Movies - Man on Fire

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	Movies - Man on Fire

:This article is about the 2004 film; for the 1987 film see Man on Fire (1987 film)
.

Man on Fire is a 2004 film directed by Tony Scott, starring Denzel Washington
, Dakota Fanning
, Radha Mitchell
, Giancarlo Giannini
, and Christopher Walken
. It is a remake of a 1987 film Man on Fire (1987 film)

The film was originally based on a series of books by author A. J. Quinnell. Man on Fire loosely follows the first of the series about a former Marine and Foreign Legion soldier turned mercenary.

The remake was released on April 23, 2004 in the U.S. and drew $23 million USD in its opening weekend.
Plot
In Mexico City, kidnapping is a business. The wealthy and their families are targets for criminals looking to ransom those of value. Bodyguards are a standard for most families, and Samuel Ramos needs to hire a new one to protect his daughter. Enter John Creasey, a veteran military man and former assassin, burned out on his long career of combat and espionage. Creasy's friend Rayburn (Christopher Walken
) sets him up to be a bodyguard to nine-year-old Pita, Samuel's daughter. Creasy is not interested in being a bodyguard, especially to a youngster, but for lack of something better to do, he accepts the assignment. Creasy barely tolerates the precocious child and her pestering questions about him and his life. But slowly, she chips away at his seemingly impenetrable exterior, his defenses drop, and he opens up to her. They become friends and he replaces her parents in their absences, giving her advice, guidance and help with her competition swimming. Creasy's new-found purpose in life is shattered when Pita is kidnapped. Despite being seriously wounded during the kidnapping, he vows to kill anyone involved in or profiting from the kidnapping. Only a select few know of Creasey's mission such as Rayburn and a detective named Manzano (Giancarlo Giannini
), who tries to understand Creasy's mission but also trying to stop the killing. With grisly efficiency, Creasey takes apart the corrupt organization that is responsible for not only Pita's kidnapping but many throughout Mexico City.
Trivia

Tony Scott was initially lined up to direct the 1987 version of the film. But after the disappointment of his first feature The Hunger
, the studio balked and handed the project to Elie Chouraqui. They later regretted the decision following the success of Scott's Top Gun

The initial idea for remaking the film came from Quentin Tarantino
. Before he was a Hollywood filmmaker, Tarantino worked at a video store in Los Angeles - screenwriter Brian Helgeland walked in one day and asked what was good, to which Tarantino recommended the original Man on Fire. Nearly 15 years later, Tarantino called the remake "one of Tony Scott's best pictures. Hard, gripping and tough as hell!"

Among the director's offered the project before Scott included Michael Bay and Antoine Fuqua
.

Among the actor's offered the role of Creasy before Denzel Washington
included Robert De Niro
, Bruce Willis
and Will Smith
.

Marlon Brando
was the first choice for the role of Rayburn.

Christopher Walken
was the first choice for the role of Jordan Kalfus, but took the part of Rayburn as he was tired of playing the villain.

A fan-made edition, titled Creasy, is circulating the internet. It focuses solely on the character of Creasy, cutting out any scene that he doesn't appear in, as well as keeping the bleaker alternate ending. The running time is 40 minutes shorter, and viewers have mentioned how the film feels tighter-paced and more powerful than the original release.

Henry Bean performed uncredited rewrites on the script.

The film grossed 23 million USD in its opening weekend, second only to Washington's 2006 thriller Inside Man

Brian Helgeland initially refused to write the screenplay for the film, as he now considers himself to be a director first and foremost. The studio told him if he wrote it, they would let him direct, but changed their minds following the failure of his latest film The Order
and Tony Scott's interest.

Over half an hour of footage was cut from the initial workprint to form the final theatrical version, making the first cut almost 3 hours long. Among the excised footage (included on the Special Edition DVD) are two sex scenes and an extended ending, where Creasy's revenge literally leads him to becoming a man on fire.

The 2004 version of Man on Fire featured clips from six Nine Inch Nails songs: "The Art of Self Destruction, Part One", "Self Destruction, Part Two", and "The Downward Spiral (The Bottom)" from Further Down the Spiral; "The Mark Has Been Made" and "The Great Below" from The Fragile; and "The Wretched (Version)" from Things Falling Apart''. Trent Reznor, the only official member of the band, received a "Music Consultant" credit on the film.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Man on Fire ]

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