The Body (2001)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Jonas McCord

Writers (WGA):

Richard Sapir (novel)
Jonas McCord (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 January 2001 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Chaos, unearthed.

Plot:

A crucified body dated back to the 1st century A.D is uncovered at an ancient cave in Jerusalem. Trouble ensues as word spreads.

Plot Keywords:

Jerusalem | Cave | Tomb | Skull | Helicopter

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Antonio Banderas	...	Father Matt Gutierrez
Olivia Williams	...	Sharon Golban
John Shrapnel	...	Moshe Cohen
Derek Jacobi	...	Father Lavelle
Jason Flemyng	...	Father Walter Winstead
Lillian Lux	...	Mother
John Wood	...	Cardinal Pesci
Makram Khoury	...	Nasir Hamid (as Makram J. Khoury)
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Monsignor
Ian McNeice	...	Dr. Sproul
Mohammed Bakri	...	Abu Yusef (as Muhamed Bakri)
Yoav Dekelbaum	...	Avi (as Yoav Deckelbaum)
Sami Samir	...	Achmed
Jordan Licht	...	Dorene
Limor Goldstein	...	Galic
Ariel Horowitz	...	Reb Nechtal (as Ariel Horovitz)
Roi Horowitz	...	Zalman (as Roi Horovitz)
Shai Sharabi	...	Street Urchin
Lillian Lax	...	Mrs. Kahn
Arieh Elias	...	Hamid's Father (as Arye Elias)
Sivan Shwartz	...	Mark
Gilad Bergman	...	Rani
Halima Abu Aguva	...	Jasmine
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Glover	...	Jesus Christ Street Actor

Directed by
Jonas McCord

Writing credits (WGA)
Richard Sapir		(novel) (as Richard Ben Sapir)
Jonas McCord		(screenplay)

Produced by
Rudy Cohen	....	producer
Mark Damon	....	executive producer
Limor Diamant	....	associate producer
Moshe Diamant	....	executive producer
Diane Isaacs	....	executive producer (as Diane Sillan Isaacs)
Nathalie Kassirer	....	assistant producer
Werner Koenig	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Serge Colbert

Cinematography by
Vilmos Zsigmond

Film Editing by
Alain Jakubowicz
Lesley Walker

Casting by
Illana Diamant
Celestia Fox

Production Design by
Allan Starski

Art Direction by
Nenad Pecur
Giora Porter

Set Decoration by
William A. Cimino
Miguel Markin

Costume Design by
Caroline Harris

Makeup Department
Frances Hannon	....	makeup artist
Lisa Tomblin	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Eitan Alon	....	unit production manager
Limor Diamant	....	unit production manager
Victoria Lucas	....	production supervisor
James Portolese	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Zvi Bebera	....	assistant director
Serena Canevari	....	third assistant director
Simone Frattari	....	assistant director: Rome
Nick Heckstall-Smith	....	first assistant director
Tamar Ichilov	....	second assistant director
Itai Tamir	....	first assistant director: Israel
Lori Zaitz	....	assistant director

Art Department
Robyn Glaser	....	assistant property master
Boaz Katzenelson	....	property master
Antonio Murer	....	props
Antonio Murer	....	stand-by props
Sebastiano Murer	....	dressing props: italy

Sound Department
Jonathan Bates	....	supervising sound editor
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer
Craig Irving	....	sound re-recording mixer
Yohai Moshe	....	sound mixer
Alastair Sirkett	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Pini Klavir	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Angus Cameron	....	digital effects supervisor
Daniel Pettipher	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Patrick Cauderlier	....	stunt coordinator
Yan Dron	....	stunts
Itzik Farage	....	stunt coordinator
Max Garnier	....	stunts
Gilley Grey	....	stunt double
Vick Hakman	....	stunts
Rémy Julienne	....	stunts
Dino Dos Santos	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Bradley Farmer	....	stunt driving double: Antonio Banderas (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ehab Assal	....	focus puller: second camera
Stanislao Galasso	....	electrician: Italy
Alessandro Gentili	....	assistant camera
Gili Getter	....	pre-rig gaffer
Nimi Getter	....	gaffer
Bob Gorelick	....	camera operator (as Bob Gorelick)
Emanuele Leurini	....	camera loader: Italy
Ofer Margolin	....	electrician (as Antaro Ofer Margolin)
Tony Nagy	....	focus puller
Tami Porath	....	still photographer
Shimon Sabach	....	key grip
Yehuda Sar-Israel	....	camera loader
Moshe Shabbat	....	best boy grip
Alberto Torrecilla	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera, Italy
Gaby Weismann	....	second assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Katherine Burchill	....	assistant costume designer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Tania Blunden	....	post-production (as Tania Windsor Blunden)
Claire Ferguson	....	assistant editor
Nadia Naimi	....	first assistant editor
Melissa Wegman	....	Bond Co. Post Superviser

Music Department
Leland Bond	....	orchestrator
David Snell	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Eli Ben Zer	....	driver
Avi Cohen	....	driver

Other crew
Elisabetta Bartolomei	....	production coordinator: Italy
Noa Ben David	....	production coordinator
Osnat Bukoftzer	....	unit publicist
Joy Ellison	....	dialect coach: Mr. Banderas
Malle Jensen	....	assistant: Mr. Banderas
Ami Mammi	....	stand-in: Mr. Banderas
Ran Moncaz	....	runner
Mandy Morris	....	production coordinator
Jonathan Sela	....	assistant: Vilmos Zsigmond
Michael Alan Signer	....	unit publicist
Maya Yagen	....	stand-in: Ms. Williams

Thanks
Lourdes Diaz	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Avalanche Films
• Compass Productions
• Diamant Cohen Productions
• Green Moon Productions
• Helkon Media AG
• MDP Worldwide

Distributors

• Avalanche Releasing (USA)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video
• Distribution Company (Argentina)
• Egmont Entertainment (2001) (Finland) (video)
• Helkon Filmverleih GmbH (Germany)
• Herald Film Company (Japan)
• Hollydan Works (2003) (Serbia) (DVD)
• Italian International Film
• Lions Gate Films
• New Films International
• SND
• TriPictures (Spain)
• TriStar Pictures

Other Companies

• Angel Recording Studios  score recording facility
• Bates, Wells & Braithwaite  production counsel
• Cerruti  Antonio Banderas' clothing
• Comerica Bank of California  production financing
• Corporate Risk Management Inc.  insurance
• E T Travel  transporatation
• Edit Hire (New Technology) Ltd.  editing equipment
• FTS London  lighting
• Factor 8 Films  production financing
• La Riviera  catering
• Lewis Horwitz Organization, The  production financing
• London Symphony Orchestra, The (LSO)  orchestra
• Malde & Co.  production accounting
• Maoz 4 Cargo  customs broker
• Mill Films (I)  titles
• Modern VideoFilm  video mastering
• Motion Picture Bond Company, The  bond
• Negative Cutting Services  negative cutting
• Propaganda  product placement
• Rotenstreich Gitzelter Advocates  production counsel
• Sargent Disc  post-production accounting
• Stroock & Stroock & Lavan  production counsel (as Stroock, Stroock & Lavan LLP)
• Sylvia Wheeler Film Services  negative cutting
• Take II  extras casting
• Telefilm Video Services  telecine
• Twickenham Film Studios  sound post-production

Also Known As:

Das geheimnisvolle Grab (Germany)
The Body - das geheimnisvolle Grab (Germany) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violent sequences and brief language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA | Israel | Germany

Language:

English | Arabic | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #35768) | Finland:K-15 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Israel

Company:

Avalanche Films

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sharon Golban is at the airport to pick up Father Matt Gutierrez, she leaves the keys in the ignition. When she returns, she takes her keys from her pocket.

Quotes:

Cardinal Pesci: We are counting on you to protect the church.
Father Gutierrez: Protect the faith.
Cardinal Pesci: That's synonymous. You protect the church, you protect the faith.

Interesting religious and political drama.

God has no place in politics—this is the theme of The Body, an interesting film, if not a particularly 'entertaining' one.

Antonio Banderas plays Father Matt Gutierrez, a priest sent by the Vatican to investigate the discovery of a tomb in Jerusalem, which may or may not contain the crucified remains of Christ. Gutierrez has been given instructions by the Vatican to declare that the remains are not those of Christ; but with all of the evidence suggesting otherwise, the priest must struggle with facing the fact that his religion may be founded on a lie, and that, perhaps, Jesus was never resurrected.

Questioning his faith is only the beginning of Gutierrez's problems: Orthodox Jews, angry at the tomb being disturbed, attack the archaeologists; the Israelis blackmail the Vatican, only offering to hand over the body if the Vatican recognises Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel; and the Palestinians, who get wind of Israel's plan and are naturally displeased, kidnap the children of sexy archaeologist Sharon Golban (Olivia Williams), forcing her into stealing the bones.

The movie, shot on location in Jerusalem, has beautiful cinematography and great acting from Banderas and Williams, but the complicated plot may cause many viewers to lose interest. Those with a particular interest in the subject matter will probably glean the most from this rather long and intricate tale, but I can imagine the casual viewer quickly becoming bored.

If you choose to watch this, I recommend that you stick it out to the end; you may not be riveted to the screen but, like me, you might learn a little about a fascinating subject.