Until Death (2007)

Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin, and everyone dislikes him. Because of an accident he is put into a coma, and comes out of it a better person. He wakes up wanting to put things right.

Director:

Simon Fellows

Writers:

Dan Harris, James Portolese

Stars:

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Stephen Rea, Selina Giles

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Anthony Stowe
Selina Giles	...	Valerie Stowe
Mark Dymond	...	Mark Rossini
William Ash	...	Serge
Stephen Lord	...	Jimmy Medina
Gary Beadle	...	Mac
C. Gerod Harris	...	Ross
Wes Robinson	...	Chad Mansen
Stephen Rea	...	Gabriel Callaghan
Buffy Davis	...	Jane
Alana Maria	...	Clementine
Fiona O'Shaughnessy	...	Lucy
Adam Leese	...	Van Huffel
Rachel Grant	...	Maria Ronson
Paul Williams	...	Tommy

Storyline

Anthony Stowe is a down-and-out detective addicted to heroine whose days always seem to go from bad to worse. Stowe is coming off of a drug deal, in which two officers were killed, and the primary villain, the drugs, the money and the surveillance tapes are still at large. He is also dealing with his wife, who has just informed him that she is pregnant - but the child is not his. After a gunfight in which Stowe comes very close to death, After being severely wounded and losing all will to live, His body gives up and falls into a coma. After an inner battle with himself, He gains again the spirit to live again. While on the road to recovery, Stowe finds himself in a very personal battle to make amends with his kidnapped wife and to take revenge on his assailant once and for all.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of a nude man | murder of a nude woman | stake out | narcotics officer | stakeout | 

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Taglines:

Vengeance Is His

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language, sexuality/nudity and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official site [Germany]

Country:

UK Bulgaria Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 2007 (Kuwait)

Also Known As:

Until the Death

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$214,059, 30 September 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Signature Entertainment, Bellpark

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 107 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ringo Lam was offered to direct the movie but declined because of creative differences with the producer.

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Goofs

At the end when Callahan is holding Stowe's wife hostage in front of the helicopter, Callahan fires at Stowe once. When the camera comes back to him holding Stowe's wife hostage, we can see and hear her shriek as another gunshot is seen going off but not heard (the puff of smoke is clearly visible).

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Quotes

Valerie Stowe: Anthony, I'm pregnant.
Anthony Stowe: [drunk and high] How could you forget to...
Valerie Stowe: The baby isn't yours.
Anthony Stowe: ...You fucked him! You fucked Callaghan!
Valerie Stowe: [throws her wedding ring at Anthony] You're sick! Don't ever talk to me ever again!
[storms out of the restaurant]
Anthony Stowe: Try not to fuck the valet on your way out!

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Crazy Credits

The ending credits are interrupted by a take showing what really happened at the heist at the beginning of the movie.

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Alternate Versions

There are three versions of the film:

• 1) The editing of the version released by Sony in the US was supervised by Van Damme; it runs 101 minutes and features a 'happy' ending.
• 2) A longer edit of the film was released in Europe (by Momentum in the UK and by e-m-s in Germany), and was supervised by the film's director Simon Fellows; this version of the film runs around 107 minutes and features a far more downbeat ending. Some of the fight scenes (especially in the film's last sequence) are edited quite differently and the gunfight at the climax is extended, and although this version of the film features more footage than the American cut, some material (including a gunshot to the head) is missing from this 'director's cut'.
• 3) a workprint is in existence, which runs 113 minutes in length and features the exclusive footage from the Van Damme-supervised American release integrated within the framework of the European 'director's cut'. This version of the film is said to have been released on DVD in Scandinavia and in Belgium.

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Connections

Remake of Loving You (1995)

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Soundtracks

Earth Angel
Written by Curtis Williams, Jesse Belvin (as Jesse L. Belvin) and Gaynel Hodge
Performed by Cindy Asada
Published by Embassy Music Corporation(BMI)
Courtesy of Music Sales Corporation

User Reviews

Second Chance for Tony Stowe and Van Damme

In New Orleans, the abusive narcotic detective Anthony Stowe (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a dirty cop, addicted in heroin and booze, hated by his colleagues and divorcing from his wife Valerie (Selina Giles). While trying to arrest his former partner and drug lord Gabriel Callaghan (Stephen Rea), the mission fails, two undercover officers are killed and the drug, the money and the monitoring tapes vanish. Later, Tony is shot by a criminal in the head and miraculously does not die. After months in coma, he wakes up trying to fix the errors of his past life.

After many bad movies, Jean Claude Van-Damme finally makes a very good film. His character is very well developed in a story that uses clichés, but is also interesting, full of action and without a final redemption with a happy end. When the viewer sees this movie, wait for the credits because there is an important footage of the missing surveillance tapes, disclosing what happened in the house and how the officers were killed. I hope this movie be a milestone and a second chance in the career of Van Damme, and like his character and Phoenix, he raises from the ashes to please his fans. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Até a Morte" ("Until the Death")