A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

Director:

Dito Montiel

Writers:

Dito Montiel (book)
Dito Montiel (written by)

Release Date:

13 October 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Queens, New York, 1986. Sometimes the only way forward, is back.

Plot:

The movie is a coming-of-age drama about a boy growing up in Astoria, N.Y., during the 1980s. As his friends end up dead, on drugs or in prison, he comes to believe he has been saved from their fate by various so-called saints.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Coming Of Age | Violence | 1980s | Writer

Awards:

8 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Dianne Wiest	...	Flori
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Dito
Shia LaBeouf	...	Young Dito
Melonie Diaz	...	Young Laurie
Laila Liliana Garro	...	Diane (as Julia Garro)
Eleonore Hendricks	...	Jenny
Adam Scarimbolo	...	Guiseppe
Peter Anthony Tambakis	...	Young Nerf (as Peter Tambakis)
Channing Tatum	...	Young Antonio
Anthony Tirado	...	Street Corner Puerto Rican (credit only)
Erick Rosado	...	Puerto Rican Van Driver
Steve Payne	...	Beach Chair Guy (as Steven Payne)
Chazz Palminteri	...	Monty
Tibor Feldman	...	Teacher
Martin Compston	...	Mike O'Shea
Marc Castle	...	Drunken Man in Subway
Steven Randazzo	...	Token Clerk (as Stephen Randazzo)
George DiCenzo	...	Uncle George (as George Di Cenzo)
Olga Merediz	...	Aunt Mary
Teresa Kelsey	...	Newscaster (as Teresa Anne Kelsey)
Sammy Rhee	...	Korean Shop Owner
Jermel Wilson	...	Yup Yup
Michael Rivera	...	Reaper
David Castro	...	Reaper's Little Brother
Federico Castelluccio	...	Antonio's Father
Anthony DeSando	...	Frank the Dog Walker (as Anthony de Sando)
Scott Michael Campbell	...	Nerf (as Scott Campbell)
Rosario Dawson	...	Laurie
Kyle Benitez	...	Laurie's Son
Iraida Polanco	...	Old Woman
Gilbert Cruz	...	Queensbridge Bodega Man
Eric Roberts	...	Antonio
Chance Kelly	...	Prison Guard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Angela Frye	...	Woman in Subway Station (uncredited)
Yetta Gottesman	...	Prison Visitor (uncredited)
Al Marz	...	Street Corner Puerto Rican (uncredited)
Chris Nuñez	...	Gang Member (uncredited)
Jeff Skowron	...	Bookstore Clerk (uncredited)
E. Austin Valentine	...	Very young Dito (uncredited)

Directed by
Dito Montiel

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dito Montiel		book
Dito Montiel		written by

Produced by
Rene Bastian	....	co-producer
Lucy Cooper	....	line producer
Charlie Corwin	....	producer
Robert Downey Jr.	....	co-producer
Jonathan Elias	....	co-producer
Alex Francis	....	associate producer
Amanda Mackey Johnson	....	executive producer (as Amanda Mackey)
Clara Markowicz	....	producer
Linda Moran	....	co-producer
Bobby Sager	....	executive producer
Peter Sahagen	....	executive producer
Sting	....	executive producer
Trudie Styler	....	producer
Travis Swords	....	producer

Original Music by
Jonathan Elias

Cinematography by
Eric Gautier		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jake Pushinsky
Christopher Tellefsen

Casting by
Melissa Chusid
Amanda Mackey Johnson		(as Amanda Mackey)
Cathy Sandrich		(as Cathy Sandrich Gelford)

Production Design by
Jody Asnes

Set Decoration by
Cherish Magennis		(as Cherish Magennis Hale)

Costume Design by
Sandra Hernandez

Makeup Department
Mary Cooke	....	key hair stylist (as Mary Cook)
Suzanne DeSimone	....	additional makeup artist (as Suzanne D. De Simone)
Joseph Farulla	....	additional makeup artist (as Joe Farulla)
Linda Grimes	....	key makeup artist
Michael Laudati	....	additional makeup artist
Dionne Pitsikoulis	....	makeup artist
Eileen Tersago	....	additional hair stylist

Production Management
Nicola Westermann	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jason Graham	....	second assistant director
Urs Hirschbiegel	....	first assistant director
Anthony Ripoli	....	second unit director
Justin Ritson	....	second second assistant director
Nan Sandle	....	second second assistant director (as Nan Marie Sandle)

Art Department
Sarah Berney	....	scenic artist (as Sarah L. Berney)
Benji Cox	....	art department assistant (as Benjamin K. Cox)
Benjamin Craig	....	scenic artist
Colin Eletto	....	art department assistant
Shannon Finnerty	....	assistant property master
Jessioca Gonzalez	....	art department intern
Nora Killoran	....	additional set dresser
Lianir Lopez	....	art production assistant
Christina Madry	....	art intern
David Moriarty	....	scenic artist
Hannah Newman	....	construction assistant
Andy Pan	....	lead man
Mike Romano	....	set carpenter
Jeremy Rosenstein	....	art department assistant
Kyle Salvatore	....	on-set dresser
Nicole M. Solis	....	scenic artist (as Nicole Solis)
Joshua Visser	....	construction coordinator (as Joshua M. Visser)
Bentley Wood	....	property master
Derek J.W. Wybourn	....	assistant property master
Marian Ziola-Stoeffelmeier	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Leslie Bloom	....	foley artist
Pam DeMetruis-Thomas	....	adr editor (as Pam De Metruis-Thomas)
Eugene Gearty	....	sound editor
John Gutierrez	....	boom operator
Paul Hsu	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Hsu	....	supervising sound editor
Charles R. Hunt	....	sound mixer (as Charles Hunt)
Branka Mrkic	....	dialogue editor (as Branka Mrkic-Tana)
Beauxregard Neylen	....	assistant adr engineer
Beauxregard Neylen	....	assistant foley engineer
Alex Raspa	....	adr engineer
Alex Raspa	....	foley engineer
Chris Rich	....	sound facility supervisor
Lila Yomtoob	....	assistant sound editor

Visual Effects by
Keith Yurevitz	....	visual effects

Stunts
Roy Farfel	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Aida Artieda	....	additional electrician
Hugo Bonilla	....	generator operator
Ethan Borsuk	....	second assistant camera
Luis Colon	....	grip
Katie Dainson	....	additional second assistant camera
Christopher DelSordo	....	additional second assistant camera (as Chris Del Sordo)
Billy Dickson	....	additional photographer
Pedro Diez	....	additional grip
Nicole Emmons	....	additional electrician
Jack Foster	....	best boy grip
Avra Fox-Lerner	....	additional grip
John Frisbie	....	third electrician
Andrew Greve	....	additional electrician
Melissa Guimaraes	....	key grip
Nick Haines-Stiles	....	additional grip
David Harges	....	gaffer (as David Lee Harges)
Steve Huber	....	additional photographer
Gregory Hurcomb	....	additional electrician
Daniel Kubick	....	additional electrician (as Daniel Kubicek)
Nina Kuhn	....	additional electrician
Marcus Lehmann	....	grip
Parris Mayhew	....	camera operator
Smokey Nelson	....	gaffer: additional photography
Lisa Origlieri	....	camera loader
Joseph Paolini	....	third grip
Andrij Parekh	....	additional photographer
Chris Reynolds	....	first assistant camera
Francis Spieldenner	....	additional first assistant camera
Jake Sumner	....	camera intern
Walter Thomson	....	still photographer
Fernando Vallejo	....	camera intern

Casting Department
Lori Eastside	....	extras casting
Avy Kaufman	....	additional casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ngina Bowen	....	wardrobe supervisor
Leslie Fry	....	wardrobe intern
Whitney Kyles	....	assistant costume designer
Christina Madry	....	wardrobe intern
Evelyn Mejia	....	wardrobe intern
Yvette Stapleton	....	key costumer (as Yvette E. Stapleton)
David F. Zambrana	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Adam Folk	....	post-production coordinator
Vaughan Killin	....	color timer
William Lehman	....	assistant editor
Anthony Ripoli	....	assistant editor
Larry Schmitt	....	on-line editor

Music Department
Jim Black	....	music clearances: Clearsongs Inc.
Jimmy Haun	....	additional scoring
Vincenzo LoRusso	....	lead music mixer
Vincenzo LoRusso	....	music recording engineer
Nathaniel Morgan	....	music recording engineer
David Wittman	....	additional scoring

Transportation Department
John McMorrow	....	driver
Timothy Paustian	....	transportation captain (as Timothy J. Paustian)

Other crew
Matthew Amenta	....	set production assistant (as Matthew C. Amenta)
Victoria Asher	....	set intern
Luches Banks	....	set production assistant
Eli Barach	....	office intern
Anna Bosco	....	accountant: JFA Inc.
Steve Boyle	....	accountant: JFA Inc.
Alayne Brady	....	office intern
Inna Braude	....	assistant: Kingu Films
Emerson E. Bruns	....	production legal counsel
Linda Carbone	....	production executive: Kingu Films, New York
Jeff Caron	....	location manager
Amyjoy Clark	....	additional production assistant: first team
Daniel Coss	....	location manager: New York
Alison Davis	....	production secretary (as Alison M. Davis)
Patricia de Paula	....	production coordinator
Payton Dunham	....	assistant location manager: preparation
Bailey Ertel	....	set production assistant
Jason Fesel	....	set production assistant (as Jason Fredrick Fesel)
John B. Finn	....	accountant: JPA Inc. (as John Finn)
Jessica Flores	....	office intern (as Jessica J. Flores)
Stacy Frankel	....	assistant: Original Media
Cliff Fuller	....	production office coordinator
Rebecca Fulton	....	script supervisor
Ish Goldstein	....	set production assistant
Wilson Green	....	set production assistant
Wayne Han	....	production assistant
Sebastian Iervolino	....	set intern
Pino Insegno	....	voice dubbing: Robert Downey Jr
Sondra James	....	loop group coordinator
Markus Janner	....	titles & opticals: Duart Digital
Theis Jessen	....	office production assistant
John Kaylin	....	dubbing producer
Margaret Koschik	....	location assistant (as Meg Koschik)
Lianir Lopez	....	art production assistant
Theresa Lowrey	....	assistant: Trudie Styler
Christine McAndrews	....	production executive: Kingu Films, New York
Watari Nishida	....	set production assistant
Shane O'Dell	....	office manager: Belladonna
Ray Parada	....	additional footage
Alyson Perlongo	....	assistant: Original Media
Melissa Pfluger	....	craft service: Kitchen 306 Inc.
Christina Prudenti	....	craft service: Kitchen 306 Inc.
Jimmy Rich	....	assistant: Robert Downey Jr.
Neil Ruddy	....	weapons specialist
Nan Sandle	....	production assistant: first team (as Nan Marie Sandle)
Clarence Sharpe	....	key production assistant
Joleen Small	....	office intern
Jesse Spellman	....	set production assistant (as Jesse Spellman III)
Greg Staley	....	additional set production assistant
Cordelia Stephens	....	clearances and product placement
James P. Stephens	....	assistant to director
Anita Sumner	....	senior production executive: Kingu Films, London
Olivia Vesey	....	set intern
T.G. Wilkinson	....	set intern (as Tom Wilkinson)
Keith Yurevitz	....	titles & opticals: Duart Digital
Alexander Zweig	....	assistant location manager (as Alex Zweig)

Thanks
Ed Harris	....	special thanks
Anne Hubbell	....	thanks
Craig Kestel	....	special thanks
Kenneth Shiffrin	....	special thanks (as Kenneth Schiffrin)

Production Companies

• Belladonna Productions
• Original Media
• Xingu Films

Distributors

• First Look International (2006) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Alta Films (2007) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Atlantic Film (2006) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• CDI Films (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Maple Pictures (2006) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Mikado (2007) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Revolver Entertainment (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Tour de Force (2007) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Atlantic Film (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2008) (UK) (TV) (BBC2)
• Film1 (2008) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• First Look International (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Jump Street Films (2006) (Australia) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2006) (Romania) (all media)
• Solopan (2006) (Poland) (all media)

Special Effects

• Du Art Digital (opticals) (as Duart Digital)

Other Companies

• Mackey/Sandrich Casting  casting
• Abel Cine Tech  camera equipment (as Abel Cinetech)
• Axium International  payroll accountant
• C5  post-production sound services
• Cars of Yesterday  picture cars
• Clearsongs  music clearances
• D.R. Reiff & Associates  insurance
• DeLuxe Laboratories  post-production film lab
• Donna Daniels Public Relations  publicity
• Du Art Film and Video  dailies (as Duart Film & Video)
• Eastman Kodak  film stock
• Elias Arts  additional adr facility
• Elias Arts  music recorded and mixed at
• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• Gourmet To U  catering
• J.G. Films  negative cutting
• JPA  production and post accounting
• Jeremy Walker + Associates  publicity (as Jeremy Walker & Associates)
• Kitchen 306  craft service: New York
• N.Y.C. Casting  extras casting (as NYC Casting)
• Panavision  camera equipment
• Paramount Pictures Production Services  grip and electric equipment (as Paramount Production Services)
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by
• Pivotal Post  editing facility
• Soundtrack F/T  post sound facilities
• Warrenwood Sound Studios  additional adr facility (as Warrenwood Studios)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language, some violence, sexuality, and drug use

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-13 | Germany:16 | Argentina:16 | Sweden:11 | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Belladonna Productions

Trivia:

When Dito ('Shia LaBeouf') and Mike ('Martin Compston') are talking about what music they should play, Mike says that they should sound like Black Flag or Major Conflict. Major Conflict is a NY hardcore band in which the director of the movie actually played when he was young.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the Alley scene where Mike gets shot, a cameraman's shadow is briefly visible on the guy with a white shirt on.

Quotes:

Young Laurie:I'm Laurie... and everyone is going to leave me. I know they are.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.45" (2012)

Soundtrack:

Welcome Back

"My name is Dito and I'm going to leave everyone in this film"

In this autobiographical coming-of-age piece, director Dito Montiel confronts his gritty past in Astoria, Queens. He tells the doomed story of a teenage boy who spends his days in the seedy hot crime-infested backstreets of 1980's New York City to the day when he leaves for California and does not return until twenty years later, when his father (Chazz Palminteri) is sick. The retelling is impressive and absorbing.

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is bursting with the flair of a debut director, who is eager to employ a wide variety of techniques – steadicams, punctured narrative, flashbacks, script interjections, dreamlike non-chronological editing and an uneven pace. The good news is that it channels Spike Lee's criminal Queens street style with fast-paced local jargon that recycles 'fuck' in every sentence and snaps and crackles like kindling in a fireplace between its many thug-like characters. Owing to its coming-of-age format, the story often stays wildly unfocused and you get the feeling many scenes do not serve a purpose other than to get us a feel for the venality with which things were run.

Nevertheless, the characters are all absorbing, especially the young versions of Robert Downey Jr, Eric Roberts and Rosario Dawson. One of these is Antonio – a childhood friend of Dito's and local bully – who does wonderful improvisation-like raw lines. The vast contingent of American preeteen fangirls who were lusting after Channing Tatum after his cheesy teen movies had put me off this actor at first, but it cannot be denied that he gives one of the most intense performances in the film as Antonio – he is hard-edged, testosterone-fuelled and doomed. Robert Downey Jr. is remarkably toned down as the grown-up Dito, delivering sparse lines and abandoning his usual colourful style of acting.

Together the four Queens teens harass girls, beat up rival gangs, shoplift and give attitude to on-lookers and this is undoubtedly when it feels the most like Spike Lee Lite. Saints patiently crafts tension at several points in the story, and it prefers climaxes to continuity as bad events snowball into criminal messes, deaths and the final abandonment by Dito. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is an interesting and compelling story, recreated with deft strokes by local Dito Montiel.

Sting and Trudi Styler loved the script so much they went to great lengths to support the production, and Chazz Palminteri delayed the shooting of another film of his with money out of his own pocket just to be able to play the bruised father in the film. These should serve as marks of its success and most of all the commitment with which its cast approached the film.

7.5 out of 10