District B13 (2004)

In the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and an ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.

Director:

Pierre Morel

Writers:

Luc Besson, Bibi Naceri

Stars:

Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle, Tony D'Amario

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cyril Raffaelli	...	Capt. Damien Tomaso
David Belle	...	Leïto
Tony D'Amario	...	K2
Bibi Naceri	...	Taha Bemamud (as Larbi Naceri)
Dany Verissimo-Petit	...	Lola (as Dany Verissimo)
François Chattot	...	Krüger
Nicolas Woirion	...	Corsini
Patrick Olivier	...	Le colonel
Samir Guesmi	...	Jamel
Jérôme Gadner	...	K2 boy 1
Tarik Boucekhine	...	Yoyo (para 1)
Grégory Jean	...	Para 2
Warren Zavatta	...	Para 3
Dominique Dorol	...	Cerbère Taha
Ludovic Berthillot	...	Le gros mercenaire

Storyline

In the near future, the worst ghettos of Paris, France are literally walled off and among the worst is District B13. Controlled by the ruthless crime lord, Taha, a young righteous punk named Leïto is determined to bring him down. When the boss retaliates by kidnapping his sister, Lola, a rescue attempt by Leïto is destroyed by betrayal that gets him arrested and Lola kept in the clutches in Taha. Six months later, a crackerjack undercover cop named Damien is given a urgent mission: a neutron bomb has been stolen by Taha in District B13 which has an automatic timer function engaged and set to detonate in less than 24 hours. Now with time running out, Damien and Leïto must work together to find and stop the bomb, but there is far more to this crisis than any of the field players realize.

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Plot Keywords:

time bomb | paris | france | near future | bomb | 

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Taglines:

Welcome to District B13 Welcome to the future

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, some drug content and language

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French Spanish

Release Date:

2 June 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

District 13

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Budget:

€12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,324,693 (France), 19 November 2004

Opening Weekend USA:

$411,544, 4 June 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,197,786, 27 August 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, TF1 Films Production, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bomb code is: 9293709B13

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Goofs

The keypad on the bomb is inconsistent between views. In most close-ups it shows, top to bottom: '1 2 3 a' '4 5 6 b' '7 8 9 0', but when Damien tries to enter the last digit, the key 3 is in the bottom right corner.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: Paris, 2010 / As crime spirals out of control, the government constructs a wall around highest risk housing projects.

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Crazy Credits

The Europacorp logo turns into a writing on a stone wall at the beginning of the movie.

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Connections

References Blazing Saddles (1974)

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Soundtracks

Hip-Hop Kidnapping Bombe
Written by Fred Dudouet, Franck Mantegari and Ismaïla Diop
Performed by Fred Dudouet, Franck Mantegari and Ismaïla Diop
©2004 EuropaCorp / EMI Music Publishing France

User Reviews

Nail-biting action , thrills , spectacular scenes and plot twists

Thrilling and violent movie with a phenomenal starring pair and in which Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle cast all the Stuntmen themselves . Set in the rundown ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb . When the government learns that local kingpin (Larbi or Bibi Narceri , Sami Narceri's brother ; even though Bibi Naceri co-wrote the script, he still had to audition for the part of Taha along with other actors) has acquired a nuclear weapon , Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) and Leito (David Belle , the originator of Le Parkour ) are called upon to avoid an atomic bomb on destroying the blocks at the heart of District 13 with tactical precision and as save the city . With acrobatic skillfulness and adrenaline pumping belief in their own abilities, they throw themselves out from incredible heights, and jump from roof to roof ; locked doors and 'No Trespassing' signs become irresistible challenges . They confront their enemies in order to find out location the bomb (the bomb code is: 9293709B13) and his sister (Dany Verissimo who spent two whole days on a roof in the freezing cold in ripped clothes, handcuffed to a bomb and Luc Besson wrote the part of Lola specifically for her) who was formerly kidnapped , but someone is still after them and are forced to once again take up violent means to survive .

¨13th District¨ is an exciting film that contains suspense , thrills, noisy action , shootouts and violent fights . The main couple is unabashed in its dedication to fanboy stunt work . From the beginning to the final the noisy action and fast movement is unstopped , including breathtaking scenes in which bounds and leaps through apartments blocks and at moments give the impression that they are flying . Cyril Raffaelli as a hard-rock , two-fisted agent is top-notch . This is a frantic rehash of ¨Escape from NY¨ , rightly realized in French style . The highlights of the movie are The Parkour , also known in USA as Free Running whose origin was in ¨Yamasaki¨ film directed by Ariel Zeitoun , Julien Seri and also produced by Luc Besson with his production company called ¨EuropaCorps¨ . Duo protagonist more than make up for in an skill to soar across a rolling medley highrise flats blocks . The way in which the actors prove this abilities , is in fact an activity called Parkour and was invented by David Belle himself , influenced by his father Raymond Belle . Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle had three months to prepare all their Parkour stunts for the film . There weren't any special effects , wire-work, computer graphics... used in 90% of the Parkour scenes . Good cinematography by cameraman Manuel Teran using Steadicam and zooms with numerous locations from Paris slums . The musician Da Octopuss creates a stirring, moving soundtrack fitting to frantic action . Lavishly produced by the successful French producer and director Luc Besson . The flick was stunningly realized by the habitual cameraman, Pierre Morel in his first film, -the second was the successful ¨Taken¨- , though Alexandre Aja was originally hired to direct the movie the first . Filmmaker Pierre gives the action a dance-like quality and the whole movie took 10 months for production , idea, script, casting, filming, etc , as from January 2004 to October 2004 . Followed by "District 13: Ultimatum" by Patrick Alessandrin again with Cyril Raffaelli as Capt. Damien Tomaso , David Belle as Leïto , Philippe Torreton as Le Président De la République and as well as starring in the film, Cyril Raffaelli also choreographed all the fight sequences ; however David Belle didn't practice all his Parkour stunts , most of the ones that you see in the film were of him performing the stunt for the first time . Rating: Better than average, well worth seeing , this is a highly agreeable action movie . The picture will appeal to explosive action fans