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 | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

While Gates is attempting to decipher the first clue on board the Charlotte, after Shaw suggests "Prison", Riley says, "Albuquerque. See, I can do it too. Snorkel". This is a reference to the 1998 "Weird Al" Yankovic song, "Albuquerque", which talks about a man's journey to Albuquerque to retrieve his lucky snorkel.

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Goofs

When they are on the Charlotte, Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) calls Ian Howe (Sean Bean) Sean. He does this at least 2 times.

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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

Spoofed in American Dad!: Black Mystery Month (2007)

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Soundtracks

Dreaming
Written by Norbert Pawlicki, Hans Salomon
Courtesy of Associated Production Music LLC

User Reviews

Security risks

"National Treasure" is a thriller that was obviously targeted for young audiences. John Turtletaub, its director, has created a film that will resonate with those audiences because of the great ride and the adventure it depicts. On the other hand, heaven help us, should anyone feel inspired to emulate the hero of the film and attempts to do something similar, which in a way, doesn't say much about the security in guarding the real "natural treasures" of the country.

If we can believe Ben Gates can pull the caper, then there's no problem in enjoying this film, which offers an action packed couple of hours that could have been trimmed a little bit to make it even better.

Not being a Nicolas Cage fan, one was prepared for the worst, but this is one of the films in which Mr. Cage is at his mellowest intensity and it's easy to tolerate his antics. Diane Kreuger is a beautiful addition to the film that pays well. Justin Bartha does what he can being a computer nerd and pulling fantastic stuff to help his friend. Sean Bean, Christopher Plummer and Jon Voight, are seen in supporting roles.

This is a film that will play well with young minds and with adults that will allow for the silliness of the situation at hand.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

19 November 2004 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Trésor national

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

Gross USA:

$173,008,894

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$347,512,318

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