National Treasure (2004)

A historian races to find the legendary Templar Treasure before a team of mercenaries.

Director:

Jon Turteltaub

Writers:

Jim Kouf (screenplay), Cormac Wibberley (screenplay)

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha

1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Benjamin Franklin Gates
Diane Kruger	...	Abigail Chase
Justin Bartha	...	Riley Poole
Sean Bean	...	Ian Howe
Jon Voight	...	Patrick Gates
Harvey Keitel	...	Sadusky
Christopher Plummer	...	John Adams Gates
David Dayan Fisher	...	Shaw
Stewart Finlay-McLennan	...	Powell
Oleg Taktarov	...	Shippen
Stephen A. Pope	...	Phil (as Stephen Pope)
Annie Parisse	...	Agent Dawes
Mark Pellegrino	...	Agent Johnson
Armando Riesco	...	Agent Hendricks
Erik King	...	Agent Colfax

Storyline

Benjamin Franklin Gates, a pedigree of the treasure hunter family who learns about a national treasure from his grandfather. The treasure is stashed somewhere in the country and the clue leading to the treasure chest is cyphered and scattered all over the country. Benjamin's father abhors treasure hunting, as he himself lost 20 years in chasing the treasure without success. Plot takes a twist when Ben's accomplice Ian decides to steal 'Declaration of Independence' for the next clue. Ben refuses to Ian's plan and they become hostile. When Ben tips FBI about the possible theft, they refused to believe him. Ben determines to steal the 'Declaration of Independence' in order to protect it from Ian. Ben meets 'Abigail Chase' the curator of the archives when he steals the document. Rest of the story is about how Ben, his partner Riley and Abigail decrypts the clues and rescues the national treasure without getting to the hands of Ian.

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Plot Keywords:

treasure | declaration of independence | treasure hunter | treasure hunt | secret society | 

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Taglines:

The clues are right in front of your eyes.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action violence and some scary images

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

19 November 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

National Treasure

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$35,142,554, 21 November 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$173,008,894, 2 June 2005

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$174,443,000, 2 June 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Junction Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The interior of Trinity Church was filmed in the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles.

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Goofs

Ben borrows a $100 bill from a cashier to read the clock on the tower of Independence Hall on the reverse side of the bill. Ben says the time reads 2:22, but on current notes the clock reads 10:30. However, on the design on the reverse of Series 1990 $100 bills, the time on the clock is different, and does actually show 2:22.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young Ben Gates: Grandpa!
John Adams Gates: You're not supposed to be up here, looking at that.

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Crazy Credits

The Jerry Bruckheimer Productions logo sequence blacks out before it finishes running.

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Ed O'Neill/Amber Rose/Justin Flom/John Tempesta (2016)

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Soundtracks

String Quartet in A Major Movement No. 3
Written by Franz Joseph Haydn (as Franz Joseph Haydn)
Courtesy of Associated Production Music LLC

User Reviews

Indiana Jones minus the gore

This one gets my vote for the most enjoyable flick of 2004 (together with The Indredibles). You'd think it's just for kiddies, but any adult capable of just going to the cinema to enjoy themselves should be able to sit back, gobble the popcorn, suck the straw, nibble on the ice- cream and just have a couple of hours of unproblematic mania—with good and bad guys, daring thefts, lost treasures, romance, chases, near escapes, disasters and rescues and everything you'd expect in this kind of Bruckheimer production.

The whole thing is paced just right, the villains are just bad enough, and the goodies are nobles with a roguish streak. The cheesy bits are mellowed with a dash of wry humor, and those that aren't: well, just take them, don't cringe and, again, have fun!

I came out of this movie smiling, as did my wife and elder daughter (that would make all of us into definite 'adults'). Since a smile was what we all wanted that day, we got exactly what we asked for.