The Monuments Men (2014)

An unlikely World War II platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners.

Director:

George Clooney

Writers:

George Clooney (screenplay), Grant Heslov (screenplay)

Stars:

George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Clooney	...	Frank Stokes
Matt Damon	...	James Granger
Bill Murray	...	Richard Campbell
Cate Blanchett	...	Claire Simone
John Goodman	...	Walter Garfield
Jean Dujardin	...	Jean Claude Clermont
Hugh Bonneville	...	Donald Jeffries
Bob Balaban	...	Preston Savitz
Dimitri Leonidas	...	Sam Epstein
Justus von Dohnányi	...	Viktor Stahl
Holger Handtke	...	Colonel Wegner
Michael Hofland	...	Priest (Claude)
Zachary Baharov	...	Commander Elya (as Zahary Baharov)
Michael Brandner	...	Dentist
Sam Hazeldine	...	Colonel Langton

Storyline

Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men is an action drama focusing on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners. It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines, and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, how could these guys - seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, all more familiar with Michelangelo than the M-1 - possibly hope to succeed? But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind's greatest achievements.

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Plot Keywords:

art | art expert | nazi stolen art | world war two | soldier | 

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Taglines:

It was the greatest art heist in history

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some images of war violence and historical smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English German Russian French Flemish Dutch

Release Date:

7 February 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Monuments Men

Filming Locations:

Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,700,000, 9 February 2014, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$78,031,620

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$159,231,620

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Fox 2000 Pictures, Smokehouse Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

From a newspaper report dated 13 December 2013: Police broke into the flat of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a Nazi art dealer who hoarded hundreds of works believed to have been looted by the Third Reich. Gurlitt has been the focus of huge media attention after a trove of over 1,400 previously unknown masterpieces were uncovered in his München flat. A task force appointed to research the origin of the art has said that around 590 pictures fall into the category of art looted or extorted by the Nazis from Jewish collectors. These include pieces by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch, Paul Cézanne and others.

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Goofs

When US Army Lieutenant James Granger visits the apartment of Claire Simon, he is not wearing his uniform but is wearing a casual, short-sleeve shirt instead. During World War II, it was a strict rule that members of the military had to wear their uniforms at all times, on and off base, even while home on leave. Liberated Paris in 1944 was still considered a war zone, making his disregard for uniform especially egregious.

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Quotes

Claire Simone: [after listening to Granger attempt to communicate very badly in French] Would you stop speaking French? Or whatever language you are speaking?
James Granger: Well, if it weren't for us, you'd... you'd be speaking German.
Claire Simone: No. If it was not for you, I might be dead. But I would still be speaking French.
James Granger: [Glances away] OK.

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Crazy Credits

At the beginning of the end credits there are black and white photos of the real Monuments Men with some of the art they saved.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #33.33 (2016)

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Soundtracks

You Always Hurt The One You Love
Written by Doris Fisher and Allan Roberts
Performed by The Mills Brothers
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Watered Down History

Despite the star-studded cast, the movie displays fell very short for me. The story is amazing however, in order to perhaps attract a younger crowd, the movie removes itself from the struggle of warfare during WW2. There were some good/funny scenes and I'm not going to say the movie was awful but, considering the topic that is being talked about, I feel that the directors cut back on the potential in order to stay at PG-13.