Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

A young fugitive prince and princess must stop a villain who unknowingly threatens to destroy the world with a special dagger that enables the magic sand inside to reverse time.

Director:

Mike Newell

Writers:

Boaz Yakin (screenplay), Doug Miro (screenplay),

Stars:

Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Dastan
Gemma Arterton	...	Tamina
Ben Kingsley	...	Nizam
Alfred Molina	...	Sheik Amar
Steve Toussaint	...	Seso
Toby Kebbell	...	Garsiv
Richard Coyle	...	Tus
Ronald Pickup	...	King Sharaman
Reece Ritchie	...	Bis
Gísli Örn Garðarsson	...	Hassansin Leader
Claudio Pacifico	...	Hassansin Porcupine
Thomas DuPont	...	Hassansin Whip Man
Dave Pope	...	Hassansin Giant Scimitar
Domonkos Pardanyi	...	Hassansin Double-Bladed Halberd
Massimilano Ubaldi	...	Hassansin Long Razor

Storyline

Set in the mystical lands of Persia, a rogue prince and a mysterious princess race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time -- a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

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Plot Keywords:

princess | king | alamut | dagger | prince | 

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Taglines:

Defy the Future

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [de] Disney [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 May 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prince of Persia

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$37,813,075 (USA) (28 May 2010)

Gross:

$90,755,643 (USA) (17 September 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is stated that the handle of the dagger holds one minute's worth of the Sands of Time. The first time Dastan presses the jewel, he rewinds time by 32 seconds. The second time he presses it, he rewinds 23 seconds. This makes up 55 seconds, or almost the full minute of sand. After it's refilled, it's used twice again. Dastan uses it to rewind 16 seconds of time, and Tus uses it to rewind 44 seconds of time, using up exactly 60 seconds of sand. This reflects the actual time of the actions being undone from the moment of bodily repossession to the moment the jewel is pressed, as the time during which the user is in his out-of-body experience is slightly compressed by a few seconds or more.

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Goofs

At the entrance to the Valley of the Slaves, when Dastan notices Tamina lying in the sand, he rushes over to her. As he's running, you can see the ostensibly modern soles of athletic shoes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tus: [voiceover] Long ago in a land far away, there once rose an empire that stretched from the steppes of China to the shores of the Mediterranean. That empire was Persia. Fierce in battle, wise in victory. Where the Persian sword went, order followed. The Persian king, Sharaman, ruled with his brother, Nizam, upon the principles of loyalty and brotherhood.

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Connections

Referenced in Game One: Prince of Persia, Lost Planet 2, Top 5 TV-Shows in Games (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Whirling"
Written and Performed by Azam Ali and Loga Ramin Torkian

User Reviews

Not Your Average Video Game Flick

Tonight I was fortunate enough to see an advanced screening of this film. Like many, I became a fan of this franchise with the Sands of Time trilogy, and I was very excited when I learned that there were plans to make a feature film based on it. The storyline of the game is very cinematic (at least in the aforementioned trilogy, not necessarily in the previous games in the series) so I felt that at film adaptation would be an impressive epic.

Having finally seen this movie, I can say that I was not at all disappointed!

One of the main strengths going into this movie was it's involvement of the series creator Jordan Mechner. He crafted a very engaging screen story that pushed beyond the controller, creating an entirely new addition to the mythos. I know that at times including the creator can sometimes stifle the process, as many will fight changes to the source material that may need to be altered to work better with a director's vision; but I feel that Mechner's involvement showed his desire to see his brain-child develop into a success on the big screen.

In addition to involving Mechner, the other big strength was the way that the filmmakers chose to handle the story. Let's face it, movies based on video games have a very poor track record. Super Mario Brothers, Street Fighter, Tomb Raider... all of them made for films that were mediocre at best, and downright abysmal at worst. Prince of Persia had a mighty big hurdle to clear with this, and they found the perfect team to tackle it. Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney already accomplished a similar feat when they brought Pirates of the Caribbean to the big screen (a movie based on a theme park ride, in a genre that had not seen success in 50 years!)

Their strategy was the same, they wrote their own story that borrowed elements from the game, but did not strictly follow it. The film stands alone, and does not require it's audience to be intimately familiar with the source material. The nods to the game throughout were great, but I was relieved that I was able to enjoy this film for what it was, rather than constantly looking for where it deviated from the games.

This movie clearly was made for someone like me, and in my party of four, three of us, who were all guys, loved it. The fourth, who was the only woman in the group, was less than impressed, and complained that it was too much action. If you're expecting Citizen Kane, you stand to be disappointed, but if you expect this to be another video game adaptation, you are in for a real treat!