JCVD (2008)

Jean-Claude Van Damme gets involved in a bank robbery with hostages situation and reflects about his life during it.

Director:

Mabrouk El Mechri

Writers:

Mabrouk El Mechri (scenario), Frédéric Benudis (in collaboration with)

Stars:

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Valérie Bodson, Hervé Sogne

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	JCVD
Valérie Bodson	...	Veuve Film Budapest
Hervé Sogne	...	Lieutenant Smith
Rock Chen	...	Réalisateur asiatique
Huifang Wang	...	Traductrice asiatique
John Flanders	...	Avocat ex-Femme
Renata Kamara	...	Juge Tribunal Los Angeles
Mourade Zeguendi	...	Client Vidéo club
Vincent Lecuyer	...	Vendeur Vidéo Club
Jenny De Chez	...	Taxiwoman JCVD
Patrick Steltzer	...	Policier 1
Bernard Eylenbosch	...	Technicien Telecom
François Damiens	...	Bruges
Pascal Lefebvre	...	Képi 2
Jacky Lambert	...	Képi 3

Storyline

Between his tax problems and his legal battle with his wife for the custody of his daughter, these are hard times for the action movie star who finds that even Steven Seagal has pinched a role from him! In JCVD, Jean-Claude Van Damme returns to the country of his birth to seek the peace and tranquility he can no longer enjoy in the United States.

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Plot Keywords:

filmmaking | entire title is capitalized acronym | actor playing himself | actor name in title | brussels belgium | 

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Taglines:

The biggest fight of his life

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mabrouk El Mechri agreed to rewrite the script on the condition he could meet Jean-Claude Van Damme first before starting the draft, so he wouldn't waste six months on something that Van Damme would veto.

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Goofs

When the two guys talk about movies in the Video-store the one claims that Stallone fought against Arabs in "Rambo 3". But actually in "Rambo 3" John Rambo was fighting FOR Afghans Muslims in Afghanistan and against the "bad" Russian troops.

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Quotes

JCVD: Once in the film "Hard Target", I took a shot from a blank. It took salts to reanimate me.
Arthur: "Hard Target"! John Woo! What an ass!
JCVD: Don't say that!
Arthur: C'mon, Jean-Claude, wait a sec!
[to the hostages, referring to Van Damme]
Arthur: He's the one who brought him to the US. Without him, he'd still be filming pigeons in Hong Kong!
[to Van Damme]
Arthur: And then what? He drops you!
JCVD: At least, he did "Face/Off".
Arthur: So what? He could've picked you!
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The Gaumont logo has an animated Jean-Claude Van Damme appear in the logo and deliver roundhouse kicks to the boy and the sunflower.

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Connections

References Cocktail (1988)

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Soundtracks

Down
(2006 Digital Remaster) Labi Siffre (as Labbi Siffre)
(p) 2006 EMI Records Ltd
Courtesy of EMI MUSIC France
© Edited by CHRYSALIS Music Ltd
Courtesy of Chrysalis Music France

User Reviews

The direction makes all the difference

I just saw this movie at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montréal (Canada), and allow me to tell you that it's a must see film for everyone. I'm a big Van Damme fan and I have all the films he ever made so I'm gonna concentrate my comment around Van Damme. The first thing I'll say is that this movie is his best and possibly one of the best movies of the year. Going to the theatre, I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, after all it's Jean Claude Van Damme and you see his movies for the action and his high kicks not for his acting. But the director made all the difference in Jean Claude's performance. The concept itself helps a lot. Van Damme is playing himself, so he's not playing one of his stereotyped roles. Furthermore, him speaking in his native language made a huge impact on his performance. He's more natural and more authentic which made him more credible. Compared to all other movies he appeared in, this is a revelation. The comedic tone of the movie is also something to be noted. The jokes are well done but what makes the difference is the jokes focused on Van Damme. The reference to his roundhouse kicks are just hilarious. Two moments especially shine in this regard. The first one is the demonstration in the post office and the second one happens towards the end of the film. You just can't miss them and they have that good old classic Van Damage feel to them. Also worth mentioning are his personal goofy quotes in french. The one when he's interviewed by a french journalist who asks him about the total of 1+1 will leave you breathless. Not to mention the courthouse sequence which was so funny. But the best moment of the movie remains his monologue to the camera. For five minutes, or so, he goes back to his life. He talks about how he believed in the American dream, his drug and marriage problems, how Hollywood screwed him up ,how he wants so bad to be granted a second chance etc. It's a classic cinema moment in all senses. It felt more a confession than anything else. It was moving and genuine and you can feel the human being behind The Muscles from Brussels image. The other thing to be noted is the long shot at the beginning of the movie. It was hilarious and it summarizes in a sense all of Van Damme's career: Gunfights, high kicks, goofy acting you name them. In the end, the direction of the film really sets it apart from any other Van Damme's movies. The director knew how to get the best of Van Damme and put together a film that felt genuine and true. However, some questions remain. What's Van Damme going to do from now on? Will he be recognized as an accomplished actor? Will he get scripts that show him more as a human being rather than a bulk of muscles? Will he be making more European films rather than keep on making straight to DVD films? I can't say, but one thing remains for certain: JCVD is the rebirth of JCVD.

Details

Official Sites:

Asmik Ace Entertainment [Japan] Atlantic Film [Sweden]

Country:

Belgium Luxembourg France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

2 August 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

JCVD

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

EUR10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,119, 9 November 2008

Gross USA:

$470,691

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,342,211

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, Samsa Film, Artémis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1