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:

It's not the plan, it's the execution.

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Genres:

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:

$212,921

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

Scott Adkins was offered to play the character "Van Huffel" but he could not sign to play this role because of other commitments. He was replaced by Adam Leese.

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Goofs

When Stowe is talking to Chad, towards the end, the camera is on Chad over Stowe's shoulder. When Stowe is "talking" his mouth clearly is not moving and Chad is nodding his head.

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Quotes

Mark Rossini: You're such an asshole, you know that? You're a horrible man. And you know what no one's telling you? That you deserve everything that you got and more. Narcotics cop goes undercover, becomes an addict; it's all part of the job, yeah? Do you ever think that maybe, just maybe, it's because you're a junkie?
[laughs]
Mark Rossini: From asshole to vegetable in one bullet! That's the fucking book I'm gonna write.
[walks away]
Anthony Stowe: Sorry.
Valerie Stowe: Stop saying that.
Anthony Stowe: Huh. He seems nice.

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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

Bad Old Man
Written by Stephen Jones (as Stephen Michael Jones)
Performed by Babybird
Published by Chrysalis Music Ltd.(ASCAP)
Courtesy of The Echo Label Ltd.

User Reviews

Best Can Damme film in years!!!

This is the greatest Van Damme movie i have seen in years. This is probably his best STV effort right next to In Hell. There is no classic Van Damme martial arts but the acting is insane! Def the best acting of his career. The last couple Van Damme movies sucked (SIC & Hard Corps.), so i had low expectations. But WOW...was i surprised at how well this movie was made compared to his recent crappy STV films. Seeing Van Damme play a totally different character was entertaining and reminded me of why i love Van Damme flicks so much. I lost faith in him after Wake of Death, but after watching this and having his next film be a martial arts packed film co-starring Scott Atkins (The Shepard) i have total faith in Van Damme once again. The acting is great, the plot is new for Van Damme, the action is better than expected (no martial arts though), and Van Damme looks awesome. The editing is great, the direction is good, and luckily the film does not feel cheesy or STV-like. Emotional film.

It is a must see for Van Damme fans. You will be surprised by it.

And it is a MILLION times better than anything Seagal has done STV.