Che: Part One (2008)

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers (WGA):

Peter Buchman (screenplay)
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (memoir "Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War")

Release Date:

24 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Plot:

In 1956, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Plot Keywords:

Army | Fidel Castro | Che Guevara | Cuba | Desertion

Awards:

3 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Julia Ormond	...	Lisa Howard
Benicio Del Toro	...	Ernesto Che Guevara
Oscar Isaac	...	Interpreter (as Óscar Isaac)
Pablo Guevara	...	Dinner Guest #1
Franklin Díaz	...	Dinner Guest #2
Armando Suárez Cobián	...	Dinner Guest #3
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Raúl Castro
María Isabel Díaz	...	María Antonia
Demián Bichir	...	Fidel Castro
Mateo Gómez	...	Cuban Diplomat #1
Ramon Fernandez	...	Héctor (as Ramón Fernández)
Yul Vazquez	...	Alejandro Ramírez (as Yul Vázquez)
Jose Caro	...	Esteban (as José Caro)
Pedro Adorno	...	Epifanío Díaz
Jsu Garcia	...	Jorge Sotús (as Jsu García)
Luis Alfredo Rodríguez Sánchez	...	Rebel Messenger #1 (as Luis Rodríguez Sánchez)
Santiago Cabrera	...	Camilo Cienfuegos
Roberto Santana	...	Juan Almeida (as Roberto Luis Santana)
Vladimir Cruz	...	Ramiro Valdés Menéndez
Marisé Alvarez	...	Vilma Espín (as Marise Álvarez)
Jorge Perugorría	...	Vilo (Juan Vitalo Acuña)
Elvira Mínguez	...	Celia Sánchez
Unax Ugalde	...	Vaquerito (Roberto Rodríguez)
Christian Nieves	...	Oñate Cantinflás
Andres Munar	...	Joel Iglesias Leyva (as Andrés Manuel Munar)
Liddy Paoli Lopez	...	Quike Escalona (as Liddy Paoli López)
Francisco Cabrera	...	Rebel Guide
Pedro Telémaco	...	Eligio Mendoza (as Pedro Telemaco)
Milo Adorno	...	Mario Leal (as Yamil Adorno)
Miguel Ángel Suárez	...	Army Doctor
Alfredo De Quesada	...	Israel Pardo
Roberto Urbina	...	Guile Pardo
Juan Pedro Torriente	...	Pedro Chape
Io Bottoms	...	Make-Up Artist
Manuel Cabral	...	Cuban Man at Bar #1
Oscar A. Colon	...	Cuban Man at Bar #2 (as Óscar A. Colón)
Sam Robards	...	Tad Szulc
Jay Potter	...	Richard Hottelet
Stephen Mailer	...	Paul Niven
René Lavan	...	Cuban Diplomat #2 (as René Laván)
Octavio Gómez Berríos	...	Otto (as Octavio Gómez Berrios)
Blanca Lissette Cruz	...	María
Laura Andújar	...	Laura
Georgina Borri	...	Old Woman #1
Alejandro Renteria	...	Umberto (as Alejandro Rentería)
Israel Lugo Graniela	...	Omar
Bryant Huffman	...	Cuervo
Xavier Antonio Morales	...	Esteban's Accomplice
José Luis Gutiérrez	...	Polo
Jon DeVries	...	Sen. Eugene McCarthy (as Jon De Vries)
Leslie Lyles	...	Partygoer #1
Meg Gibson	...	Partygoer #2
Alex Manette	...	Partygoer #3
Elvis Nolasco	...	Partygoer #4
Sheridan Lowell	...	Partygoer #5
Eugenio Monclova	...	Emilio Cabrera
Luis Gonzaga Hernandez	...	Lalo Sardiñas (as Luis Gonzaga Hernández)
Jose A. Nieves	...	Dr. Julio Martínez Páez (as José A. Nieves)
Joksan Ramos	...	Raúl Chibás
Javier Ortiz	...	Felipe Pazos
Édgar Ramírez	...	Ciro Redondo García (as Edgar Ramírez)
Luis Rosario	...	Rebel Luis
Osmin Hernandez	...	Gustavo (as Santa Fé Osmín Hernández)
Julio Cesar Morales	...	Jesús (as Julio César Morales)
Leonardo Castro	...	Army Medic
Oscar De La Fe Colon	...	Bazooka Guy #1 (as Óscar De La Fé Colón)
Xaiex Arriaga	...	Bazooka Guy #2
Monique Gabriela Curnen	...	Secretary
P.J. Benjamin	...	Captain Stanton
Al Espinosa	...	Angry Demonstrator #1
Ana Maria Andricain	...	Angry Demonstrator #2
Michael Countryman	...	U.S. Ambassador Stevenson
Victor Rasuk	...	Rogelio Acevedo
Jorge Armando	...	Enrique Acevedo
Kahlil Mendez	...	Leonardo Tamayo Núñez (as Kahlil Méndez)
Aris Mejias	...	Carmen (as Aris Mejías)
Carlitos Ruiz Ruiz	...	Ventriloquist (Albertico)
Armando Riesco	...	Benigno (Dariel Alarcón Ramírez)
Othello Rensoli	...	Pombo (Harry Villegas)
Victoria Espinosa	...	Old Woman #2
Joe Urla	...	Nicaragua Ambassador
Diego Arria	...	Venezuela Ambassador
Omar Chagall	...	Panama Ambassador (as Oscar Chagall)
Eduardo Cortés	...	Sánchez Mosquera
Joaquín Méndez	...	Faustino Pérez
Pablo Venegas Colón	...	René Ramos Latour
Jerry Nelson Soto	...	Nico Torres
Jose Brocco	...	Ovidio Díaz Rodríguez (as José Brocco)
Norman Santiago	...	Tuma (Carlos Coello)
Juan Carlos Arvelo	...	Rolando Cubela
Roy Sánchez-Vahamondes	...	Faure Chomón (as Roy Sánchez Vahamondes)
Yamil Collazo	...	Enrique Oltuski
Alejandro Carpio	...	Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo
Andres Santiago Bravo	...	Hermes Peña Torres (as Andrés Santiago Bravo)
Aurelio Lima	...	Victor Bordón Machado
Catalina Sandino Moreno	...	Aleida March
Alba Caraballo	...	Aleida's Friend
Doel Alicea	...	Oltuski's Messenger
Rafael Alvarez	...	Lieutenant Pérez Valencia (as Rafa Álvarez)
Jose Cotte	...	Dr. Fernández Mell (as José Cotte)
Naya Tanya Rivera	...	Woman in Crowd
Néstor Rodulfo	...	Miguel (Manuel Hernández Osorio)
Luis Alberto García	...	Colonel Joaquín Casillas Lumpuy
Teofilo Torres	...	Colonel Hernández (as Teófilo Torres)
Ernesto Faxas	...	Fernández Suero
Ricardo Alvarez	...	Antonio Jiménez (as Ricardo Álvarez)
Miguel Rodarte	...	Man with Sledgehammer
Rafael Simón	...	Rebel Messenger #2
Bruno Bichir	...	Colonel Rojas
Gerardo Albarrán	...	Police Officer
Guillermo Ríos	...	Comandante Gómez Calderón
Victor Angulo Villacis	...	Red Cross Worker
Fernando Gutiérrez Vargas	...	Aide to Hernández
Ramiro Garza Balboa	...	Man Greeting Che
Carmen Mahiques	...	Cook at Cuban Embassy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Euriamis Losada	...	Carlos
Jorge Alberti	...	Soldier Hector (uncredited)
Fernando Arroyo	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Javier Bellido Cintron	...	Soldier Jose (uncredited)
Lou D'Amato	...	U.N. Delegate (uncredited)
Dave Dyshuk	...	Press Photogropher (uncredited)
Jonathan Fret	...	Aleida's companion (uncredited)
Rebecca Merle	...	Protestor at United Nations (uncredited)
Robert Myers	...	U.N. Diplomat (uncredited)
Ragini Parmar	...	Pakistan Ambassador (uncredited)
Alexandra Tejeda Rieloff	...	U.N. Protester (uncredited)
Ken Sladyk	...	Romanian Diplomat at U.N. (uncredited)
Susie Stewart Rubio	...	Protester #2 (uncredited)
Bernat Tort-Ortiz	...	Cuban Rebel (uncredited)
Guillermo Valedon	...	David Salvador (uncredited)
Gerardo José Vega	...	Cuban Rebel (uncredited)

Directed by
Steven Soderbergh

Writing credits (WGA)
Peter Buchman		(screenplay)
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara		(memoir "Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War")

Produced by
Belén Atienza	....	executive producer
Álvaro Augustín	....	executive producer (as Álvaro Augustin)
Pilar Benito	....	associate producer
Laura Bickford	....	producer
Frederic W. Brost	....	executive producer
Brahim Chioua	....	executive producer
Celia D. Costas	....	line producer: New York (as Celia Costas)
Benicio Del Toro	....	producer
Philip Elway	....	executive producer
Gregory Jacobs	....	executive producer
Álvaro Longoria	....	executive producer
Vincent Maraval	....	executive producer
Silvana Paternostro	....	associate producer
Anna Roth	....	line producer: Mexico
Cristina Zumárraga	....	line producer

Original Music by
Alberto Iglesias

Cinematography by
Steven Soderbergh		(as Peter Andrews)

Film Editing by
Pablo Zumárraga

Casting by
Rodrigo Bellott
J.C. Cantu
Mary Vernieu

Production Design by
Antxón Gómez

Art Direction by
Laia Colet
María Clara Notari		(supervising art director)

Set Decoration by
Pilar Revuelta

Costume Design by
Bina Daigeler

Makeup Department
Mariela Avilez	....	assistant hair stylist: Mexico
Barbara Cantu	....	key hair stylist
Gloria Pasqua Casny	....	hair department head
Aurora Chavira	....	assistant hair stylist: Mexico
Tere Chávez	....	key hair stylist: Mexico
Heidi Remigio Colón	....	hair stylist
Emilio Cortés	....	assistant hair stylist: Mexico
Angel De Angelis	....	key hair stylist: New York
Naomi Donne	....	key makeup artist: New York (as Naomi Dunne)
Stephan Dupuis	....	makeup artist
Luis David Esquivel	....	makeup artist: Mexico
Raúl Esquivel	....	makeup artist: Mexico
Antonio Garfias	....	makeup artist: Mexico
Ofelia Gutiérrez	....	makeup artist: Mexico
Katherine James	....	makeup department head (as Kathrine James-Gibson)
Loretta James-Demasi	....	assistant key makeup artist
Francisco Jaramillo	....	makeup artist: Mexico
Loida E. Jeannot	....	hair stylist (as Loida Jeannot)
Isaac Lanado Chavira	....	makeup artist: Mexico (as Isaac Lañado Chavira)
Geraldine Lee	....	makeup artist: Mexico (as Geraldine Lee Torres)
Ana López Puigcerver	....	key makeup artist
Belén López Puigcerver	....	key hair stylist (as Belén López-Puigcerver)
Rocio Nogueron	....	assistant hair stylist: Mexico (as Rocio Noguerón)
Milagros Núñez	....	hair stylist
Lucy Ortiz Melendez	....	makeup artist (as Lucy Ortiz Meléndez)
Guadalupe Ramirez	....	assistant hair stylist: Mexico (as Guadalupe Ramírez)
Angel A. Rivera	....	makeup artist
Paulina Selene Rodríguez	....	assistant hair stylist: Mexico
Diana Roldos Ramos	....	hair stylist
Gail Rowell-Ryan	....	hair stylist: Mr. Del Toro (as Gail Ryan)
Wilissa G. Ruiz Domínguez	....	assistant hair stylist
Raúl Sarmiento	....	key makeup artist: Mexico
Verónica Tannos	....	assistant hair stylist: Mexico
Yolanda Rochelle Uribe	....	makeup artist: Mexico
Frances Valley	....	hair stylist
Dorcas Vázquez	....	assistant hair stylist
Dominique Borrel	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Natasha Ladek	....	wig maker: Benicio Del Toro (uncredited)

Production Management
Marian Briozzo	....	post-production supervisor
Ellen Gordon	....	production manager: PR (as Ellen S. Gordon)
Robin Le Chanu	....	production manager
Javier Ugarte	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David M. Bernstein	....	second assistant director: Mexico (as David Bernstein)
Marcos González Palma	....	dga trainee: Puerto Rico/Mexico
Yvette Gurza	....	second assistant director: Mexico
Gregory Jacobs	....	first assistant director
Lynne Martin	....	additional second assistant director
Joseph P. Reidy	....	first assistant director: New York (as Joe Reidy)
Jody Spilkoman	....	key second assistant director
Juan Esteban Suárez	....	second second assistant director
Basti Van Der Woude	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Paul Alfaro	....	on set greens
Paul Alfaro	....	set dresser
Carlos 'Carly' Antunez	....	set dresser
Eddie Antunez	....	set dresser
Stuart Auld	....	key scenic artist
Roberto Bonelli	....	set designer
Charlie Bonilla	....	construction foreman: Puerto Rico
Ezra Buenrostro	....	assistant art director
Gladys Bustos	....	assistant property master
Marsi Caraballo	....	graphic designer
Fernando Carrion	....	art department assistant
Roxana Chapela	....	construction coordinator
Rick Chavez	....	assistant property master
Luis E. Colon Santiago	....	foreman
Juan Manuel de la Fuente	....	greensman
Lizz Diaz	....	art department assistant
Alisarine Ducolomb	....	art department coordinator
Jorge Fernandez	....	property assistant
Carlos Gamboa	....	set designer
David J. Gonzalez	....	assistant props
Juan Guallini Indij	....	head greensman
Luis López-Baquero	....	concept artist
Luis E. Maldonado	....	set dresser
Alejandra Martinez	....	scenic foreman
Georgie Miranda	....	second greensman
Monica Monserrate	....	assistant set decorator
Michael Panevics	....	armourer
Armando Patino	....	graphic designer: Mexico
Wilhem Perez	....	painter
Andrew Petrotta	....	property master
Moises Pineda	....	production buyer
Raquel Medina Rampolla	....	art department coordinator
Mariana Roca Iguina	....	labor
Magali Sagarra	....	leadwoman
Oscar A. Colom Cruz	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Mark Appleby	....	adr mixer
Tim Atkins	....	adr recordist
Óscar Barros	....	dialogue editor
Antonio Betancourt	....	sound mixer
Larry Blake	....	sound re-recording mixer
Larry Blake	....	supervising sound editor
Mike Chock	....	sound editor
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer: New York
Nick Foley	....	adr mixer
Martín García Blaya	....	dialogue editor (as Martin Garcia)
Gabriel Gutiérrez	....	supervising sound editor
Hugo Jeffreys	....	adr recordist
Craig Kyllonen	....	adr recordist
Luis Antonio Landrau	....	boom operator
Lucía Loiseau	....	assistant dialogue editor
Lucía Loiseau	....	assistant sound editor
Mark A. Mangini	....	sound effects editor (as Mark Mangini)
Mark A. Mangini	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Mark Mangini)
Diego Martinez Rodriguez	....	sound editor
Diego Martínez	....	dialogue editor
Beauxregard Neylon	....	adr mixer
Marc Orts	....	dialogue mixer
Marc Orts	....	dialogue pre-mixer
Marc Orts	....	sound
Hiraldo Pino	....	boom operator
Hiraldo Pino	....	sound
Lisa Puerto	....	production assistant
Iñaki Sanchez-Elvira	....	foley editor (as Ignacio Sanchez-Elvira)
Billy Theriot	....	assistant sound editor
Paul Tirone	....	adr recordist
Eduardo Valverde	....	boom operator
Rafael Jose Perez Veve	....	sound
Matt Coby	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Steve Austin	....	special effects foreman
Charlie Bonilla	....	special effects technician (as Carlos Bonilla)
Charlie Bonilla	....	special effects: Puerto Rico
Rich E. Cordobes	....	special effects technician (as Rich-e 'Duper' Cordobes)
Antonio Cornejo	....	special effects technician: Mexico
Conor Coughlan	....	special effects
Yves De Bono	....	special effects foreman
John J. Downey	....	special effects gangboss
Derrick Duran	....	special effects technician: Mexico
Jesus G. Duran	....	special effects coordinator: Mexico (as Jesus 'Chucho' Duran)
Jesus G. Duran	....	special effects foreman: Mexico
Adrián Durán	....	special effects technician: Mexico
Fermín Durán	....	special effects technician: Mexico
Phil H. Fravel	....	special effects technician
Eric Omar Gonzalez	....	special effects technician
Ken Gorrell	....	special effects
Werner Hahnlein	....	special effects foreman
Kevin Hannigan	....	special effects coordinator
Jonn Herzberger	....	special effects technician
Heath Hood	....	special effects technician (as Heath 'Tito' Hood)
Lee McConnell	....	special effects technician (as Lee Alan McConnell)
Joe Pancake	....	special effects technician
Ken Tarallo	....	special effects technician
Russell Tyrrell	....	special effects technician
Kenneth Van Order	....	special effects technician
Chris L. Ward	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Luis Blasco	....	compositor
Luis Blasco	....	digital compositor
Francesco Campobasso	....	senior 3D artist
Francesco Campobasso	....	senior cgi artist
Ignacio Luis de Redin	....	3D artist
Aníbal del Busto	....	digital compositor
Eduardo Díaz	....	digital compositor
Sergio Garcia Abad	....	computer graphics supervisor (as Sergio Garcia)
Javier García Plaza	....	senior compositor
Úrsula García	....	visual effects producer
Ñaña González	....	senior compositor
Pablo Hernández-Meléndez	....	matchmover
Pablo Hernández-Meléndez	....	senior 3D artist
Patricia Martin	....	trainee compositor
Jesse Morrow	....	visual effects artist
Inma Nadela	....	senior compositor
Guillermo Orbe	....	digital compositor
Ramón Ramos	....	digital compositor
Thorsten Rienth	....	digital compositor
Rubén Sanz	....	visual effects line producer
Rafa Solorzano	....	visual effects supervisor
Carlos Trijueque	....	digital compositor
Daniel Trujillo	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Damian Achilles	....	stunts
G.A. Aguilar	....	stunt coordinator: New York (as George Aguilar)
Brian Brown	....	stunts
Jordi Casares	....	stunt coordinator
Toby Holguin	....	stunts
Jalil Jay Lynch	....	stunt performer
Daniel Maldonado	....	stunts
Jeff Medeiros	....	stunts
Jimmy Ortega	....	stunt double:Benicio Del Toro
J.C. Robaina	....	stunts
Derrick Simmons	....	stunts
Manny Siverio	....	stunt coordinator
Paul Veluzat	....	stunt driver
Eddie J. Fernandez	....	stunt player (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Emanuel Carrión	....	electrician
Leslie Colombani	....	gaffer (as Leslie Colombani Jr.)
Javier Cruzado	....	additional grip
Sergio Delgado	....	first assistant camera
Gary Jay	....	camera operator
Laura Magruder	....	still photographer
Santiago Benet Mari	....	electrician
Abner Medina	....	second assistant camera
Frank Norris	....	camera trainee
Juan Pablo Ojeda	....	assistant camera
Raymond Orraca	....	best boy electric
Angel Pastrana	....	key grip
Francisco Román	....	camera grip
Naomi Villanueva	....	second assistant camera
Carlos Zayas	....	epk videographer
Paul Toomey	....	additional second assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Patricia Alonso	....	casting director: Puerto Rico
Ed Arenas	....	casting: Florida
Beatriz Bartolomé	....	casting assistant
J.C. Cantu	....	casting associate
Sonia González Riera	....	casting assistant
Genaro Hernandez	....	casting assistant
Carla Hool	....	casting director: Mexico
Eyra Aguero Joubert	....	casting assistant
Ricardo Padula	....	casting: Florida
Jesus Quinones	....	casting assistant
Eliseo Ruiz	....	casting assistant
Rodrigo Urbano	....	casting associate
Francisco Veyro	....	extras casting: Mexico
Ali Merhi	....	casting associate (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Susan Bakula	....	costume shop supervisor
Ana Cuerda	....	costume supervisor
Anette Czagany	....	key costumer
Katalina Iturralde	....	costume aging assistant
Glenn Gregory Krah	....	set costumer
Ali Lammari	....	set costumer
Edgar Molinos	....	costumer
Pepo Ruiz Dorado	....	aging artist
Gladyris Silva	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Matt Absher	....	assistant editor
Corey Bayes	....	assistant editor
Leigh Anne Bowles	....	post-production coordinator
Jara Bustos	....	editorial runner
Pascale Dillemann	....	post production assistant
Yoya Fernández	....	post-production assistant
Jimmy Fusil	....	digital intermediate producer
Nat Jencks	....	digital workflow
Nat Jencks	....	first assistant editor
Barbara Jean Kearney	....	digital intermediate producer
David Kirchner	....	associate editor
Jesse Morrow	....	on-line editor
Daniel Silverman	....	digital imaging supervisor
Tim Stipan	....	digital intermediate colorist
Kirsten Stoffa	....	assistant editor
Michael P. Whipple	....	digital intermediate engineer
Lee Wimer	....	color timer
Virginia Llera	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Benjamin Sutor	....	digital intermediate editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Diego Balduque	....	assistant score engineer
Javier Casado	....	additional music arranger
Javier Casado	....	music programmer
David Cerrejón	....	assistant to composer
David Cerrejón	....	music librarian
Chris Clad	....	violin
José Luis Crespo	....	score mixer
José Luis Crespo	....	score recordist
Fiona Cruickshank	....	assistant score engineer
Ana Eusa	....	music executive producer
Isobel Griffiths	....	orchestra contractor
Alberto Iglesias	....	conductor
Jake Jackson	....	assistant score engineer
Jorge Magaz	....	additional music arranger
Jorge Magaz	....	music programmer
Javier Martín	....	music executive producer
Charlotte Matthews	....	assistant orchestral contractor
Perry Montague Mason	....	orchestra leader (as Perry Montague-Mason)

Transportation Department
Arturo Curiel	....	transportation coordinator: Mexico
Shane Greedy	....	transportation coordinator
Luis A. Jurado	....	transportation captain
Francisco 'Panchi' López-Franco	....	assistant to picture car coordinator
Luis 'Cuba' Medina Sánchez	....	driver
Manuel Paredes Murillo	....	driver: cast
Alfonso Paredes	....	driver
Josiuan Rojas	....	transportation coordinator
Francisco Pancho Rosa	....	cast driver
Erik Von Hof	....	picture car department

Other crew
Jon Lee Anderson	....	chief consultant
Jose Manuel Ballesteros	....	craft service coordinator
Ignacio Barsottelli	....	research consultant: Mr. Del Toro (as Ignacio Barsotelli)
Julie Bernards	....	payroll accountant
Rino Bonavita	....	accountant
Clara Bottoms	....	assistant: Mr. Del Toro
Leigh Anne Bowles	....	assistant: Ms. Bickford
Karla Bukantz	....	production coordinator: Mexico
Mariarosa Calderon	....	assistant accountant
Jana Camacho	....	production assistant
Paola Cambo	....	assistant location manager
Aarón I. Campos	....	set production assistant
Marisa Castelo	....	Spanish legal advisor
Rudy Coblentz Jr.	....	second assistant accountant
Chic Daniel	....	weapons consultant
María de Orduña	....	location assistant
James D. Dever	....	military technical advisor
Pascale Dillemann	....	press and festival coordinator
Juan C. Dávila	....	production assistant
Vazquez Munoz Edric	....	production assistant
David Fencl	....	armorer
Rey Figueroa	....	location scout
Rey Figueroa	....	set location manager
Jan Garcia	....	business affairs
Pablo Guevara	....	dialect coach: Mr. Del Toro
Kevin Hindley	....	script clearance
Hannah M. Hinkel	....	second assistant accountant
Jason Hinkel	....	first assistant accountant
Angela M. Illan	....	housing coordinator
Kemel Jamis	....	production assistant
Holly Kang	....	assistant: Mr. Soderbergh
Dan Knight	....	epk director
Linda Juliana Lemos	....	production assistant
Sonya Lunsford	....	production controller
Michelle Malley-Campos	....	production assistant
Beatriz Mayo	....	controller
Neyda Johana Mercado	....	assistant production coordinator
Richie Mestre	....	production assistant
Tom Minder	....	first assistant military advisor
Cristina Ramiro Monroy	....	production assistant
Basilio Morales	....	assistant animal wrangler
Sorely Muentes	....	production assistant
Nacho Nolla	....	accountant runner
Jedrek Oquendo	....	production assistant
Jaime Ortiz de Artiñano	....	business affairs
Sandra Ortiz Sánchez	....	assistant: Ms. Bickford
Daniel Pollack	....	location scout
Lisa Puerto	....	production assistant
Jorge Pupo	....	adr loop artist
Alejandro de Quesada	....	historical consultant
Gemma Rawsthorne	....	production accountant
Giancarlo Rebella	....	location assistant: Puerto Rico
Vivian Rebella	....	assistant location manager
Deborah Ricketts	....	footage researcher
Alfredo R. Robles Rodriguez	....	production assistant
Misael Rodriguez-Quijano	....	production assistant
Horacio Rodríguez	....	assistant location manager
Jesús A. Romero	....	production assistant
Chuck Rousseau	....	armorer
Coraly Santaliz	....	script supervisor
Antonio Luis Santiago	....	animal wrangler
Alan Shaterian	....	research consultant: Mr. Del Toro
Spooky Stevens	....	unit publicist
Zack Stoff	....	research assistant
Quay Terry	....	assistant military advisor
Sofia Tirado	....	location manager
Karen S. Uphoff	....	assistant location manager
Alejandro Uriegas	....	location assistant
Axel Uriegas	....	on-set production assistant
Fernando Uriegas	....	location manager
José R. Varona	....	on set medic
Eric Vega	....	production coordinator
Nacha Zurinaga	....	travel coordinator
Pablo Goldbarg	....	language consultant (uncredited)
Weston Scott Higgins	....	assistant military advisor (uncredited)
J.P. Pettinato	....	consultant to producers (uncredited)

Thanks
Arancha R. De Buen	....	thanks
Cristóbal García	....	thanks
Gary Ross	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Wild Bunch (presents)
• Telecinco (co-production)
• Laura Bickford Productions (co-production)
• Morena Films (co-production)
• Ministerio de Cultura (with the collaboration of)
• Estudios Picasso (uncredited)
• Guerrilla Films
• Section Eight (uncredited)

Distributors

• IFC Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Filmware International (2009) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• GAGA (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Londra Films P&D (2009) (Bolivia) (theatrical)
• Nikkatsu (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Optimum Releasing (2009) (UK) (theatrical)
• SPI International (2009) (Czech Republic) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• SPI International (2009) (Slovakia) (theatrical)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2009) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• URD Pictures (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• Wild Bunch Benelux (2009) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• E1 Entertainment (2009) (Canada) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (2008) (Brazil) (all media)
• Europa Filmes (2009) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore (2009) (Italy) (DVD)
• Paradise Group (2008) (Russia) (all media)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2009) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2009) (Finland) (all media)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2010) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• El Ranchito (visual effects)

Other Companies

• -12 db SL  post-production sound services (as -12 dB Madrid)
• 1 Force  military technical advisors
• 103 Todd-AO Estudios  adr recorded at (as 103 Todd-AO Studios Madrid)
• 103 Todd-AO Estudios  re-recorded at (as 103 Todd-AO Studios Madrid)
• AdeQ Historical Archives & Services  historical photographs
• Air Lyndhurst Studios  score recorded at (as Air Studios, Lyndhurst Hall)
• CTT  grip and lighting equipment
• Cata Studios  score mixed at (as Cata Studios Madrid)
• Direct Tools & Fasteners  expendables
• Estudios Exa  adr recorded at (as Exa Studios Madrid)
• Estudios Exa  foley recorded at (as Exa Studios Madrid)
• Goldcrest Post Production London  ADR Facility
• Goldcrest Post Production London  adr recorded at (as Goldcrest Post Production)
• IndieClear  script clearance
• Intelligent Media  international monitoring agency
• Isobel Griffiths Limited  orchestral contractor
• Pacific Title  titles
• Packair Airfreight  international logistics
• Panavision  anamorphic lenses
• RLM  music executive producer
• Red Digital Cinema  camera equipment provided by
• Sound One  adr recorded at
• Swelltone Labs  re-recorded at
• Technicolor  release printing
• Technicolor  post-production services
• UCLA Film and Television Archive  stock footage courtesy of
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack
• WPA Film Library  stock footage courtesy of

Also Known As:

"The Argentine" - International (English title) (alternative title), USA (working title)

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

France | Spain | USA

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Spain:7 | UK:15 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Czech Republic:15 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Finland:K-13 | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Sweden:11 | USA:Not Rated | Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:12 | New Zealand:M | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Campeche, Mexico

Company:

Wild Bunch

Trivia:

This film and Che: Part Two (2008) were screened combined at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival under the title "Che".

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the guerrilleros are in the Sierra Maestra, we can hear the coqui (Eleutherodactylus coqui) singing in the night. However, this small frog is endemic to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, thus not possible to be heard in Cuba.

Quotes:

[upon hearing that Batista has fled Cuba]
Ernesto Che Guevara:Nobody is going home on leave. We have only won the war. The revolution has just begun.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Revolutions (2011)

Soundtrack:

Oru de Igbodú Para Yemayá: Obatalá

Rage Against the Machine

Maybe the most refreshing thing about Che, both parts, is that its director, Steven Soderbergh, didn't know anything about Ernesto "Che" Guevara before taking on the project. This is like a good few in the audience, like yours truly. I didn't know much at all about Che except that he was involved with communist uprisings and revolutions, was buddy-buddy with Castro, and died in execution-style as a guerrilla (that, and his image appears on t-shirts everywhere). What Soderbergh provides for an audience that will go to see it for what he will do with the project- and what Benicio Del-Toro does with the character- is that it's a history lesson made vibrant and urgent and passionate and, according to the director in interviews and Q & A's, honest portrayal of events.

If this means that we may not get exactly a fully rounded portrait of its titular protagonist/hero, then that's probably the only real liability that the picture has. Maybe, perhaps, rightfully so; Che wasn't a guy, at least in his prime revolutionary years, to be one that had much warmth or moments of doubt (and if he had them, they were behind closed doors and out of any record of diaries). So what we get in Part 1, the conventional "Rise" of the character in the story, is the tale of how to do a revolution right- or rather, how to take over a government by military force, and it's Che as a man who pretty quickly becomes a natural leader, a stern taskmaster and also someone who "loves" as a revolutionary must, Che says.

It's gripping film-making nevertheless, with Soderbergh commanding the narrative wonderfully between a color-filmed part-digital-part-35mm Red-camera on the 1957-1959 events in Cuba and the 1964 trip to the UN in New York filmed in grainy black and white. What we get is part documentary and part bio-pic, words straight from the guerrilla's mouth, as it were, and the events that led up to the take-over (which serves as the climax of the picture) in Santa Clara, Cuba. Some of the elements, as noted, are conventional of just a war picture: we get the young kids (16 and 14) who will do anything to fight with Guevara and his group; we get the supposed love interest, only (thankfully) muted with only one scene with small talk; and we get the moments of enthusiasm, humor, camaraderie, and unlikely bravery in the heat of battle.

But most importantly we see Benicio del-Toro take command of this role like he does seemingly often but rarely with such force. In fact, he probably elevates this Che past some possible pit-falls (this project was actually his baby, as he serves as co-producer and developed the project for years), and makes him as human as he can be, using Che's health-tic (asthma) to its fullest, and reveling in going for broke as far as gusto and revelation go. For all of Soderbergh's command of the film-making style- most of all, for me, during the climactic battle where we get to see him awesomely direct a battle sequence- del-Toro, for any scene he's in, steals the show. If for nothing else, whatever your political stance or thoughts on Che, he's worth the admission. 8.5/10