44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out (2003) (TV)

Director:

Yves Simoneau

Writer (WGA):

Tim Metcalfe (written by)

Release Date:

5 June 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Action

Tagline:

The most intense shoot-out in LAPD history

Plot:

After a failed bank robbery, two heavily armed men hold the Los Angeles Police Department at bay for 44 minutes.

Plot Keywords:

Los Angeles | Police | Bank Of America | Shootout | SWAT

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Michael Madsen	...	Frank McGregor
Ron Livingston	...	Donnie Anderson
Ray Baker	...	Harris
Douglas Spain	...	Bobby Martinez
Andrew Bryniarski	...	Larry Eugene Phillips Jr.
Oleg Taktarov	...	Emil Matasareanu
Clare Carey	...	Frank's Wife
Alex Meneses	...	Nicole
Dale Dye	...	SWAT Lieutenant
Katrina Law	...	Kate
J.E. Freeman	...	Police Commander
Mario Van Peebles	...	Henry Jones
Jullian Dulce Vida	...	Luis Rivera
Alex Madison	...	Maria (as Gail Monian)
JoNell Kennedy	...	Cathy (as Jo Nell Kennedy)

Also Known As:

44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and bloody images.

Runtime:

103 min | Finland:82 min | USA:120 min (including commercials) | Argentina:105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Germany:18 | Italy:T | Singapore:M18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

La Habra, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Scenes on the residential streets where the robbers tried escaping from the bank were filmed on the actual locations behind the real bank.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The gun store owner refers to the Remington 700 as "the best sniper rifle made". The Remington 700 was never designed specifically as a sniper rifle, but rather as a hunting rifle that was later adapted over for sniping capabilities.

Quotes:

Henry Jones: Ramon, I want you to have this.
Ramon: What is it?
Henry Jones: It's a bible, Ramon
Ramon: What do you want me to do with a bible?
Henry Jones: I want you to read it, Ramon
Ramon: Which part?
Henry Jones: Whatever part speaks to you.

Movie Connections:

References L.A. Confidential (1997)

That Really Was A Great Gunfight.

This movie is surrounding the events of February 28, 1997 in Los Angeles. More specifically, a bank robbery gone wrong. Although I have heard of many inaccuracies in this movie, it was still an enjoyable action flick, despite the fact it was based on a true story.

The shootout between the two bank robbers, Larry and Emil, and what seemed to be just about the entire LAPD lasted 44 minutes. This is a huge amount of time in real life and is probably the longest gunfight I have seen in the movies as well. I can't think of a longer one right now anyways. So after getting to know the characters just a little bit, it's on with the action, and it was gripping. The sight of the robbers, decked out in armor and standing in the line of fire and just taking hits and keeping it going was awesome. It reminded me of video games where you just keep shooting the bad guys but they never die. In fact, if I had one complaint about the movie, it would be that all the officers on the scene either could not figure out to shoot at their heads or were not capable. I guess the overwhelming firepower on the thieves behalf was just too much for them to think straight.

Standouts in the cast are, of course, Michael Madsen, who can make anything fun to watch, even though his role here was limited. Mario Van Peebles played the deeply religious officer who tried to straighten up kids before it was too late. His character was very likable. Andrew Bryniarski and Oleg Taktarov were great villains, as always, but not much to them. Ron Livingston did good for his role but I don't know if it's just me, and thought he was a bit miscast, or am I just never going to get Peter Gibbons from Office Space out of my head. That's one of my favorite comedies and going from that to a hard nosed SWAT team cop wasn't doing it for me.

Good movie, none the less. If nothing else, I can recommend it for the gunfight. 8/10