The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

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

Director:

Stephen Norrington

Writers:

Alan Moore (comic books), Kevin O'Neill (comic books),

Stars:

Sean Connery, Peta Wilson, Stuart Townsend

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	Allan Quatermain
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Captain Nemo
Peta Wilson	...	Mina Harker
Tony Curran	...	Rodney Skinner
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

Storyline

Renowned adventurer Allan Quatermain leads a team of extraordinary figures with legendary powers to battle the technological terror of a madman known as "The Fantom." This "League" comprises seafarer/inventor Captain Nemo, vampiress Mina Harker, an invisible man named Rodney Skinner, American secret service agent Tom Sawyer, the ageless and invincible Dorian Gray, and the dangerous split personality of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.

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Plot Keywords:

captain nemo | dorian gray | invisible man | mission | adventurer | 

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Taglines:

Prepare for the Extraordinary

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official page [de] Official site

Country:

USA Germany Czech Republic UK

Language:

English German Italian

Release Date:

11 July 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

LXG

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$78,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$176,107 (South Africa) (24 October 2003)

Gross:

£7,319,844 (UK) (28 November 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Angry Films, International Production Company, JD Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Two portraits in the meeting room represent previous Leagues. The first shows Robin Hood (from various legends/poems), Ivanhoe (from Sir Walter Scott's novel) and the Black Arrow (a Robert Louis Stevenson novel). The Black Arrow, though, is set in the 15th century (during the War of the Roses), far later than Robin Hood and Ivanhoe, but this may be one of the many who took the name prior to the novel's setting. The other portrait displays the Four Musketeers - Porthos, Athos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan (from the various novels by Alexandre Dumas père), the Sea Hawk and Captain Blood (both pirates created by Rafael Sabatini and, incidentally, both played by Errol Flynn in the movies). These are according to the screenplay of the film.

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Goofs

In Kenya, the last assassin to be shot by Quatermain is dragged back into town. Between being thrown on the ground and committing suicide, the people around him move, and appear and disappear between shots.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

The 20th Century Fox logo transforms to become part of the London skyline.

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Connections

Spoofed in The Simpsons: Flaming Moe (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Promenade by the Sea"
Score lyrics written by Victoria Seale

User Reviews

An underestimated but very interesting movie

This movie was badly criticised by many critics and fans... I don't believe that the movie's quality was 'low', but i detect two reasons:

1. 'what? automobiles, submarines, rockets, tanks, automatic rifles, explosions that sank Venice? all those in 1899? no way!'

OK, those people maybe don't know that the movie is based on a comic book!! The comic book is fantasy, it is in an alternate Jules-Verne-like universe where all fiction was real... That book (and this movie) belong to the genre 'Steampunk', a movement that is interested in presenting an alternate Victorian age with an extra-evolved steam driven science that never actually existed. IF you read the comic you will see that: a bridge that connects England and France, technology made by Tesla and Edison, zeppelins, airships, anti-gravity devices... some of these are indeed mentioned in science fiction works of that time, and since the comic is set in that kind of universe, then all these are real.

The book (and the movie) don't want to convince you that these events actually happened in 1899. The movie doesn't want to tell you that Venice was half-sunk by an explosion and was later rebuilt. It is just another universe, an alternate reality... it's fantasy!

there have been some Steampunk movies, and were never considered serious: for example Van Helsing and Wild Wild West. They were too much, too unreal... but if you accept that they happen in a Steampunk universe you will enjoy them

(i suggest you make a search for 'Steampunk' online.. Wikipedia is a good start)

now to the other reason

2. 'LXG is not faithful to the comic book'

no, it wasn't but they didn't want to adapt THE book into a movie! can someone who watched Spiderman 2 tell me on WHICH issue of the spiderman comic book series that movie was adapted?

Spiderman 1 and 2, (and all the comic-book movies) are not trying to adapt a certain issue of the Spidey series into a movie: they try to compress some events and characters from Spidey's universe and present them combined on screen

i don't think that LXG was less faithful to the comic book than Spiderman or Batman were to their respective originals... LXG wanted to tell a story that happened in a universe similar to that of the 'League' comic book, not a certain story of the series..

i hope that if all could understand this, they would enjoy this movie as it really should be enjoyed