The Siege (1998/I)

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writers (WGA):

Lawrence Wright (story)
Lawrence Wright (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

6 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

On November 6th our freedom is history

Plot:

The secret US abduction of a suspected terrorist leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York that lead to the declaration of martial law.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | New York City | Martial Law | Abduction | CIA

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Denzel Washington	...	Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
Annette Bening	...	Elise Kraft / Sharon Bridger
Bruce Willis	...	Major General William Devereaux
Tony Shalhoub	...	Agent Frank Haddad
Sami Bouajila	...	Samir Nazhde
Ahmed Ben Larby	...	Sheik Achmed Bin Talal
Mosleh Mohamed	...	Muezzin
Lianna Pai	...	Tina Osu
Mark Valley	...	FBI Agent Mike Johanssen
Jack Gwaltney	...	Fred Darius
David Proval	...	Danny Sussman
Lance Reddick	...	FBI Agent Floyd Rose
Jeremy Knaster	...	INS Official
William Hill	...	INS Uniform
Aasif Mandvi	...	Khalil Saleh
Frank DiElsi	...	Officer Williams
Wood Harris	...	Officer Henderson
Ellen Bethea	...	FBI Agent Anita
David Costabile	...	Fingerprint Expert
Glenn Kessler	...	Fiber Expert
Jeffrey Waid	...	Video Agent (as Jeffrey Allan Waid)
Tom McDermott	...	Phone Bank Agent
Sherry Ham-Bernard	...	Hubbard's Secretary
Joseph Hodge	...	Landlord
Joey Naber	...	Rashad
Said Faraj	...	Sleeper terrorist
Ali Afshar	...	Ali Wiziri, #87 Bus Bomber (as Alex Dodd)
Jacqueline Antaramian	...	Najiba Haddad
Helmi Kassim	...	Frank Haddad Jr.
Ghoulam R. Rasoully	...	Frank Haddad Jr.'s Teacher
Joseph Badalucco Jr.	...	EMT
Diana Naftal	...	Injured Woman
Ben Shenkman	...	INS Agent Howard Kaplan
Barton Tinapp	...	Mayoral Candidate (as A.A. Barton Tinapp)
Neal Jones	...	NYPD Representative
Donna Hanover	...	District Attorney
Peter Schindler	...	Johnson, FAA
Hany Kamal	...	Arab Spokesman
Chip Zien	...	Chief of Staff
Dakin Matthews	...	Senator Wright
John Rothman	...	Congressman Marshall
John Henry Cox	...	Speaker of the House
E. Katherine Kerr	...	Attorney General
Jimmie Ray Weeks	...	Army General
Will Lyman	...	FBI Director
Ray Godshall	...	CIA Director
Victor Slezak	...	Colonel Hardwick, Army Intelligence
Chris Messina	...	Corporal
Gilbert Rosales	...	Mechanic
Amro Salama	...	Tariq Husseini, Auto Shop Owner
Jim Shankman	...	ACLU Lawyer
Matt Servitto	...	Journalist #1
Jourdan Fremin	...	Journalist #2
Anjua Warfield-Maximo	...	March Organizer
Susie Essman	...	Protest Speaker
Rory J. Aylward	...	Lieutenant
Jeff Beatty	...	Undercover FBI Agent
Graham J. Larson	...	FBI Agent
Arianna Huffington	...	Capitol Week Pundit
Robert Scheer	...	Capitol Week Pundit
Matt Miller	...	Capitol Week Pundit
John F. Beard	...	Newscaster
Stan Brooks	...	Newscaster
Alex Chadwick	...	Newscaster
Epi Colon	...	Newscaster
Judy de Angelis	...	Newscaster
Luis Jiminez	...	Newscaster
Sean Hannity	...	Newscaster
Ronald Kuby	...	Newscaster
Daniel Schorr	...	Newscaster
Curtis Sliwa	...	Newscaster
Susan Stamberg	...	Newscaster
Mary Alice Williams	...	Newscaster
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mike Akrawi	...	Terrorist (uncredited)
Anthony Batarse	...	Terrorist (uncredited)
Scott Charles	...	Fireman (uncredited)
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sean Patrick Doherty	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)
Mark A. Langston	...	Terrorist (uncredited)
Andrew Lasky	...	FBI agent (uncredited)
Dave Mallow	...	Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
Tim Maloney	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)
Lisa Masters	...	Reporter #2 (uncredited)
Trish McGettrick	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)
Ali Merhi	...	Ali Akhmed (uncredited)
George F. Miller	...	Soldier / Humvee driver (uncredited)
Luis Moro	...	Hubbard FBI Decoy (uncredited)
Garry Pastore	...	Officer Perry (uncredited)
Robin Anne Phipps	...	Crying Girl on Monitor (uncredited)
Andy Redmond	...	Officer McFall (uncredited)
Rocco	...	Fireman / Reporter (uncredited)
Patrick Russo	...	Special Agent FBI (uncredited)
Tony Snow	...	Newscaster (uncredited)

Directed by
Edward Zwick

Writing credits (WGA)
Lawrence Wright		(story)
Lawrence Wright		(screenplay) and
Menno Meyjes		(screenplay) &
Edward Zwick		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robin Budd	....	associate producer
Bruce Devan	....	supervising producer
Jonathan Filley	....	co-producer
Lynda Obst	....	producer
Peter Schindler	....	executive producer
Edward Zwick	....	producer

Original Music by
Graeme Revell

Cinematography by
Roger Deakins

Film Editing by
Steven Rosenblum

Casting by
Mary Colquhoun
Mary Goldberg

Production Design by
Lilly Kilvert

Art Direction by
Chris Shriver
John Warnke		(supervising art director)

Set Decoration by
Gretchen Rau

Costume Design by
Ann Roth

Makeup Department
Kathryn Bihr	....	key makeup artist
Joseph A. Campayno	....	makeup artist: Ms. Bening
Larry M. Cherry	....	hair stylist: Mr. Washington
Cydney Cornell	....	hair stylist: Ms. Bening
Sunday Englis	....	assistant special makeup
Scott W. Farley	....	second key hair stylist
William A. Farley	....	key hair stylist
Carl Fullerton	....	makeup artist: Mr. Washington
Kelly Gleason	....	makeup artist
Todd Kleitsch	....	prosthetic makeup
Heidi Kulow	....	makeup artist
Margie Latinopoulos	....	makeup artist
Bunny Parker	....	hair stylist: Mr. Willis
Gerald Quist	....	makeup artist: Mr. Willis
Mary Cooke	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Charlie Davis	....	post-production supervisor
Jonathan Filley	....	unit production manager
Carl S. Griffin	....	production supervisor: Los Angeles

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul F. Bernard	....	second assistant director
T. Sean Ferguson	....	first assistant director
Craig Haagensen	....	second unit director
Greg Hale	....	second second assistant director (as Gregory G. Hale)
Peter Horton	....	second unit director
Roger Lee	....	dga trainee
Nilo Otero	....	first assistant director
Michael Pitt	....	additional second second assistant director

Art Department
Joseph Alfieri	....	construction coordinator
Henry Antonacchio	....	construction foreman
Joseph Badalucco Jr.	....	key on-set dresser
Bryan Belair	....	construction coordinator
Kevin Brink	....	set dresser
Roland Brooks	....	charge scenic artist
Sarah Jackson Burt	....	assistant decorator
Peter C. Clarke	....	assistant property master
Gerald DeTitta	....	lead man
Elizabeth Flaherty	....	art department coordinator
Mark Gantt	....	assistant property master
Jess Gonchor	....	assistant art director
David Gulick	....	property master
Mark Harrington	....	props (as Mark C. Harrington)
Michael Herlihy	....	carpenter
Laura Iler	....	property assistant
Ozzy Inguanzo	....	art department assistant
Steve Krieger	....	set dresser
Victor Littlejohn	....	set dresser
Charles E. McCarry	....	assistant art director
E. Cedar McClure	....	assistant art department coordinator
Jean-Paul Menard	....	set dresser
Jessica A. Milstein	....	art department production assistant
Silvija L. Moess	....	scenic artist
Scott P. Murphy	....	assistant art director
David Napoli	....	set dresser
Mark Newell	....	set dresser
Fred O'Connor	....	propmaker
Anthony D. Parrillo	....	set designer: Los Angeles
Mari Phillips	....	on-set dresser
Craig Pittman	....	lead man
Chuck Potter	....	buyer
Jeremy D. Pratt	....	construction accountant
John Ralbovsky	....	scenic foreman
Jeffrey Rollins	....	props
Michael Scarola	....	key construction grip
Robert Schleinig	....	set dresser
Allen Stillman	....	key construction electric
Joan Winters	....	graphic designer
Richard Bryan Douglas	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Peter Regnier	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
David W. Alstadter	....	foley mixer
Allan Byer	....	sound mixer
Blake R. Cornett	....	assistant sound editor
Frank Gaeta	....	sound editor
Michael Haight	....	dialogue editor
Gregory Hainer	....	sound designer
Hanson Hsu	....	stage engineer
Bobby Johanson	....	adr recordist
R.J. Kizer	....	adr supervisor
John A. Larsen	....	supervising sound editor
Paul Massey	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steve F. Price	....	assistant sound editor
David Stanke	....	assistant sound editor
Donald Sylvester	....	adr editor
Jeffrey Wilhoit	....	foley artist
David Young	....	additional sound
John Lajvort	....	sound editorial engineer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Stan Blackwell	....	special effects foreman
Terry Erickson	....	special effects technician
Steven Hintz	....	special effects
Paul J. Lombardi	....	special effects coordinator
Scott D. Mattson	....	special effects office coordinator
Jeff Miller	....	special effects technician
David Peterson	....	special effects foreman
Scott Roark	....	special effects
Matthew A. Rubin	....	special effects office assistant
Chuck E. Stewart	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Joseph Conti	....	visual effects producer
Brian Jochum	....	visual effects producer
Val Keller	....	digital systems assistant
Jeff Roe	....	digital systems administrator
Robert Stromberg	....	visual effects supervisor
Jeff Sutherland	....	digital compositor
Rich Thorne	....	production executive
Fred Toye	....	visual effects

Stunts
Ray Abbott	....	stunts
Mike Cameron	....	stunts
John Cenatiempo	....	stunts
Wally Crowder	....	stunt performer
Max Daniels	....	stunt performer
Andrew DePalma	....	stunts
Brennan Dyson	....	stunts
David Filippi	....	stunts
Lisa France	....	stunts
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunts
Elliot M. Kaplan	....	stunts
Barbara Anne Klein	....	stunts
Joel Kramer	....	stunt coordinator (as Joel J. Kramer)
Jeff Mosley	....	stunts
Mark Neveldine	....	stunts
Charlie Picerni	....	stunts
Ron Reynaldi	....	stunts
Rick Shuster	....	aerial stunts: cobra pilot
Steve Stafford	....	aerial stunts: Huey co-pilot
Scott Workman	....	stunts
Chuck Zito	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Balzarini	....	video assistant: second unit
Josh Blakeslee	....	camera loader
James Boniece	....	key rigging grip
Michael Caracciolo	....	camera operator
Peter Clemence	....	best boy grip: Los Angeles
Alan Colbert	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Ed Dally	....	assistant camera: Los Angeles
Clinton Dougherty	....	camera operator
Richie Ford	....	rigging gaffer
Dylan Goss	....	aerial camera operator (as Dylan M. Gross)
Craig Haagensen	....	camera operator: second unit
Bruce Hamme	....	dolly grip
Joel Holland	....	video assist operator
Jeremy Knaster	....	electrician
Jerry D. Knight	....	best boy: second unit
Mitchell Andrew Lillian	....	key grip
Charlie Marroquin	....	best boy grip
Rick Marroquin	....	dolly grip
William Moore	....	gaffer: John Toll re-shoot
David Norris	....	camera operator: Wescam camera, New York
John L. Oates	....	electrician
Bill O'Leary	....	gaffer: New York
Bill O'Leary	....	lighting consultant: Los Angeles
Wayne Paull	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Louis Petraglia	....	rigging best boy
Melvin Pukowsky	....	grip: Los Angeles
Patrick Quinn	....	additional first assistant camera
Kyle Rudolph	....	Steadicam operator
Anthony Salerno	....	camera operator
Jonathon E. Salzman	....	gaffer: Los Angeles
Abe Schrager	....	camera operator: second unit
Igor Srubshchik	....	24 frame video operator
Paul S. Shapiro	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sandy Holt	....	additional special voice casting
David H. Kramer	....	adr voice casting
Paul Russell	....	casting assistant
Lee A. Miles	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Pattie J. Barbosa	....	additional costumer
Mickey Carleton	....	military dresser
Barrett Hong	....	costumer: Denzel Washington
Tom Macdonald	....	key costumer
Philip Maldonado	....	costumer
Donna Maloney	....	wardrobe supervisor
Michelle Matland	....	assistant costume designer
Robert Pease	....	set costumer
Amy Roth	....	costume coordinator
Laura Steinman	....	additional costumer
Leslie Yarmo	....	second assistant costume designer
Laura Sewrey	....	set costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	second assistant editor
Melissa Carter	....	second assistant editor
Daniel Fair	....	assistant editor
Joel Heller	....	assistant editor
Cecilia Hyoun	....	assistant editor: lightworks
John F. Lyons	....	assistant editor
Deirdre Slevin	....	apprentice editor
Kyle Ann Stokes	....	assistant editor
Cynthia E. Thornton	....	associate editor

Music Department
Paul Haslinger	....	music programmer
Larry Kenton	....	conductor
Jay B. Richardson	....	music editor
John Rodd	....	orchestral scoring recordist
Paul Silver	....	music editor: temp mix
Tim Simonec	....	conductor
Tim Simonec	....	orchestrator
Brian Williams	....	music designer
Joshua Winget	....	music editor
John Kurlander	....	music scoring mixer (uncredited)
David G. Russell	....	music transcriptor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Richard Curry	....	transportation coordinator: second unit
Chris Gorden	....	driver
Robert Griffon Jr.	....	picture car coordinator
Robert Hunter Jr.	....	transportation coordinator
Ron Poniewaz Jr.	....	driver

Other crew
Jeffrey Angel	....	location assistant
John Armstrong	....	heavy eqipment operator
Lori A. Balton	....	location scout
Jeff Beatty	....	military advisor
Jeff Beatty	....	special operations advisor
Amy Carter	....	first assistant production accountant
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot
Aria Noelle Curzon	....	adr artist
Richard Davis Jr.	....	location manager
Jason Dean	....	production assistant
Christopher Downing	....	assistant to producer
Stephen J. Eads	....	assistant to cast
Kathy Edwards	....	post-production accountant
James Ellis	....	script supervisor
John Fedynich	....	location assistant
Cecily Gambrell	....	assistant coordinator
Ellen Gannon	....	production coordinator
Marisa B. Gunzenhauser	....	production secretary
Ida Lee Henderson	....	production accountant
Andy Hernandez	....	production assistant
Charlynne J. Hopson	....	second unit: location manager
Sam Hutchins	....	assistant location manager
Lauren Keane	....	assistant location manager: second unit
Susanne Lariviere	....	first assistant accountant
Graham Larson	....	assistant: Edward Zwick
Robert A. Levine	....	unit publicist
Jennifer Lilly	....	production assistant
Lori A. Lopes	....	construction accountant
Michael McBrien	....	production assistant
Meredith Mills-Cavalluzzo	....	production assistant (as Meredith Mills)
Tim Monich	....	dialect coach
Jeffrey Neumeier	....	second assistant accountant
Cristopher Novick	....	production assistant
Timothy D. Orr	....	helicopter pilot
Wayne Petrucelli	....	security coordinator
Jeff 'Doc' Porter	....	construction medic
Bill Purple	....	production assistant (as William Purple)
Andy Redmond	....	technical assistant: Military
Dana Robin	....	location manager
Peggy Robinson	....	production assistant: New York
Vernon Rodriquez	....	parking assistant
Sam Sako	....	adr voice
Darryl A. Smith	....	payroll accountant
Michael Sucsy	....	production assistant
Anita Sum	....	assistant production coordinator
Diane Ward	....	production coordinator
Eric Yellin	....	key production assistant
Irapaul Turner	....	stage manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Bedford Falls Productions
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century Fox)

Distributors

• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (1999) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Elliniki Kinimatografiki Enosi (ELKE) (1998) (Greece) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox (Far East)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (Argentina)
• Abril Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Filmes Castello Lopes (Portugal)
• Fox Film Corporation (Spain)
• Gativideo (1999) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (1999) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Hispano Foxfilms S.A.E.
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1999) (Greece) (video)
• SBS6 (2002) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• UGC-Fox Distribution (UFD) (France)

Special Effects

• Full Scale Effects
• Moving Target (digital visual effects)

Also Known As:

Against All Enemies (USA) (working title)
Blowback (USA) (original script title)
Martial Law (USA) (working title)
Untitled Ed Zwick Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Iceland:16 | Philippines:G | Brazil:14 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-re-rating) | Singapore:PG (original rating) (heavily cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Hungary:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Bedford Falls Productions

Trivia:

According to an interview that screenwriter Lawrence Wright gave to CBS in 2007, the film was a box office failure upon its theatrical release, "but it was the most-rented movie in America after 9/11." Wright also claimed that the initial release bombed because "Muslim and Arab protesters picketed the theaters. They were furious at being stereotyped as terrorists."

Goofs:

Continuity: Nearly the entire movie is set in the dead of winter (heavy coats, visible breath, etc.) yet the fly-over of the capitol building shows trees in full bloom.

Quotes:

Senator: You don't fight a junkyard dog with ASPCA rules. What you do is you take the leash off your bigger, meaner dog.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in JCVD (2008)

Soundtrack:

First You Cry

A solid film about paranoia and extremism

I still can't see why this film was looked down upon objectively by the Arab-Americans living in the USA. Granted, this was before all of the Sept. 11 bombings, but the way the people were depicted in the film was objective. You had the extremists, capable of destroying building with no remorse from life, and you then had the other side. The innocents, the legal Arabs who love this country as much as the next person, blindly being lumped into one group without any provocation. This film isn't about anti-Arab sentiment, its more about paranoia and hasty decision making brought about by reactionary leadership. Interesting and enthralling, this film is better than what most people give it credit for.