Banlieue 13 (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 | france | near future | kissing | 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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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Leito (David Belle) is being chased near the beginning of the film, the way in which he does it in is in fact an activity called Parkour and was invented by Belle himself, influenced by his father Raymond Belle. There weren't any special effects (wirework, computer graphics...) used in 90% of the Parkour scenes.

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Goofs

In the English dub, when the code is being typed into the bomb, Tomaso reads it as "D13", but types "B13", due to the translation of Banlieue as District.

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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

Referenced in Parkour in Rome (2012)

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Soundtracks

Cuban Calor
Written by Atahlya and Itshy Tendaï
Performed by Atahlya and Itshy Tendaï
©2004 EuropaCorp

User Reviews

That did NOT just happen!

I don't know quite what I just saw. I'll have to watch it at least a few more times before I make a proper review, but for NOW, let me just attest that the action was so intensely awesome that I forgot to breath; I actually found myself short of breath more than once just from watching.

I have followed eastern action cinema for years and have been continuously intrigued and impressed with their inventiveness and physical expression, but without doubt this film has not just raised the bar for western martial arts/action movies but for the entire Action Movie genre.

The stunt work is flawlessly executed, and utterly amazing.

These guys are insanely talented, and whilst they do what they do best, you just cannot but sit in awe.

I was so excited after watching this film I felt sick!

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French Spanish

Release Date:

10 November 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

District B13

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Budget:

EUR12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$410,000, 4 June 2006

Gross USA:

$1,200,216

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,169,386

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