Funny Games U.S. (2007)

Director:

Michael Haneke

Writer:

Michael Haneke (written by)

Release Date:

27 March 2008 (Greece)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Shall we begin?

Plot:

Two psychotic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.

Plot Keywords:

Violence | Death | Hostage | Remake | Serial Killer

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Naomi Watts	...	Ann Farber
Tim Roth	...	George Farber
Michael Pitt	...	Paul
Brady Corbet	...	Peter
Devon Gearhart	...	Georgie Farber
Boyd Gaines	...	Fred Thompson
Siobhan Fallon	...	Betsy Thompson (as Siobhan Fallon Hogan)
Robert LuPone	...	Robert
Susanne C. Hanke	...	Betsy's Sister-in-Law (as Susanne Hanke)
Linda Moran	...	Eve

Directed by
Michael Haneke

Writing credits
Michael Haneke		(written by)

Produced by
Rene Bastian	....	co-producer
Christian Baute	....	producer
Adam Brightman	....	co-producer
Chris Coen	....	producer
Skady Lis	....	associate producer
Hamish McAlpine	....	producer
Pascal Metge	....	line producer
Linda Moran	....	co-producer
Hengameh Panahi	....	executive producer
Valerie Romer	....	line producer
Jonathan Schwartz	....	co-producer
Andro Steinborn	....	producer
Douglas C. Steiner	....	executive producer
Naomi Watts	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Darius Khondji

Film Editing by
Monika Willi

Casting by
Kerry Barden
Elaine Grainger
Billy Hopkins
Johanna Ray
Paul Schnee
Suzanne Smith

Production Design by
Kevin Thompson

Art Direction by
Hinju Kim

Set Decoration by
Rebecca Meis DeMarco

Costume Design by
David C. Robinson

Makeup Department
Thom Gonzales	....	key hair stylist
Taurance F. Williams	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Nicola Westermann	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jason Graham	....	second assistant director
Urs Hirschbiegel	....	first assistant director
Patrick Huber	....	second second assistant director
Justin Ritson	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Pastor Alvarado III	....	assistant property master
Neil Driscoll Jr.	....	lead man
Samantha Feltus	....	construction office production assistant
Carl Ferrara	....	set dresser
Gerard J. Furey	....	set construction foreman
Alex Gorodetsky	....	charge scenic artist
Michael D. Harrell	....	props
Kevin Hayden	....	set dresser
Beth Kuhn	....	assistant art director
Leann Murphy	....	art department coordinator
Ken Nelson	....	construction coordinator
Monika Nguyen	....	art department intern
Quang Nguyen	....	scenic foreperson
Susan Perlman	....	set dressing shopper
Daniel Rosenfeld	....	scenic shopman
Duke Scoppa	....	property master
Mark Paul Selemon	....	greens person
Theo Sena	....	on-set dresser
Christopher Weiser	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Edouard d'Heucqueville	....	sound mix technician
Dominique Eyraud	....	boom operator
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound mixer
Fred Mays	....	post-synchronization
Teferra McKenzie	....	second boom operator
Nadine Muse	....	sound editor
Thomas Varga	....	sound mixer

Stunts
Chris Barnes	....	marine coordinator
Chris Barnes	....	water stunts
Roy Farfel	....	stunt coordinator
Jeff Galpin	....	safety diver
Kevin Rogers	....	stunts
Manny Siverio	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Olga Abramson	....	camera production assistant
Braden Belmonte	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Braden Belmonte	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
James Boniece	....	key rigging grip
Vincent Camuto	....	video playback technician
Paul Candrilli	....	best boy grip
Andrew Cheung	....	grip
Peter Colavito	....	rigging electrician
Gene Engels	....	gaffer
Michael Gallart	....	lighting console operator
Dylan Goss	....	aerial director of photography
Chris Henry	....	rigging electric
Philip Kathrens	....	lamp operator
Mitchell Andrew Lillian	....	key grip
Jeff Lomaglio	....	grip
Rick Marroquin	....	dolly grip
Lance Mayer	....	libra head operator
Frances 'Buddy' McBride	....	rigging gaffer
Michael A. McFadden	....	best boy rigging grip
John Milcetic	....	best boy electric
Felipe Reinheimer	....	assistant camera
Felipe Reinheimer	....	camera operator
Nicole Rivelli	....	still photographer
Lewis Sadler	....	electrician
Marshall Stief	....	assistant camera: aerial unit
Brian Stocklin	....	electrician

Casting Department
Jenny Jue	....	casting associate
Jessica Kelly	....	casting assistant
Kristen Paladino	....	extras casting
Paul Schnee	....	casting: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sandi Figueroa	....	costume supervisor
Lee Harper	....	assistant costume designer
Deirdre Wegner	....	wardrobe shopper

Editorial Department
Justin Krohn	....	assistant editor
Willi Willinger	....	colorist

Other crew
Lauren Barnhart	....	assistant: Naomi Watts
Mauro Bossi	....	stand-in: Michael Pitt
Jean Sebastien Brettes	....	assistant to director
Gero Brugmann	....	legal counsel
Brian Cantaldi	....	production accountant
Andrew Cesana	....	additional production assistant
Beth Charlesworth	....	set intern
Leslie Collins	....	set nurse
Emma Cooper	....	unit publicist
Jeremy Crane	....	production coordinator
Blake Davis	....	production office assistant
Jason Dean	....	assistant coordinator
Joan Devilla	....	payroll accountant
Katie Dixon	....	production assistant
Kelly Meyer Douglas	....	housing coordinator
Nell Drake	....	accounting assistant
Justin Geisenberger	....	photo double: Georgie
Audra Gorman	....	location scout
Scott Matthew Harris	....	stand-in: Tim Roth (as Scott Harris)
Jules Hartley	....	photo double: Ann
Elizabeth Himelstein	....	on set dialect coach
Diane Hounsell	....	script supervisor
Liz Huizinga	....	assistant accountant
Scotty Katzmann	....	stand-in
Lodge Kerrigan	....	script consultant
Benjamin-Lew Klon	....	set intern
Bronson Lamb	....	production assistant
Kristina Lee	....	assistant production coordinator
Skady Lis	....	production executive
Randy Manion	....	location manager
Rik Nagel	....	location scout
Elizabeth Newman	....	assistant: Tim Roth
Watari Nishida	....	talent wrangler
Mike O'Neill	....	location assistant
Cicely Osborne	....	stand-in: Naomi Watts (as Cicely Osbourne)
Matteo Peirone	....	production assistant
Robert Peters	....	stand-in
Christina Adkinson Potter	....	animal trainer
Greg Staley	....	key production assistant
Lucas Steele	....	stand-in: Michael Pitt
Lygia Day Szelwach	....	on-set teacher
Jan Uczkowski	....	stand-in: Devon Gearhart
Brett Vanderbrook	....	stand-in: Brady Corbet
Antoine Wagner	....	assistant to director
Danielle Wilson	....	craft service
Craig T. Wood	....	production secretary
Tasha Zamsky	....	animal trainer
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Celluloid Dreams (presents)
• Halcyon Pictures
• Tartan Films
• X-Filme (as X-Filme International)
• Lucky Red
• Kinematograf
• Celluloid Nightmares (uncredited)

Distributors

• CP Classics (2008) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• First Distributors (2008) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Halcyon Releasing (2008) (UK) (theatrical)
• Lucky Red (2007) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Nordisk Film (2008) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Rosebud (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Tartan Films (2008) (UK) (theatrical)
• Tokyo Theaters Company (2008) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) (2007) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) (2007) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• X Verleih AG (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Amuse Soft Entertainment (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Bir Film (2008) (Turkey) (all media)
• California Filmes (2008) (Brazil) (all media)
• Gativideo (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Nordisk Film Theatrical Distribution (2008) (Finland) (all media)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2008) (Romania) (all media)
• Twin Pics (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• LISTO Videofilm (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Falco Ink.  publicity
• LISTO Videofilm  post-production
• Paws for Effect  animals provided by
• PostWorks, The Lab  processing

Also Known As:

Funny Games (USA)
Funny Games U.S. (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for terror, violence and some language.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA | France | UK | Austria | Germany | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:16 | UK:18 | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #43792) | Norway:15 | Denmark:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Finland:K-15 | Sweden:15 | France:-16 (with warning) | Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | Italy:VM14 | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:R18 | Australia:MA | Austria:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Brazil:16 | Portugal:M/18 | Argentina:16 | Iceland:18 | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Broadway Stages, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Celluloid Dreams

Trivia:

Tim Roth has said making this film abused him, and he'll never watch it. He said he was particularly disturbed because Devon Gearhart resembled his own son.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Paul "rewinds" the film he presses the Volume Down (-) button on the remote control rather than the Rewind button.

Quotes:

Paul: Okay, we bet- what time is it?
Peter: 8:40.
Paul: That in, let's say, 12 hours all three of you are gonna be kaput. Okay?
Anna: What?
Paul: You bet that you'll be alive tomorrow at 9 o'clock and we bet that you'll be dead. Okay?
Peter: They don't want to bet.
Paul: Well it's not an option. There has to be a bet.
[turns toward camera, breaks fourth wall, addressing the audience]
Paul: I mean, what do you think? You think they stand a chance? Well, you're on their side, aren't you? Who are you betting on, hmm?
Peter: But, wait, what kind of bet is this? If they're dead, they can't live up to their side. If they win, they can't live either.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Features Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Soundtrack:

QUINTETT FOR CLARINETT VIOLINS, VIOLA & VIOLONCELLO

An Excellent Remake

The purpose of "Funny Games" is to provoke and disturb the audience. It does this so well that you may not be able to watch it -- a curious thing for a filmmaker to shoot for, but hey, that's the Austrians for you.

Michael Haneke already made this film in 1997 before going on to make other challenging films like "The Piano Teacher" and "Cache." Now he has remade it, almost shot-for-shot (see my note at the end), in English. His reason is apparently just that he'd like the film to be seen by a wider audience.

The hilarious part there is that no matter what language it's in, this film is not very marketable. It's not only a violent movie but a movie ABOUT violence. It toys with the audience's expectations about how movies are supposed to work. It allows brutal things to happen, then indicts us for wanting to see brutal things happen.

It's set in a lovely vacation home on a lake somewhere, the refuge of an affluent, upper-crust family whose members amuse themselves on long car trips by playing "Name That Tune" with opera CDs. We know little else about them other than their names: George (Tim Roth) the father, Anna (Naomi Watts) the mother, and Georgie (Devon Gearhart) the young son.

Just after they arrive for an extended stay, a young man in a tennis outfit stops by. He says his name is Peter (Brady Corbet). He's staying with the neighbors for a couple days, and the wife of that family asked him to come over and borrow four eggs from Anna. Anna gladly hands them over. Peter drops them on his way out, apologizes profusely in his soft, whimpery voice, and Anna gets some new eggs for him.

While this is going on, Peter's buddy Paul (Michael Pitt) shows up. Like Peter, he's dressed in tennis whites and is unfailingly polite. Also like Peter, he is slightly odd in his behavior. The boys' language is grammatically correct and unprovocative, yet at the same time slightly "off." Some of their answers are non sequiturs. They ask questions that don't seem to mean anything. They refer to each other by names other than Peter and Paul.

Haneke presents this sequence in a way that's almost unbearably tense. No one is doing anything blatantly wrong from a moral standpoint; even from a purely social standpoint the boys are more awkward than anything else, only gradually growing intrusive and presumptuous over time. Part of the reason the scene is so unsettling is that you can't quite put your finger on what's unsettling about it.

Finally the dam breaks and the incident turns into a full-blown home invasion. George is incapacitated -- unmanned, really, as he is forced to see his family suffer, powerless to help. Peter and Paul play mind games with the family and with the audience. Peter is the younger and less confident of the two, while Paul -- played with chilling menace by the soft-spoken Michael Pitt -- runs the show.

Haneke's goal is to unnerve us by subverting our expectations. He sets it up as a violent film, and yet almost every act of violence takes place off-camera. Instead of the frantic editing one normally sees in movies about killers and victims, Haneke shoots in long, unbroken takes. He keeps us distanced from the action by minimizing close-ups and by frequently composing shots that avoid the actors' faces, or that focus on someone other than the person speaking. And then, once we feel safely distanced from the horror, Haneke yanks us into it by having one of the characters look right into the camera and address us.

The film is not fun in the usual way that movies are fun. It deliberately avoids giving the payoffs we expect. Yet I don't find it frustrating or aggressive. Some provocative filmmakers seem intent on irritating or turning off the audience. With Haneke, I get the feeling that once you understand what he's up to, he's glad to have you in on the joke. He certainly goes about executing it in a masterful way.

(Finally, a note on how the film was remade. Only a few minor things prevent it from being literally a shot-for-shot remake. The dialogue, apart from being in English instead of German, is likewise almost identical. The sets are virtual twins of those in the original. Haneke has basically made it so that native English speakers have their own version of his film. He has not watered it down or altered it in the translation.)