Taken (2008)

Director:

Pierre Morel

Writers (WGA):

Luc Besson (written by) &
Robert Mark Kamen (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Plot:

A former spy (Neeson) relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter (Grace), who has been forced into the slave trade. |

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Revenge Motive | Bodyguard | Torture | Agent

Cast

Liam Neeson	...	Bryan
Maggie Grace	...	Kim
Famke Janssen	...	Lenore
Xander Berkeley	...	Stuart
Katie Cassidy	...	Amanda
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Jean Claude
Leland Orser	...	Sam
Jon Gries	...	Casey
David Warshofsky	...	Bernie
Holly Valance	...	Diva
Nathan Rippy	...	Victor
Camille Japy	...	Isabelle
Nicolas Giraud	...	Peter
Gérard Watkins	...	Saint Clair
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arben Bajraktaraj	...	Marko
Affif Ben Badra
Radivoje Bukvic	...	Anton
Valida Carroll	...	DJ
Fred Dessains
Dan Flood	...	Airline Traveler
David Forax
Rosemary Garris	...	Joan
Fani Kolarova	...	Girl on the street
Goran Kostic	...	Gregor
Edwin Kruger	...	Jean Claude's assistant
Marcus Lindsey	...	LAX Police Officer
Nabil Massad	...	Cheik
Patrick Médioni
Jalil Naciri	...	Ali
Anca Radici	...	Ingrid - Swiss girl
Christy Reese	...	Paper Clerk
Opender Singh	...	Singh
Helena Soubeyrand	...	Girl trailer
Caitlin Stasey	...	Riel
Anatole Taubman	...	Dardan
Olivier Vitrant
Don Abernathy	...	Airport traveler (uncredited)

Directed by
Pierre Morel

Writing credits (WGA)
Luc Besson		(written by) &
Robert Mark Kamen		(written by)

Produced by
Luc Besson	....	producer
Didier Hoarau	....	executive producer
Pierre-Ange Le Pogam	....	producer
Michael Mandaville	....	line producer
India Osborne	....	producer

Original Music by
Nathaniel Mechaly

Cinematography by
Michel Abramowicz

Film Editing by
Frédéric Thoraval

Casting by
Ferne Cassel
Nathalie Cheron

Production Design by
Hugues Tissandier

Costume Design by
Pamela Lee Incardona

Makeup Department
Linda Arnold	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Gregory Barrau	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marion Angebaud	....	additional assistant director
Craig Borden	....	first assistant director
Mathilde Cavillan	....	second assistant director
Deborah Chung	....	second second assistant director
Heather I. Denton	....	second assistant director
Guillaume Morand	....	third assistant director
Jérôme Raffaelli	....	first assistant director
Fabien Vergez	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Karine Caumeil	....	assistant to production designer
Brendon Cowsill	....	set dresser: Los Angeles unit
Tiffany Cowsill	....	set dresser: Los Angeles unit
Carine Demongueres	....	assistant art director
Brian Ferguson	....	set dresser
Claire Kaufman	....	set decorator: Los Angeles
Dana MacDuff	....	property master: Los Angeles
Donn Markel	....	propmaker
Nanci Roberts	....	art director: Los Angeles
Tim Scheu	....	leadman: Los Angeles
Lee Thomson	....	set dresser: Los Angeles

Sound Department
Adrien Arnaud	....	adr editor
Eric Bautista	....	sound utility
Damien Berger	....	boom operator
Thomas Bernard	....	sound recordist
Martin Boissau	....	sound
Christophe Bourreau	....	foley artist
Vincent Cosson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dominique Delguste	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jonathan Goc	....	assistant sound editor
François-Joseph Hors	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sébastien Jeannot	....	sound editor
Maud Lombart	....	dialogue editor
Alexandre Widmer	....	supervising sound editor

Special Effects by
Jean-Claude Dauphinot	....	special effects technician
Grégoire Delage	....	special effects coordinator
Georges Demétrau	....	special effects supervisor
Sara Helminger	....	special effects assistant
Charles-Axel Vollard	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Lohengrin Braconnier	....	assistant colorist
Roxane Fechner	....	visual effects supervisor
Elodie Glain	....	visual effects coordinator

Stunts
Philippe Guégan	....	stunt coordinator
Gregory Loffredo	....	stunts
Olivier Schneider	....	fight choreographer
Mark Vanselow	....	stunt double: Liam Neeson

Camera and Electrical Department
Carl Bartels	....	director of photography: second unit
Carl Bartels	....	lead camera operator
Frédéric Beaugendre	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Stéphanie Branchu	....	still photographer
Ashley Carpenter	....	camera loader
Nicole Danyluck Thompson	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Vincent Gallot	....	focus puller
Arnaud Gervet	....	additional second assistant camera
Danny Gonzalez	....	lighting technician
Brad Grimmett	....	steadicam operator
Carl Helder	....	grip
Brian A. Hoffman	....	set videographer: Los Angeles
Jean-Baptiste Jay	....	flight head technician
Brett Laumann	....	chief lighting technician: Los Angeles
Ethan McDonald	....	second assistant camera
Don Presley	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Zachary Sieffert	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Benjamin Speyer	....	crane technician
Kevin Tiesiera	....	rigging gaffer: Los Angeles
Vincent Tulasne	....	video assist operator
Sam Urdank	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Amy De Souza	....	casting associate
Bouchra Fakhri	....	casting assistant
Laurent Soulet	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michelle Margolis	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Nicolas Criqui	....	assistant editor
Mickael Dumontier	....	assistant editor
Frederic Jupin	....	digital conformation
Jean-René Nébot	....	digital color timer

Music Department
Antonio Gambale	....	synthesizer programmer
Alexandre Mahout	....	music supervisor
Samuel Potin	....	music editor
Michael Wijnen	....	music department head

Transportation Department
Ghislain Le Guisquet	....	picture car coordinator
Eric Miller	....	transportation coordinator
Jimmy Ray Pickens	....	driver: cast
Olivier Suffert	....	production driver: Mr Liam Neeson
Christian G. Ervin	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Isabelle Agid	....	production assistant
Adria Badagnani	....	production assistant
Diane Brasseur	....	script supervisor
Kerry Carter	....	production assistant
Kaine Bennett Charleston	....	stand-in
Laurette Dobson	....	script supervisor: USA
Jessica Fairbanks	....	production assistant
Claire Galloy	....	location scout
Ryan Hintz	....	first assistant accountant
Philip Hoang	....	accounting clerk
Brian A. Hoffman	....	production assistant
Lyal Holmberg	....	location manager
Philippe Letode	....	location scout
Chad Mazero	....	production assistant
Michael Ortiz	....	production assistant
Mike Ortiz	....	production assistant
Isabelle Querrioux	....	script supervisor
Katharine Ratnoff	....	assistant to producer
Kelly Safrit-Jones	....	assistant: Mr Neeson, USA (as Kelly Saffrit)
Todd Spears	....	production accountant: USA
Catherine H. Vlasuk	....	assistant production coordinator: Los Angeles
Julie Wagner	....	stand-in: Famke Janssen

Production Companies

• Europa Corp.

Distributors

• EuropaCorp. Distribution (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• EuropaCorp. Distribution (2008) (worldwide) (all media)
• Independent Films (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox C.I.S. (2008) (Russia) (all media)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2008) (USA) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes
• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  remote camera systems
• Les Audis de Vanves  sound post-production (ADR)
• PES Payroll  extras payroll services

Also Known As:

Taken (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.

Runtime:

France:93 min

Country:

France

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | USA:PG-13 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

Doing this film propelled Famke Janssen to take action in the real fight against corruption. She now serves as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime.

Surprinsingly good - definitely must see

I'm still under the influence of this movie, so my comment is likely to be superlative! I went to this movie, knowing that one of the writers and the director were both French, and since I've seen some not-so-impressive movies (almost fell asleep), i was really skeptical.

BUT this one proved to be a great action movie. The best movie to compare with Taken is Hit-man. The idea is somewhat the same (lots of action, shots, flying bullets etc) - though the motive for the actions are not money. But the level of realism, the motivation of the character, the cold blood which moves him on makes this flick a good option to choose when selecting a movie.

Liam Neeson does a great performance, perfectly interpreting his role of a former spy. As he says in one of his lines, he's "retired, but not dead", having an opportunity to show everyone what he knows to do best.

The movie covers a hot topic too, kidnapping young women to force them to prostitute, and all the business this involves. You get to see the kind of people are supporting these arrangements and what it takes for the victims to be there.

Of course, the movie has (very small, almost invisible) drawbacks, like some lines in a wrong language (english instead of french) and some Rambo - stuff, but the overall impression is simple: a strong recommendation!