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

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English German Russian French Flemish Dutch

Release Date:

7 February 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Monuments Men

Filming Locations:

Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,003,433, 9 February 2014

Gross USA:

$78,031,620

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$156,049,023

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, 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

The "Monuments Men," were a group of approximately 345 men and women from thirteen nations, most of whom volunteered for service in the newly created MFAA section during World War II. Many had expertise as museum directors, curators, art historians, artists, architects, and educators. Their job description was simple: to protect cultural treasures so far as war allowed.

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Goofs

During live fire training, the location of the World War I memorial is attributed to Saint Louis, Missouri. The sculptor upon whom John Goodman's character is based designed sculptures for St. Louis' World War I memorial, which is called the Soldiers Memorial and should not be confused with the National World War I Memorial located in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Quotes

Richard Campbell: [after coming across an armed Nazi soldier in the night] Here's the thought. We put down our guns; you go your way, we go our way, no hard feelings.
[to Savitz about the German]
Richard Campbell: He doesn't speak any English!
Preston Savitz: Not a word.
Richard Campbell: Okay.
Preston Savitz: You're just going to sit down?
Richard Campbell: Yeah, I think - why don't we all just sit down for a sec. Okay.
Preston Savitz: Shh.
[Savitz sits down too]
Preston Savitz: [Campbell throws a pack of cigarettes to the Nazi. The Nazi takes one and then throws the pack to Savitz] I don't smoke.
[...]

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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 Family Guy: Guy, Robot (2015)

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Soundtracks

Night And Day
Written by Cole Porter
Performed by Patrick Peronne (as Patrick Péronne)
Courtesy of Promo Sound Ltd

User Reviews

Bland movie telling an important story.

The movie deserves an A for effort but misses the mark dramatically. The question is: why? The story is evocative and the cast is excellent. Where the movie goes wrong is how it presents the story. The movie attempts to inject a whimsical element in story which is out of context. There was nothing whimsical about the plan to save priceless artwork. Also, the story moves at a slow pace and inspires little if any excitement or drama. The discoveries of the hidden artwork has little dramatic impact, nor do the interpersonal relationships between the characters which in the movie are shallow. Even the attempt at romance comes off as tepid and half-hearted, as well as implausible. The idea of a young, handsome, married American officer, alone in Paris, having dinner in the apartment of an attractive, intelligent, single French woman who made him dinner and not staying for at least another drink is a stretch. True, he is married and his faithfulness is commendable, but still .... The movie does have some strong dramatic moments, but in general the story is bland. Yet despite the movie's drawbacks, it still manages to tell a story about an historical event of great importance and significance, and for that reason alone is worth watching.