Cypher (2002)

Director:

Vincenzo Natali

Writer (WGA):

Brian King (written by)

Release Date:

18 January 2003 (Japan)

Genre:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Never forget who you are.

Plot:

An unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious femme fatale.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Corporate Espionage | Future | New Identity | Brainwashing

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Northam	...	Morgan Sullivan
Lucy Liu	...	Rita Foster
Nigel Bennett	...	Finster
Timothy Webber	...	Callaway
David Hewlett	...	Virgil C. Dunn
Kari Matchett	...	Diane
Kristina Nicoll	...	Amy
Joseph Scoren	...	Digicorp Technician #1
Stephen Brown	...	Digicorp Technician #2
Arnold Pinnock	...	Pilot In Mensroom
Jocelyn Snowdon	...	Stewardess to Buffalo
Boyd Banks	...	Fred Garfield
Steve Jackson	...	Waiter Buffalo
Dan Duran	...	Buffalo Speaker #1
Valerie Buhagiar	...	Buffalo Speaker #2
Roberta Angelica	...	Stewardess to Omaha
George Santino	...	Rita's Agent #1
Nelson Tynes	...	Rita's Agent #2
Denis Akiyama	...	Speaker Omaha
Vickie Papavs	...	Desk Clerk Boise
Murray Furrow	...	Hotel Janitor Boise
Scott McLaren	...	Convention Waiter Boise
David Bolt	...	Speaker #1 Boise
Len Carlson	...	Speaker #3 Boise
Les Porter	...	Man In White Coat Boise
Bruce McFee	...	Businessman Boise
Judy Sinclair	...	Elderly Woman In Elevator
Shanly Trinidad	...	Gate 15 Clerk Boise
Anne Marie Scheffler	...	Stewardess Boise
Mike O'Shea	...	Sunways Security Guard
Andrew Moodie	...	Sunways Neuro Technician
Malcolm Xerxes	...	Sunways Technician #1
Matthew Sharp	...	Sunways Technician #2
Peter Mensah	...	Vault Security
David Bryant	...	Pilot #2 In Washroom
Alec Stockwell	...	Digicorp Technician #2
Matt Cooke	...	Digicorp Technician #3
Marcus Hutchings	...	Jamison
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sevaan Franks	...	Tomas Street (uncredited)

Directed by
Vincenzo Natali

Writing credits (WGA)
Brian King		(written by)

Produced by
Richard J. Anobile	....	associate producer
Shebnem Askin	....	executive producer
Paul Federbush	....	producer
E.K. Gaylord II	....	executive producer
Wendy Grean	....	producer
Casey La Scala	....	producer (as Casey LaScala)
Hunt Lowry	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael Andrews

Cinematography by
Derek Rogers		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Bert Kish

Casting by
John Buchan
Junie Lowry-Johnson		(as Junie Lowry Johnson)

Production Design by
Jasna Stefanovic

Art Direction by
James Phillips		(as Jim Phillips)

Set Decoration by
Megan Less

Costume Design by
Robin Bigglestone		(as Robin Biggleston)
Tamara Winston

Makeup Department
Julia Carter	....	makeup artist
Katarina Chovanec	....	key hair stylist
Debi Drennan	....	key makeup artist
Leslie Dumbleton	....	makeup artist
Paul Jones	....	special makeup effects artist
Danielle Lee	....	hair stylist (as Daniele Goldschlager)
Mira Lee	....	makeup artist
Tony Mastropietro	....	hair stylist (as Toni Mastropietro)
Ron Rhodda	....	hair stylist (as Ron Rodda)
Shawn Smandych	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Lynn Mallay	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gregory Besky	....	third assistant director
Ray Elias	....	first assistant director: second unit
Jeremy Graham	....	second assistant director: second unit
Jennifer Kiefaber	....	trainee assistant director
Cameron Kuc	....	trainee assistant director
William Phillips	....	second unit director
Eric J. Robertson	....	second assistant director
William Spahic	....	first assistant director (as Bill Spahic)
Graham Tallman	....	assistant director
Sean Watson	....	daily trainee assistant director
Greg Sigurdson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Jean Brophey	....	set dresser
Todd Cherniawsky	....	conceptual illustrator
Simon Corton	....	assistant property master
Dwight Doerksen	....	construction coordinator
Emerson Doerksen	....	props
Ed Doerkson	....	head carpenter
Craig Grant	....	props: second unit
Brad Greaves	....	assistant art director
Craig Harris	....	set dresser
Rob Hepburn	....	assistant decorator
Jason Herriott	....	key scenic
Dan Norton	....	set designer

Sound Department
Stephen Barden	....	supervising sound editor
Steve Bourne	....	sound mixer (as Stephen Bourne)
Joe Bracciale	....	sound editor
Alex Bullick	....	trainee assistant sound editor
Christian Carruthers	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kate Cripps	....	trainee assistant sound editor
J.R. Fountain	....	first assistant sound editor
Rose Gregoris	....	assistant sound editor
Craig Henighan	....	supervising sound editor
Jorge Muniz	....	boom operator
Peter Persaud	....	foley recordist
Jill Purdy	....	sound editor
John Sievert	....	foley artist
Andrew Tay	....	sound re-recording mixer
Todd Warren	....	sound re-recording mixer
Larry Winer	....	adr mixer

Special Effects by
Jon Davis	....	special effects technician
Brock Jolliffe	....	special effects supervisor
Rudy Rivas	....	key special effects

Visual Effects by
Michael Alkan	....	technical director
Paul Anderson	....	visual effects artist: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures
Jesse Bradstreet	....	visual effects
Lisa Carr-Harris	....	digital effects artist
Bret Culp	....	visual effects director
Paul DeOliveira	....	digital compositor
Mark Goldberg	....	digital effects artist
Maria A. Gordon	....	visual effects
Dipankar Goswamy	....	lead animator
Dipankar Goswamy	....	technical director
Rob Gyorgy	....	digital effects artist
Nick Hsieh	....	digital compositor
Kelvin Kanagaraj	....	visual effects animator
Chad Malbon	....	digital film producer
Bob Munroe	....	visual effects supervisor
David E. Nunez	....	3D animator
Ken Ouellette	....	compositor
Ken Ouellette	....	technical director
Sarah Ruddle	....	visual effects production manager
Brian A. Smeets	....	digital artist
Laurel A. Smith	....	houdini artist: C.O.R.E. digital pictures
Jay Stanners	....	digital effects artist
Martin Tori	....	on set visual effects supervisor
Tracey Vaz	....	digital paint artist
Kurt D. Williams	....	3D animator
David Willows	....	visual effects artist
Alphonso Young	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Tom Farr	....	stunts
Sandra Feldman	....	stunts (as Sandy Feldman)
Jamie Jones	....	stunts
John MacDonald	....	stunt double: Jeremy Northam
Alison Reid	....	stunt coordinator
Alison Reid	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jordan Cushing	....	second assistant camera
Dave Erlichman	....	key rigging grip
Michael Fylyshtan	....	Steadicam operator
Neil Kilpatrick	....	camera trainee
Tim Merkle	....	Steadicam operator
Robert Mountjoy	....	first assistant camera
Brooke Palmer	....	still photographer
Derek Porter	....	best boy electric
Derek Rogers	....	camera operator
Carl Savage	....	dolly grip
James Tamblyn	....	video playback operator
Christopher J. Toudy	....	key grip: second unit
Scott Tremblay	....	electrician
David Watts	....	electrician
Greg Whiteside	....	video playback operator
David Perkins	....	camera operator: "b" camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Frances Cabezas Miller	....	wardrobe buyer (as Frances Cabezas-Miller)
Darci Cheyne	....	seamstress (as Darcy Cheyne)
Laura Wentzell	....	wardrobe
Kafi Wilson	....	seamstress

Editorial Department
Kenn Elliott	....	digital intermediate colorist
Colin Kish	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Debra Baum	....	executive music producer (as Debra A. Baum)

Transportation Department
Rick Anglin	....	production driver
Jeff Blake	....	driver: honeywagon (2001)

Other crew
Dave Asling	....	model shop supervisor
Louis Berger	....	assistant: Mr. Federbush
Dan Brooks	....	key model maker
Lisa Burling	....	script supervisor
Koreann Ciandre	....	set supervisor
Peter Edmonds	....	key electronics technician
Gabe Fallus	....	location manager
Paul Franklin	....	assistant location manager
Peter Gmehling	....	assistant video playback operator
Katharine Gray	....	assistant production coordinator (as Katherine Gray)
Amy Green	....	head of production: Headspace Films
Pamela Hackwell	....	contact lens technician
Sacha Hindle	....	assistant video playback operator (as Sasha Hindle)
Michael Joffe	....	intern
Hal Kay	....	assistant video playback operator
Aileen Kiernan	....	assistant: Hunt Lowry
Darron Leiren-Young	....	first assistant production coordinator
Linda Lockett	....	production coordinator
Andrei Natali	....	assistant: Vincenzo Natali
Marie A. Nazar	....	publicist
Peter Olczak	....	assistant set supervisor
Shannon Ratcliffe	....	assistant: Ms. Liu
Steve Robinson	....	VP operations: TOYBOX
Kiri Stenberg	....	assistant video playback operator
Charles Taylor	....	armorer
Charles Taylor	....	gun handler
Dave Tommasini	....	helicopter pilot
Vanessa Brustolin	....	production coordinator (uncredited)
George Ploszczansky	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Pandora Cinema (presents) (as Pandora)
• Miramax Films (in association with)
• Gaylord Films
• Headspace

Distributors

• Pandora Cinema (2002) (worldwide) (all media)
• GAGA (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Humax Pictures (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Manga Films (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Mediafilm (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• PCV (2003) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Pathé Distribution (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• GAGA (2003) (Japan) (all media)
• Media Cooperation One (MC-One) (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Miramax Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Nordisk Film (2003) (Finland) (DVD) (VHS)
• Odeon (200?) (Greece) (DVD)
• Paradise Group (2002) (Russia) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• RTL Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing) (RTL7)
• Sub (2008) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures

Other Companies

• Deluxe Post-Production  post-production facilities
• Film Effects  titles
• Movie Armaments Group  firearms supplied by

Also Known As:

"Brainstorm" - International (English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some language

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Italy:T | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Pandora Cinema

Trivia:

Was shot in 35 days.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Morgan is given his fake California ID, it shows a Blue and a Red Bar below the name and address. The Blue line is to denote a provisional license for those under 18 at the time of issuance, and the red bar is to denote what year the ID holder turns 21. Morgan is appears to be in his 30's, so there would be no colored bars on his ID.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sunways Security Guard:You planning a vacation, Mr. Sullivan?
Morgan Sullivan:No. No, just some reading to pass the time.

Movie Connections:

References Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

Stylish Film! Good Action Sequences!

There was a stylish approach to this film on the part of director Vincenzo Natali with interesting camera angles and effective close-ups. It was also refreshing to see Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu given leading roles and expanding their range as performers. This film also included one of the most imaginative "escape" scenes in recent years. The efforts of the director and the actors combined in an effective thriller.

Although the plotting of the film was convoluted, the story progressed very clearly as the layers of corporate greed and skullduggery were revealed.

In 1949, George Orwell suggested in his famous novel "1984" that the future would be ruled by the totalitarian State, which would control minds and diminish human liberty. It was interesting that in this intriguing futuristic film, it was not the State, but rather the corporate world that controlled and devalued the human worker.