5 Days of War (2011)

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writers (WGA):

Mikko Alanne (screenplay)
David Battle (based on a screenplay by)

Release Date:

6 June 2011 (Georgia)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

Their only weapon is the truth.

Plot:

A drama set centered around the war between Russia and Georgia, and focused on an American journalist, his cameraman, and a Georgian native who become caught in the crossfire. |

Plot Keywords:

Journalist | Cameraman | Georgia | War Reporter | Tattoo

Cast

Rupert Friend	...	Thomas Anders
Emmanuelle Chriqui	...	Tatia Meddevi
Richard Coyle	...	Sebastian Ganz
Heather Graham	...	Miriam Eisner
Johnathon Schaech	...	Cpt. Rezo Avaliani
Rade Serbedzija	...	Col. Alexandr Demidov (as Rade Sherbedgia)
Andy Garcia	...	President Mikheil Saakashvili
Val Kilmer	...	Dutchman
Mikko Nousiainen	...	Daniil
Mikheil Gomiashvili	...	Anton Meddevi
Ana Imnadze	...	Sofi Meddevi (as Ani Imnadze)
Antje Traue	...	Zoe
Kenneth Cranham	...	Michael Stilton (as Ken Cranham)
Dean Cain	...	Chris Bailot
Sergo Shvedkov	...	Minister Temur Iakobashvili
Steven Robertson	...	Minister Davit Kezerashvili
Alan McKenna	...	Minister Alexander Lomaia
Giorgi Tsaava	...	Maj. Lavrin
Lasha Kankava	...	Daniil's Man #1
Beka Tabukashvili	...	Daniil's Man #2
Lasha Okreshidze	...	Georgian Lieutenant
Kakha Mikiashvili	...	Inn Keeper
Natia Metreveli	...	Inn Keeper's Wife
Lile Oniani	...	Inn keeper's infant
Natalia Gularashvili	...	Inn keeper's baby
Gia Kusikashvili	...	Village Man
Lia Suluashvili	...	Woman Shot in Knees
Koka Shanava	...	Militia Boy
Anna Walton	...	Karin
Liako Gogidze	...	Waitress
Tornike Bziava	...	Giorgi the guide
Kakha Gogidze	...	Priest
Giorgi Kipshidze	...	Iraqi Taxi Driver
Zura Javakhia	...	Lasha Tsagareli
Levan Pirtskhalava	...	Georgian Lieutenant
Zurab Ingorokva	...	Georgian Captain (as Zura Ingorokva)
Rostom Lortkipanidze	...	Priest
Luke Albright	...	Satellite Van Tech Jameson
Jino Jiniuzashvili	...	Oldest Militia Boy
Giorgi Ushikishvili	...	Wedding singer
Manana Midelashvili	...	Disabled Woman
Ruslan Bakradze	...	Disabled Man
Aleko Gabedava	...	Rezo's Soldier
Nika Tserediani	...	Chief of Police
Malkhaz Abuladze	...	Mayor
Natalia Kipshidze	...	Girl in Church
Dali Doijashvili	...	Older Village Woman
Nino Jokhadze	...	Young Village Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alek Friedman	...	Russian soldier (voice) (uncredited)
Zura Javakhia	...	Husband in Wedding (uncredited)
Konstantin Lavysh	...	Russian Soldier / Spetsnaz (voice) (uncredited)
Avi Liani	...	Georgian Soldier (uncredited)
Beka Sikharulidze	...	Groom / Russian Soldier (voice) (uncredited)
Givi Sikharulidze	...	Valdas Adamkus - President of Lithuania (uncredited)
Zura Tsintsqiladze	...	Valdis Zatlers - President of Latvia (uncredited)
Rick Yudt	...	Mark Rudolph (uncredited)

Directed by
Renny Harlin

Writing credits (WGA)
Mikko Alanne		(screenplay)
David Battle		(based on a screenplay by)

Produced by
Mirza Davitaia	....	producer
Michael P. Flannigan	....	executive producer
Giorgi Gelovani	....	executive producer
Renny Harlin	....	producer
David Imedo	....	executive producer (as David Imedashvili)
Lis Kern	....	associate producer
Cyndy Kuipers	....	executive producer
Christopher Landry	....	co-producer
George Lascu	....	producer
Avi Liani	....	co-producer
Dan Masciarelli	....	producer: main title, Rok!t
Koba Nakopia	....	producer
Nikki Stanghetti	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Trevor Rabin

Cinematography by
Checco Varese

Film Editing by
Brian Berdan

Casting by
Nancy Nayor

Production Design by
Marc Greville-Masson

Art Direction by
Annie Sperling
Tea Telia

Set Decoration by
Guga Kotetishvili

Costume Design by
Elvis Davis

Makeup Department
Veriko Bedeladze	....	assistant makeup artist
Irma Datuashvili	....	makeup artist
Sophie Machavariani	....	third makeup artist
Snejina Merdganova	....	key makeup artist
Nana Nanuli	....	assistant makeup artist
Lavrenti Sarishvili	....	hair stylist
Dimitrina Stoyanova	....	key hair stylist
Yana Stoyanova	....	makeup department head
Yana Stoyanova	....	makeup designer
Rick Stratton	....	tattoo artist
Tamta Turkadze	....	assistant makeup artist
Pasha Usubyan	....	assistant hair stylist
Salome Zakaraia	....	crowd makeup artist

Production Management
Mamuka Chicradze	....	production manager
George Imedashvili	....	production manager
Zachary Matz	....	executive in charge of production
Iliya Sotirov	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Martin	....	second assistant director (as Tommy Martin)
Lasha Minaiashvili	....	first assistant director: second unit
Vladimir Orlov	....	second unit director
Brad Robinson	....	second second assistant director
Gregory Santoro	....	second second assistant director
Shea Varge	....	second second assistant director
Mary Ellen Woods	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Tarik Amchemar	....	props
Bilyana Buchmann	....	assistant property master
Dirk Buchmann	....	property master
Jonathan Gesinski	....	storyboard artist
Giorgi Gogorikidze	....	art department buyer
Zura Gogorikidze	....	props
Maximino Gonzalez	....	construction manager
Eka Ioseliani	....	art department coordinator
Alexandre Kapanadze	....	graphic designer
Grigori Laperadze	....	construction coordinator
Irakli Mchedlidze	....	on-set dresser

Sound Department
Christopher S. Aud	....	supervising sound editor
Nick Baldock	....	adr recordist
Benjamin Beardwood	....	sound editor
Stephanie Brown	....	assistant sound editor
Richard Bullock Jr.	....	boom operator
Eric Flickinger	....	digital mix technician
Karyn Foster	....	adr editor
Dave Fritz	....	adr recordist
Adam Horley	....	adr recordist
David Jobe	....	foley mixer
Laurent Kossayan	....	sound effects editor
Nick Kray	....	adr mixer
Mark L. Mangino	....	supervising dialogue editor
Marc Meyer	....	sound effects editor
Téa Mindeli	....	sound
Robert Sharman	....	sound mixer
Andy Stallabrass	....	adr recordist
Nino Tevdorashvili	....	utility sound
Gregory H. Watkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Peter Gleaves	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ilya Churinov	....	special effects coordinator
Andrei Doronin	....	special effects technician
Andrey Emelyanov	....	special effects technician
Nikoloz Gabashvili	....	special effects technician
Soso Gvasalia	....	special effects technician
Anton Melnikov	....	special effects technician
Roman Pershin	....	special effects technician
Igor Titov	....	special effects foreman
Mikhail Yakushev	....	special effects technician
Alexander Zhurikin	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Stephen Delisle	....	digital compositor
Brian DeMetz	....	visual effects technical director: Final Light VFX
Scott Dougherty	....	visual effects executive producer: Furious FX
Ben Kilgore	....	visual effects artist
Marcin Kummer	....	digital compositor: Celluloid Visual Effects
Vladimir Leschinski	....	senior visual effects supervisor
David Lingenfelser	....	executive visual effects supervisor: Furious Fx
Elena Lotanova	....	visual effects production assistant
James McQuaide	....	visual effects supervisor
Landon Medeiros	....	compositor: Furious FX
Gary Oldroyd	....	visual effects producer: Sub/Par Pix
Bryan Shepperd	....	cg artist: Furious FX
Mark Shoaf	....	cg supervisor: Furious FX
Tommy Tran	....	visual effects artist

Stunts
Shota Aphazishvili	....	stunts
Pavel Avilov	....	stunts
Dmitry Axenov	....	stunts
Sviatolsav Barabolia	....	stunts
Aleksandr Baranov	....	stunts
Vyacheslav Barkovskiy	....	stunts (as Vyacheslav Barkovsky)
Beka Chitiashvili	....	stunts
Ucha Dolidze	....	stunts
Kristina Gagiladze	....	stunts
Vyacheslav Ivanov	....	stunts
Martynas Ivanova	....	stunts
Ruslan Khabibullov	....	stunts
Zed Korshoonoff	....	stunts
Alexander Kraevskiy	....	stunts
Nika Nadashvili	....	stunts
Zura Nanobashvili	....	stunts
Sergei Nosulenko	....	stunts
Vladimir Orlov	....	stunt coordinator
Nikolay Pavlyuk	....	stunts (as Nikolai Pavlyuk)
Oleg Poddubnyy	....	stunts (as Oleg Poddubny)
Gela Poladashvili	....	stunts
Keti Shareidze	....	stunts
Vladimir Shishkin	....	stunt rigger
Alexander Solovyev	....	stunts
Yury Tomlin	....	stunts
Anton Tonavaniani	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Vaja Aprasidze	....	grip
Darren Boyce	....	key grip
Arturo Castañeda	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Sandro Darakhvelidze	....	first assistant camera
Vaja Demetrashvili	....	first assistant camera
Temo Ezieshvili	....	grip
Jerry Fil	....	b dolly grip
Filip Filipov	....	a dolly grip
Levan Gogoladze	....	grip
Shalva Gogoladze	....	grip
Sascia Ippoliti	....	camera operator: aerial unit
Sascia Ippoliti	....	steadicam operator: b-camera operator
Gorgaslan Khaindrava	....	grip
Nikolai Kostov	....	best boy grip
Luis Lattanzi	....	additional camera operator
Luis Lattanzi	....	first assistant camera
Michael Mansouri	....	digital film technician
Irakli Metreveli	....	second assistant camera
Dennis Noyes	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Radoslav Petkov	....	video assist
Iura Pogosov	....	dolly grip
Anthony Police	....	key rigging grip
Anthony Police	....	rigging gaffer
Giorgi Shvelidze	....	camera operator
Levan Sikharulidze	....	second assistant camera
Yuda Tatarko	....	gaffer
Zura Tsuleiskiri	....	grip
Joshua Turner	....	aerial camera assistant
Joshua Turner	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Vigen Vartanov	....	digital imaging technician
Ivan Vatzov	....	assistant camera
George 'Jib Arm' Zakaidze	....	grip
Jondy Zakaidze	....	grip

Casting Department
Brittany Burke	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Tamar Guliashvili	....	set costumer
Sofia Kharebashvili	....	assistant costume designer
Irina Kotcheva	....	costume supervisor
Jasmina Vasileva	....	key costumer (as Jasmina Vasileva-Stoichkova)

Editorial Department
Evans Butterworth	....	digital intermediate executive
Tom Dailey	....	first assistant editor
Maxine Gervais	....	digital intermediate colorist
Adam Ohl	....	digital intermediate producer
Tom Scully	....	assistant editor
Jeff Smithwick	....	color timer

Music Department
Robb Boyd	....	music editor
Steve Kempster	....	score recordist
Paul Linford	....	composer: additional music
Peter Rotter	....	orchestra contractor

Other crew
Zviadi Alkhanaidze	....	location manager
Bob Corff	....	voice coach
Tad Driscoll	....	production accountant
Nina Eristavi	....	adr voice
Claude Forest	....	insurance broker
Tamuna Galdava	....	production secretary
Maia Imedashvili	....	production assistant
Nino Jorjadze	....	production assistant
Natalie Khakhnelidze	....	production assistant
Avi Liani	....	financial manager
Traci Martin	....	first assistant accountant
Jill McCullough	....	dialect coach
Sophie Parjiani	....	production assistant
Tanoa Parks	....	production accountant
Stasi Petrova	....	production coordinator
Rusudan Pirveli	....	assistant: Michael P. Flannigan
Sam Sako	....	adr voice
Vicki L. Sawyer	....	production accountant: prep
Shane B. Scott	....	script supervisor
Nikki Stanghetti	....	assistant: Renny Harlin
Ina Vaseva	....	assistant production coordinator
Dea Vellengur	....	key production assistant (as Dea Kulumbegashvili)
Rick Lipton	....	dialogue coach: Rupert Friend (uncredited)

Thanks
Charles Ferraro	....	the producers wish to thank
Liisa Harjola	....	the producers wish to thank
Luukas Harlin	....	the producers wish to thank

Production Companies

• Rex Media (as RexMedia) (presents)
• Georgia International Films (as GIF)
• Midnight Sun Pictures
• Dispictures

Distributors

• MultiVisionnaire Media (2012) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Albatros Film (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Films (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Interfilm (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Kinosmith (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Atlantic Film (2012) (Finland) (all media)
• Atlantic Film (2012) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2012) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Aventi (2011) (France) (DVD)
• Film Medya (2011) (Turkey) (all media)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Joyncontents Group (2012) (South Korea) (all media)
• Mongkol Major (2011) (Thailand) (all media)
• Video Film Express (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• WVG Medien GmbH (2011) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Dr. PICTURE Studios (visual effects)
• ActionSFX
• Celluloid VFX (visual effects)
• Furious FX (visual effects and animation)

Other Companies

• Art4noise  ADR Recording Facility
• Audiolink Radio Communications  walkie talkies
• De Lane Lea  ADR recording
• HD Camera Rentals.com  camera equipment provided by
• Post Haste Sound  commentary recording engineering
• StuntArt.ru  rigging stunts
• Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging  digital intermediate services

Also Known As:

"City on Fire" - Malaysia (English title) (theatrical title)
"5 Days" - Japan (English title) (imdb display title)
"City on Fire" - Asia (English title) (imdb display title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody war violence and atrocities, and for pervasive language.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA (2011) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Tbilisi, Georgia

Company:

Rex Media

Trivia:

The Georgian military supplied ground force, armored vehicles, weapons and helicopters for use in the film. This allowed many battle scenes and crowd formations to be staged without the need to expand or supplement them digitally.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): At 1:26:19 the satellite upload screen showing the progress of the upload indicates the "Pre-cash". It should have been spelled "Pre-cache".

Soundtrack:

No Fear of Heights

Good Idea, Terrible Execution

My hopes were high for this movie. The War between Georgia and South Ossetia/Russia in August of 2008 would seem to be a great background to a well-plotted, carefully crafted film that captures all the intrigue of the Caucasus. Since the Caucasus have always been a nest of ethnic divisions, political double-dealing and vicious banditry I would think any decent screenwriter and director could piece together a fairly intense thriller, I was so wrong. 5 Days of War is a twisted train wreck of special effects laden action and blatant propaganda with a parade of terrible acting. This film was disappointing on many levels. About 40 minutes into the film I realized I was watching a $20,000,000 piece of pro-Georgian anti-Russian propaganda. If anyone does a little research on this war they will clearly see that both sides committed illegal acts under international law. Georgia is actually blamed for triggering the war by using heavy artillery on a city unprovoked which killed civilians, Russian Peacekeepers and damaged large tracts of the city. Once the war began some Ossetia militias fighting with the Russians committed acts of ethnic cleansing and were not stopped by the Russian Military or Government. Shame on them and shame on Georgia for bombarding a city. I do not have a dog in this fight, I think that the problems of that part of the world should be answered by the countries and governments of that region. It is obvious that the filmmakers feel that we should clearly be supporting Georgia with their charismatic leader Mikheil Saakashvili played by Andy Garcia who is portrayed as a Georgian Thomas Jefferson or JFK. Why the hell did they use Andy Garcia anyway? This movie does nothing to help the outsider with the complexities of the actual situation. I want to know what the target audience was for the filmmakers. I was insulted by this film. Why would they take such a complex and historical subject and simplify it down to this? Westerners are natural allies of the peace-loving, compassionate Georgians therefore the obvious "Bad Guys" are the Russians and South Ossetians who bring murder, terror and misery upon the progressive Georgians. The world isn't so black and white and even us dimwitted moviegoers can appreciate the intricacies of politics in the Caucasus. The protagonist of this wreck is an unlikeable American journalist (Rupert Friend in a career ending role) who jumps head first into danger because of his troubled past. He is surrounded by a cadre of American/British journalists (Val Kilmer, Kenneth Cranham who are both wasted as ridiculous caricatures) who drink hard, take big risks and are always crying about how nobody cares about what is going on in the world. At all times they are protected and working directly on behalf of a group of saintly Georgian soldiers. They do not even pretend to be impartial and objective. The contrived role of Tatia (Emmanuelle Chriqui) is another low point in a film filled with an excruciating level of inaccuracies, clichés and thoughtless dialogue. Special effects are strong, location looks beautiful but the storyline and fact every major character is played by an American or British actor and not native Georgians/Russians is thoughtless and insulting (insulted again). ONLY WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS FILM IF YOU HAVE TIME TO WASTE AND REALLY WANT TO HAVE YOUR INTELLIGENCE QUESTIONED. A TRAVESTY.