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IMDb > Tricks of the Trade: Making 'Matchstick Men' (2004) (V)

Tricks of the Trade: Making 'Matchstick Men' (2004) (V) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   96 votes
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Contact:
View company contact information for Tricks of the Trade: Making 'Matchstick Men' on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
24 February 2004 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot Keywords:
User Reviews:
Lacks any fun stuff from the specific film but is interesting in terms of the general making of a film more (4 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Debra Zane ... Herself - Casting Director

Ridley Scott ... Himself - Director / Producer

Melora Walters ... Herself - 'Heather' (Audition Tape)
Sheila Kelley ... Herself - 'Kathy' (Audition Tape) (as Sheila Kelly)

Bruce McGill ... Himself - 'Chuck Frechette' (Audition Tape)
Sean Bailey ... Himself - Producer
Michael Kaplan ... Himself - Costume Designer
John Mathieson ... Himself
Dody Dorn ... Herself - Editor

Nicolas Cage ... Himself - 'Roy'
Ted Griffin ... Himself - Writer / Producer
Jack Rapke ... Himself - Producer
Charles J.D. Schlissel ... Himself - Co-Producer
K.C. Hodenfield ... Himself - Assistant Director
Tom Foden ... Himself - Production Designer
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Additional Details

Runtime:
72 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.78 : 1 more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This documentary is featured on all 3 DVD releases (Fullscreen, Widescreen & 2-Disc soundtrack edition) for Matchstick Men (2003), released in February 2004 in Region 1 (USA and Canada). more
Goofs:
Factual errors: Instead of saying "July 2, 2002 - 12 Days until principal photography", it stated "June 2, 2002" instead. more
Quotes:
[6:30 A.M. - Ridley Scott arrives for the first day of shooting]
Ridley Scott: Jesus Christ! We're being filmed already.
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Movie Connections:
References Patch Adams (1998) more

FAQ

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful.
Lacks any fun stuff from the specific film but is interesting in terms of the general making of a film, 13 March 2004
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

In three parts, this documentary follows the making of the film Matchstick Men. Starting with a long pre-production period where Scott and the crew, cast the picture, scout locations, pick costumes and discuss shots. We then follow the actual production of the film and the difficulties involved there before entering the post production where they struggle to get a cut where everyone is happy and the music is right so that it can be put in front of a test audience.

Many dvd's include a `making of' documentary as one of the extras, but not all of them are worth even the name. However, this film runs to over an hour and therefore shows promise - although experience has taught me that quantity doesn't always mean quality. However, this film is actually pretty good despite the lack of real fireworks or great stories. Broken into three sections, the film actually succeeds as a look at the making of any film rather than being very specifically about Matchstick Men.

The reason for this is the real lack of specific stories or sticking points in the documentary. It looks at generic issues around the shot, the costumes, the casting process and the problems of the post production process is not dealt with by including a great deal of detail that are specific to the film - there are no real stories of woe here or any dirt. Despite this, the film is still quite interesting - mainly because Ridley Scott shows us the onerous process that he goes through and we see the unglamorous side of the job and all the difficulties. Despite there not being great specific tales or such there is still enough general interest to justify watching.

Overall this is an interesting documentary that takes us through the making of a film from start to finish. It is well supported by the cast and crew and has managed to get seemingly unlimited access to the process. It may lack any really good stories or tales of splits in the camp but it is still interesting.

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