Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story (2003) (TV)

Director:

Robert Dornhelm

Writers (WGA):

Wayne Barrett (book)
Stanley Weiser (written by)

Release Date:

30 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

He divided a city. He united a nation.

Plot:

Biographic movie of the witty, overachieving, hot-tempered Rudy Giuliani, spaning from his rising days...

Plot Keywords:

New York City | September 11 2001 | Mayor | Terrorism | Troubled Marriage

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

James Woods	...	Rudolph 'Rudy' Giuliani
Penelope Ann Miller	...	Donna Hanover
Michelle Nolden	...	Cristyne Lategano
John Bourgeois	...	Peter Powers
Kirsten Bishop	...	Judith Nathan (as Kirsten Bishopric)
Mark Camacho	...	Tony Carbonetti
Maxim Roy	...	Beth Petrone
Mariah Inger	...	Carrie Foster
Sam Stone	...	Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik
Michael Jeffrey Woods	...	Sam (as Michael Woods)
Brian Wrench	...	Bill Simon
Alan Fawcett	...	FDNY Chief Peter Ganci
Philip Pretten	...	FDNY Commissioner Thomas Von Essen
Philip Spensley	...	Howard Safir
Francis X. McCarthy	...	Jim Kossler (as Francis-Xavier McCarthy)
Jim McNabb	...	Ivan Boesky
Jack Langedijk	...	Chief Bratton
Vlasta Vrana	...	Ray Harding
Ted Whittall	...	Gavin
Jesse Camacho	...	Andrew Giuliani
Tim Post	...	Hitchens
Arthur Grosser	...	Jack Newfield
Melia Morgan	...	Policewoman #1
Steve Adams	...	Bodyguard
Tony Robinow	...	Elliot
Tony Calabretta	...	Prosecutor
Danny Blanco Hall	...	Police Officer (as Danny Blanco-Hall)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Debbie-Anne Champagne
Carrie Colak
David Dinkins	...	Himself (archive footage)
Arthur Holden	...	Reporter #1
Richard Jutras	...	Reporter #2
Neil Kroetsch	...	Reporter #3
Domenico Salvaggio	...	Journalist
David Schaap	...	City Comptroller

Directed by
Robert Dornhelm

Writing credits (WGA)
Wayne Barrett		(book "Rudy!")
Stanley Weiser		(written by)

Produced by
Michael Braham	....	executive producer
Jody Brockway	....	executive producer
Stephen Davis	....	executive producer
Gary Goldberger	....	co-producer
Callum Greene	....	line producer: New York
Anthony Katagas	....	line producer: New York
Linda S. Ross	....	co-producer
Jane Walmsley	....	executive producer
Mark Winemaker	....	producer

Original Music by
Harald Kloser

Cinematography by
Serge Ladouceur

Film Editing by
Victor Du Bois

Casting by
Victoria Burrows
Andrea Kenyon
Randi Wells

Production Design by
Jean-Baptiste Tard

Costume Design by
Mariane Carter		(as Marianne Carter)

Makeup Department
Jocelyne Bellemare	....	key makeup artist
Stephan Dupuis	....	makeup artist: James Woods
Nathalie Garon	....	assistant hair stylist
Johanne Hansen	....	hair stylist
Kathy Kelso	....	key extras makeup artist
Matthew W. Mungle	....	bald caps: Mr. Woods
Bob Pritchett	....	key hair stylist
Cécile Rigault	....	makeup artist
Ronald J. Rolfe	....	assistant hair stylist (as Ronald Rolfe)
Isabella Wiley	....	wigmaker: E. Kupitz (uncredited)

Production Management
Michel Chauvin	....	production manager
Pierre Lapointe	....	unit manager
Elissa Lewis	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alexandre Bernard	....	additional third assistant director
Charles-André Bertrand	....	first assistant director: second unit
Jesabelle Boileau	....	trainee assistant director
Stéphane Byl	....	third assistant director
Manon Célestin	....	third assistant director
Harvey Drouelle	....	third assistant director
Daniel Lowe	....	second second assistant director: New York
Roxanna Macedo	....	second assistant director
Laurence Mercier	....	second second assistant director
Adam T. Weisinger	....	second assistant director: New York
Michael Williams	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Alain Omer Duranceau	....	props
Carrie Foster	....	art department coordinator
Raynald Langelier	....	set designer
Jean-Francois Mignault	....	graphic artist
Julie Montplaisir	....	assistant art coordinator

Sound Department
Scott Donald	....	supervising dialog editor
Philippe Espantoso	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Gertsman	....	sound effects editor
Michael Gurman	....	supervising sound editor
Steven Gurman	....	post sound consultant
Louis Hone	....	sound re-recording mixer
Colin McLellan	....	adr recordist
Stan Sakellaropoulos	....	dialog editor

Special Effects by
Louis Craig	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Pascal Colpron	....	storyboard artist
Mario Rachiele	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Charles Beetz	....	gaffer
Yves Drapeau	....	first assistant camera
Bertrand Dupuis	....	key grip
Lance Mayer	....	assistant camera: New York
Robert Stecko	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Walter Thomson	....	still photographer: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Anzalone	....	wardrobe supervisor
Marie-Maude Grenier	....	dresser
Catherine Gélinas	....	key dresser

Editorial Department
Émilie Dussault	....	post-production assistant
Evan Tussman	....	director of post-production
Susan Vaill	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Stan Sakellaropoulos	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Bertrand Calmeau	....	driver: James Woods

Other crew
Melanie Bergeron	....	key medic
Jean-Philippe Collin	....	utility stand-in
Suzanne De Carufel	....	location manager
Émilie Dussault	....	assistant: Robert Dornhelm
Josée Francis	....	assistant location manager
Étienne Geoffrion	....	set technician
Donna Howell-Makaton	....	assistant to executive producer
Danielle Lavoie	....	production coordinator
Sylvie Normandin	....	assistant to producer
Peter Pastorelli	....	assistant location manager
Rose Viggiano	....	location manager
Danny Webber	....	legal counsel

Production Companies

• Carlton America
• JAM Pictures
• USA Network

Distributors

• Carlton International Media (UK)
• Emerald (Argentina) (DVD)
• Emerald (Argentina) (VHS)
• Nowonmedia (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• TV Tokyo (2003) (Japan) (TV)
• USA Network

Special Effects

• Intrigue (special effects)

Other Companies

• Muse Entertainment Enterprises  production services co.
• Elizabeth Bardsley & Associates  script annotation
• Hall Webber  legal services

Also Known As:

"Rudy's Wars" - New Zealand (English title)

Runtime:

120 min | Argentina:104 min | UK:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Netherlands:MG6 | Finland:K-7 | Argentina:13 | UK:PG | Norway:11

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Carlton America

Trivia:

Real footage of the 11 September 2001 attacks was used.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Giuliani is telling his wife about going after the crime bosses, as she approaches, he lifts up the cigar in his left hand, but in the next shot, the hand with the cigar is back on the table and never lifts it up.

Quotes:

[During a memorial service for a FDNY officer.]
Rudy Giuliani:September 11th... was the worst day in the history of this city. And it will never be the same. In the aftermath of destruction, the loss of life was almost too much to bear. And it will be, for some time.
[pause]
Rudy Giuliani:I met Captain Timothy Stackpole at the Burn Unit, Cornell Medical Center, in 1998. And I remember him saying, 'My mother always warned me I should put on clean underwear, but I forgot to put them on today.' On September 11, Captain Timothy Stackpole formed a company of firefighters...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Kirsten Dunst/Eminem (#27.19)" (2002)

A Nutshell Review: Rudy

Not all biographical films on politicians are made equal. Some try to tell a sprawling tale of someone's political life, such as Oliver Stone with his Nixon and W, while others capture a momentous slice of an historical event, such as Roger Donaldson's Thirteen Days which was gripping from start to end. Then there are those like Rudy, which tries to do both, but don't really get there, undoubtedly having the story mooted since Rudy Giuliani (James Woods) was the mayor of New York during the fateful event of September 11 2011, and having this film weave a glimpse of his political career culminating in that horrendous disaster.

Granted this had a limited budget, and in many ways that showed in the film, having some scenes crafted in sparse studios, although looking like a million dollars when Robert Dornhel, whose experience and filmography point to a lot of made for television films which this one also belonged to, had deliberately opted for the documentary look and feel for the event of September 11. Everything else looked indoors and not on location, removing that sense of authenticity of filming it all in the Big Apple.

There's also very little on his political and professional career before Mayorship, and what I thought was a very interesting bit in his life during his Attorney General days as he locked horns with the mafia, was grossly glossed over, which was a pity because there's so much narrative potential there to be explored, but I guess writer Stanley Weiser, who based this film on the book by Wayne Barrett, didn't find it interesting enough for a big screen treatment. Much instead is preferred to focus on the man's incredibly bad temper behind closed doors, demonstrating that Giuliani is a man who doesn't mince his words, and shoots very fast from the hip without due care whether it'll hurt anyone at all with his pointed, loud barbs.

With 9/11 stock footage mixed with its own documentary presentation, the story unfolds in flashbacks, as we glimpse into Rudy's marriage to newscaster Donna Hanover (Penelope Ann Miller) who had once interviewed him and begun a whirlwind romance, before his suspected infidelities and indiscretion led to breakdowns in both his marriage and almost always threatening his political career, isolating him from strong, key advisers who don't quite see eye to eye with his blind trust of his communications director. I suppose Robert Dornhelm prefers to tell the age old story of how the strong almost always fall prey to the advances of the fairer sex, and in some ways become the seeds to their downfall, in more ways than one.

James Woods puts in a riveting performance as the go-getter in the titular character, but ultimately got let down by the weak narrative that didn't get to dig deeper into what made the man, skimming only on the surface and focused on his anger management issues. Supporting cast didn't outside Woods in his role, and that may be attributed to the more caricature like treatment the supporting characters had to deal with since a biopic that's about 90 minutes long doesn't leave a lot of room for the spotlight to be shared with others.

For a man who was to provide a leadership beacon in what would be one of the most tragic terrorist attacks in human history, Rudy had all the potential to paint a more complex, detailed picture of just who the man was, someone whom most had seen on their television screens in the aftermath of that attack, but you're likely to come out from this just a wee bit more knowledgeable about the man himself, if at all, no thanks to its summarizing of key milestones in the man's life, and the indecision to just want to focus on an episode, or be a little bit more ambitious to cover a whole lot of ground.