In the film adaptation of the computer game of the same name, Jake Gyllenhaal demonstrates a gorgeous physical form, director Mike Newell is East in popular prints, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirms his ability to create successful blockbusters. We are talking about the film "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (1 part), which earned $ 336,365,676 with a production budget of $ 150,000,000 - enough to pay off and motivate the creators to shoot the sequel.
Inspired by Success
The fantastic popularity and tremendous success of Pirates of the Caribbean inspired Walt Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer to search for material for new masterpieces where major movie studios have not done so before. That is why the studio in 2004 acquired the rights to a fresh video game hit, in fact, being a modernized version of the classic game Prince of Persia.
Concluding the contract, Walt Disney representatives had no doubt that the project would turn into a multi-part fantasy epic about the adventures of a hero who perfectly knows martial arts and parkour. To confirm the seriousness of his intentions for writing the script for the film “Prince of Persia 1”, the author of the game Prince of Persia Jordan Mekner was involved.
Plot
The plot of the film “Prince of Persia 1” is not very different from the story underlying the video game. The protagonist, the brave and desperate Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), the adopted child of the current ruler of Persia, Tsar Sharaman (Ronald Pickup), is substituted by Uncle Nizam (Ben Kingsley), tearing to power. Together with the guardian of the magic dagger, Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), he is trying to restore justice. But his task is complicated by the fact that a whole army is hunting for the disgraced prince, not suspecting his good intentions.
During the adventure, Dastan does not lose heart, makes new friends, falls in love and treats everything with an enviable share of humor.
Significant contribution
In the movie "Prince of Persia 1" everything is in place, as they say, in action. Director Mike Newell before this blockbuster worked in a slightly different genre. With his direct participation in the rental came out a wonderful romance “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, the drama “Donnie Brasco” and “Love during Cholera” and partly correlated with “Prince of Persia 1” episode “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. With such experience, it is not surprising that the director coped with the film adaptation of the video game perfectly.
The success of the film “Prince of Persia 1” is also explained by the intervention in the production process of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, from the filing of which all sorts of ethnic logic were removed from the story, which made the story’s narrative a natural “artistic convention”, and therefore you can’t really quarrel.
Acting Ensemble
The lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Source Code, The Day After Tomorrow, Patrol) is too expensive an actor to ride on the roofs of slums himself and risk his life during filming. Therefore, he was replaced by a whole group of professionals under the vigilant control of David Bellem himself, the founder of parkour.
Stunt directors exceeded all expectations, so the masters of computer graphics could only complete the masterpiece. While watching, the substitution of Gyllenhaal is impossible to notice. The performer is very organic in the image of Dastan, his posture and noble profile are impressive.
Ben Kingsley (Island of the Damned, Schindler's List) as Nizam is a cunning and treacherous villain. But his character cannot be called the standard of the antagonist.
British beauty Gemma Arterton is delightful in the image of an oriental princess. To resist her charm is unrealistic.
Toby Kebbell (“Warcraft”, “Rock and Roll”, “Control”) was gaining popularity in the acting group.
Features of the shooting process
Thanks to a solid budget, the technical side of the Prince of Persia 1 tape is up to par. The shooting took place in Morocco, and the scenery of the market and the main city gates were placed next to the monument of architecture registered in Unesco. And the fictional city of Alamut was built 20 km from Marrakesh, bringing the structure almost close to the ancient wall of the village of Tammaslot. The crew of the film reached 1300 people; 7000 costumes were sewn for actors and extras. The creators approached the matter on a grand scale.