The Last Castle (2001)

A court-martialed General rallies together twelve hundred inmates to rise against the corrupt system that put him away.

Director:

Rod Lurie

Writers:

David Scarpa (story), David Scarpa (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Redford	...	General Irwin
James Gandolfini	...	Col. Winter
Mark Ruffalo	...	Yates
Steve Burton	...	Capt. Peretz
Delroy Lindo	...	Gen. Wheeler
Paul Calderon	...	Dellwo
Sam Ball	...	Duffy (as Samuel Ball)
Jeremy Childs	...	Cutbush
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Aguilar
George W. Scott	...	Thumper
Brian Goodman	...	Beaupre
Michael Irby	...	Enriquez
Frank Military	...	Doc
Maurice Bullard	...	Sgt. McLaren
Nick Kokich	...	Pvt. Niebolt

Storyline

Robert Redford stars in this action drama as General Irwin, a respected three-star tactician whose career ends in disgrace when he's court-martialed and sent to The Castle, a maximum security military prison. Irwin quickly butts heads with the facility's autocratic warden, Colonel Winter (James Gandolfini), who runs his command with an iron fist, even killing prisoners when he deems it necessary. Irwin rallies his fellow convicts into a rag-tag army and leads them in a revolt against Winter, an action that the warden is ready to repel by violent means.

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Plot Keywords:

hanoi vietnam | general | prison | colonel | military | 

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Taglines:

A castle can only have one king

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Castle

Filming Locations:

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$72,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,088,213, 21 October 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$18,208,078, 16 December 2001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$27,642,707, 31 December 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Robert Lawrence Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

in the first cafeteria scene, Irwin (Robert Redford) tells a group of inmates after doing combat duty for a while, " life becomes snapshots", Nathan Muir, also played by Redford says a similar phrase to Tom Bishop in Spy Game (2001), as he trains him for the C.I.A.

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Goofs

There is a common misconception that the law requires actors portraying military personnel to wear the uniform improperly (so as to not be "impersonating" military personnel). This is simply not so. 10 U.S.C. 772(f) does authorize the wear of an armed forces uniform by an actor in a theatrical or motion picture production "if that portrayal does not tend to discredit that armed force." SCHACHT v. UNITED STATES was a Supreme Court case in 1970 which found the preceding quote unconstitutional. As such, actors may wear the uniform in a theatrical or motion picture production without fear that it must reflect well on the military. Short version: Any movies which depict improperly worn uniforms can't use this excuse. They just screwed up.

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Quotes

Winter: [while in his office, to captain Pertz] , Do you see how easy it is to manipulate men?

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Girls: Episode #6.4 (2004)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K 550
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

User Reviews

under rated

This was probably one of the most under rated movies of 2001. I didn't have many expectations for it either. I am not a Robert Redford fan and I was not familiar with the work of James Gandolfini, but because I am an action fan and the trailer made this out to look like a not to bad action movie I decided to pick it up. The problem with most action movies that run over two hours is that they usually become boring and bogged down with confusing plot twists that ruin the entertainment value. But this movie never once became boring, my eyes were glued to the screen the whole time. Redford and Gandolfini lit up the screen with red hot performances that kept you at the edge of your seat. This movie has everything you could ask for in an action movie, strong performances, strong script, beautifuly directed action sequences and dare I say it, a few touching moments. Redford plays a war hero who is sent to a prision for war verterians. He then plans an uprising against the corrupt prision guard. Your heart will instantly go out to a shy inmate who was accused of beating someone to death with a hammer. The film also has some of the most mouth dropping action scenes that I've seen in a long time. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. So whether you are a fan of prision movies like The Shawshank Redemption or Fortress or a hardened action fan this movie will not dissapoint. I rank this film as one of the best of 2001 along side Made.