steven P. Saeta	....	co-producer
Cathy Schulman	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Lisa Gerrard
Hans Zimmer

Cinematography by
Mauro Fiore

Film Editing by
Conrad Buff IV
Christopher Holmes		(extended version)

Casting by
Mary Vernieu

Production Design by
Naomi Shohan

Art Direction by
David Lazan

Set Decoration by
Larry Dias

Costume Design by
Marlene Stewart

Makeup Department
John Blake	....	makeup department head
Chantal Boom'la	....	special makeup effects artist
Leslie Devlin	....	makeup artist
Cleve Gunderman	....	special makeup effects artist
Tania Kahale	....	assistant hair stylist
Erma Kent	....	hair stylist
Douglas Noe	....	prosthetics makeup artist
Deborah Patino Rutherford	....	makeup artist (as Deborah Patino)
Karen Iboshi Preiser	....	makeup artist
Gerald Quist	....	makeup artist: Mr. Willis
Laine Rykes	....	makeup artist (as Laine E.K. Rykes)
Richard Snell	....	key makeup artist
JoAnn Stafford-Chaney	....	hair stylist
Kenneth Walker	....	key hair stylist
Clinton Wayne	....	special makeup effects artist
Jennifer Saeta	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Nicole Sortillon	....	additional makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Susan E. Novick	....	post-production supervisor
Steven P. Saeta	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bernie Bonner Axelrod	....	second assistant director: second unit
Paula Case	....	second second assistant director
Alan Edmisten	....	first assistant director: second unit
Giselle Gurza	....	additional second assistant director (as Giselle Gurza Junco)
Phil Hardage	....	second second assistant director
K.C. Hodenfield	....	first assistant director
Joyce McCarthy	....	additional second assistant director
Phil Neilson	....	second unit director
Jeff Okabayashi	....	second assistant director
Rich Sickler	....	first assistant director (as Rich T. Sickler)
Lon Takiguchi	....	second assistant director: second unit
W. Scott Wolf	....	second assistant director

Art Department
David H. Allen	....	property master
Ronald S. Baratie	....	greensman
Pedro Barquin	....	stand-by greensman
Eric J. Bates	....	property master
Jason Bedig	....	leadman
Guy Belegaud	....	construction foreman
Melody Bishop	....	art department coordinator
Charisse Cardenas	....	set designer
Gary Diamond	....	set designer
Amina Allean Dieye	....	art department researcher
Robert Fechtman	....	assistant art director
Melissa Feinberg	....	assistant property master
Rob Garlow	....	construction general supervisor
Daniel J. Gillooly	....	greens coordinator
Donald Goodman	....	drapery foreman
Shannon Hart	....	assistant decorator
Tom Hrupcho	....	paint supervisor
Heather Hudson	....	art department assistant
Al Lewis	....	art department researcher
Robert Loring Jr.	....	stand-by greens
Jim Magdaleno	....	storyboard artist
John Marano	....	on-set dresser: Hawaii
John Hammer Maxwell	....	on-set dresser (as John H. Maxwell)
Bryan McBrien	....	greens foreman
Barbara Mesney	....	set designer
Shanna Norton	....	set decoration coordinator
Joe Ondrejko	....	construction coordinator
Isaia Robins	....	greensman
Mark Rodriguez	....	set dresser
Steven Schwartz	....	assistant art director
Domenic Silvestri	....	set designer
Jason Sweers	....	graphic designer
Anne Marie Wilson	....	art department production assistant
Liloa Wong	....	greens foreman: Hawaii
Tracy Gaydos	....	art department coordinator (uncredited)
Trey Shaffer	....	graphic designer: set decorating (uncredited)

Sound Department
Mary Andrews	....	adr editor
Willie D. Burton	....	production sound mixer
Mike Chock	....	foley editor (as Michael Chock)
Mark Coffey	....	digital sound assistant
Susan Dudeck	....	dialogue editor
John P. Fasal	....	sound effects recordist
Michael Herbick	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ken J. Johnson	....	sound designer: weapons
Ken J. Johnson	....	sound effects editor
Michael Jonascu	....	sound effects editor
Elizabeth Kenton	....	adr supervisor
Elizabeth Kenton	....	dialogue supervisor
Sean Landeros	....	sound recordist
Daniel J. Leahy	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Daniel Leahy)
Marvin E. Lewis	....	boom operator
Howard London	....	adr mixer
Oscar Mitt	....	assistant sound editor
Piero Mura	....	sound effects editor
Chris Navarro	....	adr mixer
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
Josephine Nericcio	....	first assistant sound editor (as Josie Nericcio)
Steve Pederson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Curt Schulkey	....	dialogue editor
George Simpson	....	sound designer
George Simpson	....	supervising sound editor
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Bruce Stubblefield	....	adr supervisor (extended director's version)
Bruce Stubblefield	....	dialog supervisor (extended director's version)
John Joseph Thomas	....	foley supervisor
Craig Weintraub	....	assistant sound editor
Hugo Weng	....	dialogue editor
Bruce Maddocks	....	mastering engineer (uncredited)
Oscar Mitt	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Archie Ahuna	....	special effects technician
Fern N. Ahuna	....	special effects technician
David Amborn	....	special effects foreman
Jack Davis	....	special effects technician
Ken Ebert	....	special effects technician
Eric Frazier	....	special effects technician
Howard Frazier	....	special effects technician (as Howard Byron Frazier)
John Frazier	....	special effects supervisor
Bruce D. Hayes	....	special effects technician
Jim Jolly	....	special effects technician
Alan Kiriu	....	special effects technician
Clarence Logan	....	special effects technician
Gary W. McEnroe Sr.	....	special effects technician
Ken Mieding	....	special effects technician
Joe Pancake	....	special effects foreman
Frances Pennington	....	special effects technician
Charles Raymond	....	special effects technician
Richard Redlefsen	....	lab technician: W.M.Creations
Richard Redlefsen	....	sculptor: W.M.Creations
J.D. Schwalm	....	special effects
James D. Schwalm	....	special effects foreman (as Jim Schwalm)
James D. Schwalm	....	special effects technician (as James Schwalm)
Harold Selig	....	special effects technician (as Hal Selig)
Kenneth Kekoa Su'a	....	special effects technician
Michael L.K. Su'a	....	special effects technician
James G. Thomas	....	special effects technician
Mike Wever	....	special effects technician
Ray L. Wilkerson	....	special effects technician
Curtis Wingerter	....	special effects technician
Brent Wischnack	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Shadi Almassizadeh	....	digital artist: ILM
Hugh Bengs	....	digital paint/rotoscope artist
Katy Calbreath	....	technical assistant
Beth D'Amato	....	lead digital paint and roto artist: ILM
Matt Davis	....	Spydercam rigger technician
Tim Drnec	....	Spydercam coordinator-flight
Russell Earl	....	computer graphics supervisor: ILM
Brad Falk	....	digital artist
Scott Farrar	....	visual effects supervisor
Dan Feinstein	....	digital paint/rotoscope artist: ILM
Joe Gareri	....	visual effects producer: Pacific Title & Art Studio
David M. Gray	....	visual effects coordinator: ILM (as David Gray)
Roger Guyett	....	visual effects supervisor: ILM
Jack Haye	....	digital modeler: ILM
Patrick Jarvis	....	digital painter: ILM
Lars Jensvold	....	visual effects editor
Darren Jones	....	digital imaging engineer
Paul Kavanagh	....	animator: ILM
Tia L. Marshall	....	digital artist
Tory Mercer	....	digital compositor
Todd Mitchell	....	negative cutter: ILM
Robert Molholm	....	technical support
Eddie Pasquarello	....	computer graphics supervisor: ILM
Brett Phillips	....	lead propmaker
Patrick Phillips	....	visual effects
Denise Ream	....	visual effects producer: ILM
Todd Semmes	....	spydercam coordinator/rigging
Ben Britten Smith	....	spydercam flight control
David Sosalla	....	visual effects supervisor: Pacific Title & Art Studio
Jim Soukup	....	technical assistant: ILM (as James Soukup)
Damian Steel	....	digital effects artist
Dale Taylor	....	visual effects coordinator: ILM
James D. Tittle	....	digital visual effects coordinator: Pacific Title
Bruce Vecchitto	....	digital color timing supervisor: ILM
David Weitzberg	....	animator: ILM
Earl Wiggins	....	aerial effects supervisor
Dean Yurke	....	lead digital artist: ILM
Daniel Zizmor	....	digital resource assistant
Katie Morris	....	digital paint and rotoscope artist (uncredited)
George Sakellariou	....	production engineering: ILM (uncredited)

Stunts
Layla Alexander	....	stunts
Steve Boyles	....	stunts
Josef Cannon	....	utility stunts
Eric Chambers	....	stunts
Eugene Collier	....	stunts
Keith Davis	....	utility stunts
Albert Greenwood	....	stunts
Charles Grisham	....	stunt double
Justin Rodgers Hall	....	firearms instructor
Jim Hart	....	stunt double: Cole Hauser
Hollis Hill	....	stunts
Kevin L. Jackson	....	stunt performer
Ronald Jaynes	....	stunts fire safety
Chuck Jeffreys	....	stunts
Horace Knight	....	stunts
Mark Kubr	....	stunt double: Nick Chinlund
Brock Little	....	stunt performer
Kortney Manns	....	utility stunts
Gina Mari	....	stunt double
Anderson Martin	....	assistant stunt coordinator (as Andy Martin)
Scott McCoy	....	stunts
Phil Neilson	....	stunt coordinator
Robert Powell	....	stunts
Mike Rufino	....	utility stunts
Derrick Simmons	....	stunts
Robair Sims	....	stunt performer
Monica Staggs	....	stunt double: Monica Belluci
Michael Trisler	....	stunt double: Cole Hauser
Keith Woulard	....	stunt coordinator
Scott Miller	....	stunt safety (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Stuart Abramson	....	key grip
Tyler Allison	....	assistant camera
John Armstrong	....	generator operator
Robert Baek	....	additional second assistant camera
Michael Bauman	....	gaffer
Ken Bazal	....	second assistant camera
Matthew Berner	....	assistant camera: "b" camera
Larry Blanford	....	aerial director of photography (as Lawrence Blanford)
Larry Blanford	....	director of photography: second unit
Kevin Brown	....	electrician
Darwin Montana Browne	....	key grip: re-shoots
Shawn Christianson	....	electrician
Rick Crum	....	electrician
Charles Cullen	....	electrician
Thomas M. Dangcil	....	lamp operator
Willie E. Dawkins	....	set lighting
Jeffrey De La Rosa	....	electrician
David Deever	....	video engineer
Cale Finot	....	assistant camera: re-shoots
Kirk R. Gardner	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Armen Gharagozian	....	best boy rigging grip
Seth Greenwald	....	dolly grip
Cindy Lagerstrom	....	rigging electrician
Patriq Luo	....	electrician
Michael Lyon	....	electrician
Frank Masi	....	still photographer
Maurice K. McGuire	....	camera operator
Charlie McIntyre	....	rigging gaffer
Christos Moisides	....	assistant camera
Daniel P. Moore	....	additional photographer
Daniel P. Moore	....	video operator
Douglas Olivares	....	camera operator
Ben Peiny	....	grip
Simone Perusse	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Rell Putt	....	grip
Justin Quach	....	assistant camera
Paul Santos	....	electrician
David D. Scott	....	video engineer: aircraft carrier unit
Keith Solomon	....	director of photography: additional photography
Michael Tolochko	....	best boy electric: additional photography
Gary Katsuya Ushino	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Michael J. Walsh	....	balloon lighting supervisor
Greg Wardell	....	rigging electric best boy
Steven J. Winslow	....	camera technician: Wescam camera
Kelly Clear	....	chief lighting technician: pick-up shots (uncredited)

Casting Department
Kira Burns	....	extras casting coordinator
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Shalimar Reodica	....	casting associate
Deedra Ricketts	....	extras casting
Jay Scully	....	casting associate
K.D. Smith	....	extras casting assistant
Lynette Wich	....	extras casting
Beanie Barnes	....	casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jean Bone	....	costumer: re-shoots
Toby Bronson	....	key set costumer
Marian Ceo	....	costumer
Nancy Collini	....	costumer
Holly Davis	....	key costumer
Lori Harris	....	set costumer
Mark Peterson	....	costume supervisor
Rebeka L. Roberts	....	costume ager/dyer
Lori Stilson	....	costumer: Mr. Willis
Cathie Valdovino	....	tailor

Editorial Department
Daniel Boccoli	....	second assistant editor
Jennifer Calbi	....	assistant editor
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Carole A. Kenneally	....	first assistant editor
Kevin Lefler	....	editorial assistant
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Chris Regan	....	color timer

Music Department
Slamm Andrews	....	music editor
Slamm Andrews	....	score recording engineer
Bob Badami	....	supervising music editor
Jim Dooley	....	composer: additional music (as James Michael Dooley)
Mark Eshelman	....	scoring cue mixer
Bruce Fowler	....	conductor
Bruce Fowler	....	orchestrator
Mark Graham	....	music librarian
Steve Jablonsky	....	composer: additional music
Jason Lloyd	....	scoring assistant
Malcolm Luker	....	music scoring mixer
Hugh Marsh	....	musician: violin
Alan Meyerson	....	music scoring mixer
Adam Michalak	....	score recordist
Trevor Morris	....	technical music advisor
Melissa Muik	....	programmer: ProTools
Melissa Muik	....	technical music advisor
Jennifer Nash	....	additional music editor
Heitor Pereira	....	musician: guitars and kalimbas
John Rodd	....	orchestral scoring recordist
Gregg Silk	....	assistant scoring engineer
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Del Spiva	....	music editor: director's cut
James Thatcher	....	musician: French horn
Matthias Weber	....	music programmer
Pat Weber	....	scoring technician
Harrison White	....	playback singer
Eyal Federman	....	assistant music programmer (uncredited)
Bruce Fowler	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Martin Tillman	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Irish Barber	....	transportation captain
D. Scott Guthrie	....	transportation captain
Kelly Loo	....	driver
Peter Mandel	....	mechanic
Sheila Mandel	....	transportation office coordinator
Randy Peters	....	transportation coordinator
Bob Wachs	....	transportation co-captain
Candace Wells	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Joseph Bannon	....	combat specialist
Raymond W. Beal	....	animal trainer
Brad Bell	....	assistant location manager
Mitchell Bell	....	production coordinator
Joseph K. Borrelli	....	assistant accountant
Doug Carter	....	production assistant
John Charles	....	software engineer: Sony DAC
Maguy J.B. Cohen	....	translator
Brian Costa	....	production assistant
Noelle Coughlan	....	first assistant accountant
Mike Cunningham	....	armorer
Eileen M. Dennis	....	second assistant accountant
Joshua Dragge	....	assistant: Mr. Fuqua
Susan Ehrhart	....	assistant production coordinator
Scott Ejercito	....	projectionist: dailies
Scott Ejercito	....	unit projectionist
Tyler Elliott	....	key assistant location manager
Howard Fannon	....	weapons
Curtis Norman Fuqua	....	production assistant (as Curtis Norman)
Otniel Gonzalez	....	assistant armorer
Rhona Gordon	....	studio teacher
Peter Graf	....	Stab-C technician
Sheree Greco	....	set production assistant: re-shoots
Russell Green	....	production assistant
Sissy Grover	....	travel coordinator
Thomas L. Gunderson	....	animal coordinator
Martha Haight	....	assistant: Mr. Rifkin
Scott Hanson	....	production secretary
Walrus J.U.I.C.E. Howard	....	production assistant
Harry Humphries	....	technical advisor: military
Norman Kali	....	location assistant
Gregg Kawecki	....	production assistant
Nancy Kiu	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Dawn Lambertsen-Kelly	....	assistant: Mr. Fuqua
Jeremy Lawson	....	production assistant
Rich Lee	....	pre-visualization designer
Kai Li	....	production assistant
Paul Lozada	....	combat specialist
Harry Lu	....	armorer
Thornton Lukela	....	accounting clerk
Ernie Malik	....	unit publicist
Liz Matthews	....	location manager
Jonas C. Matz	....	production medic
Shannon McBrien	....	accounting assistant (as Shannon Crimmins)
Denise Morgan McGrath	....	production accountant
David Mendoza	....	production assistant: re-shoot
Melvin Miranda	....	animal trainer (as Melvin W. Miranda Sr.)
Moanike'ala Nakamoto	....	assistant: Hans Zimmer
David Paris	....	helicopter pilot (as David W. Paris)
Vincent Parker	....	video playback graphics
Bernadette Penotti	....	assistant: Mr. Willis (as Bernadette E. Penotti)
Randy Peters	....	aerial coordinator
Steena Petersen	....	security
Shawn Pipkin	....	set production assistant
William 'Chico' Powell	....	assistant accountant (as Bill 'Chico' Powell)
Mary Anne Seward	....	script supervisor
John Siedenburg	....	caterer
Stephanie Spangler	....	location manager
Judy Stritof	....	production assistant
Kym Stys	....	stand-in
Ryan Suffern	....	set production assistant
Kristen van Dernoot	....	set production assistant: re-shoot (as Kristen Lynn)
Louise Weber	....	assistant: Mr. Willis (as Louise M. Weber)
Shane White	....	production assistant
Earl Wiggins	....	SpyderCam supervisor
Amy Wilkins	....	set production assistant
Erin Wilson	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Kevin Blumenfeld	....	technical assistant: Hans Zimmer (uncredited)
Gregg Lehrman	....	technical assistant: Hans Zimmer (uncredited)
Adam McDaniel	....	post production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Philip M. Strub	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Cheyenne Enterprises
• Michael Lobell Productions
• Revolution Studios

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2003-) (worldwide) (all media)
• Columbia Pictures (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cascade Film (2003) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2003) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar (2003) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Medusa Distribuzione (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2003) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2003) (USA) (VHS)
• FS Film Oy (2003) (Finland) (VHS)
• FS Film Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2008) (Argentina) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (VHS)
• Nelonen (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• RTL Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing) (RTL5)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD) (director's extended cut)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD) (unrated director's cut)

Special Effects

• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) (special visual effects)
• Pacific Title and Art Studio (additional digital effects)

Other Companies

• Associated Press Television News  news footage
• BT Industrial Supply  expendables
• Behind the Scenes Freight  shipping by
• Birds & Animals Unlimited  animals (as Birds & Animals)
• Blue Hawaiian Helicopter  thanks
• Cable News Network (CNN)  news footage
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• DeLuxe Laboratories  prints (as Deluxe)
• HSL-37  "Seahawk" Helicopters SH-60B provided by
• ITN Archive  news footage
• Lightnin' Production Rentals  transportation equipment
• Media Ventures  music production services
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Panavision  camera and lenses
• Reuters  news footage
• Technicolor  color timing
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack published by
• Weddington Productions  post-production services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong war violence, some brutality and language

Runtime:

121 min | 142 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:Not Rated (director's extended cut) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U | Spain:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Dole Plantation - 64-1550 Kamehameha Highway, Wahiawa, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Cheyenne Enterprises

Trivia:

Emerson knives were used in this film. These knives are handcrafted and extremely popular in law enforcement and military communities.

Goofs:

Continuity: After being in the rain and mud for quite some time, parts of the uniforms are still very clean.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Female news reader:[voiceover] The tension that had been brewing for months in Nigeria exploded yesterday as exiled General Mustafa Yakubu orchestrated a swift and violent coup against the democratically elected government of President Samuel Azuka. In a land with 120 million people and over 250 ethnic groups...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Guy: I Dream of Jesus (#7.2)" (2008)

Enjoyable drama set in an undeclared war...

The world we live in is a dangerous, unstable place, and nowhere is this more evident than in Africa, the place where many things of our world, AIDS included, are said to originate. Indeed, about the only thing that cannot be found in Africa is oil, which makes American interest in the region difficult to imagine, leave alone explain. So when we are presented with a story about a war in Africa, it only stands to reason that we must ask exactly why we see American soldiers.

Bruce Willis gives a delightfully underacted performance as the leader of an infantry unit sent to retrieve a handful of American citizens. Things get complicated when the primary objective refuses to leave without dozens of her patients. Instead of simply escorting one woman to safe territory, the party winds up in a race to the Cameroon border with one substantial territorial force in pursuit. Exactly why this force pursues them, we don't know until the climactic battles are about to take place, but it works.

Indeed, the actors here are not even noticeable, excepting maybe Tom Skerritt, who looks as if he spent his salary on diet pills. Instead, the sumptuous locations and cinematography, along with the action, are the stars of this film. This is a good old-fashioned action film, in spite of its very relevant story. What makes it stand out is that instead of modern action where nobody can see enough of what is going on for it to matter or make sense, we get our action scenes the old fashioned way. Blood spurts, detailed shots of the guns going off, or weapons striking flesh, are a reality rather than a much lamented unfulfilled requisite.

There are some problems, but they are minor in the grand scheme of things. When one shows fighter planes dropping air-to-surface weapons, it is usually an idea to get those weapons right. Using air-to-air missiles to drop napalm, for example, is not on. At least the dire action films of the 1980s used weapons in a manner that was convincing. The believability of a commanding officer allowing such violations of orders is very difficult to imagine, to say the least. Then again, given that these minor lapses happen once or twice during a two-hour film, this can be overlooked.

I gave Tears Of The Sun a seven out of ten. It's not at the level of a Verhoeven action film, or even a Cameron action film. It is, on the other hand, a good piece of entertainment with a decent and human edge, with sequences that have been competently shot. Which puts it ahead of a lot of films on today's market already.