Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (movie)
Talk1this wiki
- Were you looking for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time video game?
Added by PrincessfarahIn this fantasy adventure, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Dastan, a young prince in sixth century Persia who must join forces with Tamina (Gemma Arterton), a feisty and exotic princess, to prevent the villainous nobleman Nizam (Ben Kingsley) from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.
Contents |
Plot
Edit
Dastan, a street urchin, rescues another orphan in front of the King of Persia. His "royal spirit" leads to his royal adoption. Fifteen years later, he finds the Dagger of Time that can rewind time or destroy the world. Princess Tamina, ruler of Alamut is an appointed Guardian. Nizam, brother to the King, wants the Dagger and the throne, to become the most powerful ruler ever.
Added by Mihaix
Added by Mihaix
Added by Mihaix
Added by Princessfarah
Added by Mihaix
Added by MihaixFifteen years later, the brothers lead the Persian army against the sacred city of Alamut. Against Sharaman's wishes, while he is praying, his brother and advisor Nizam (Ben Kingsley), has wrongly convinced the three that Alumet is making and selling weapons to Persia's enemies. As Garsiv attaks the main gate, Dastan leads a squad with his best childhood friend Bis (Reece Ritchie) and opens the eastern gate "to save lives".[4]
Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) sends the sacred Dagger away, but the rider heads straight for Dastan. He finds the wrapped Dagger on the ground after killing his attacker. The Dagger sends whoever presses the top of the handle back in time. The holder sees events rewind. Only he knows what happened. The power ends when the sand in the handle runs out.
Victorious Tus wants to marry Tamina as soon as he discovers her beauty, admiring her spirit as she attempts to stab him. He begs Dastan to present his wish for another wife to their father, and gives him a captured grand cloak for their father as a convincing present. Dastan is reluctant, Tus already has wives, indeed King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup) agrees, and offers Tamina to Dastan. The cloak is poisoned, burns Sharaman to death. Bystanders accuse Dastan, who flees with Tamina while Bis, his best friend, is killed covering their escape.
Added by PrincessfarahIn a skeleton-decorated village, the duo encounter ostrich racer-organizer Sheik Amar (Alfred Molina) and loyal friend Seso (Steve Toussaint) from the Ngbaka,
Added by Princessfarah
Dastan wants to return for King Sharaman's funeral, and Tamina tags along. Attempting to convince Nizam of his innocence, he presents the wrapped Dagger as proof, but Tamina got the Dagger away. Seeing the burns on Nizam's hands, Dastan realizes Nizam did not touch the cloak in his presence but previously, thus the murderer. Resisting an ambush with acrobatics and clashing swords, even axe-throwing Garsiv, Dastan escapes.
Dastan catches up with Tamina and exp
Added by Mihaix
Added by MihaixDastan remembers his father's favorite story, his brother's rescue from a lion while hunting. To allow the death in childhood would prevent all the Princes from being born, and make Nizam King of Persia for his entire life. Dastan agrees to help her protect the Dagger. Meanhile, back in Persia, Nizam, aware that Dastan knows he was responsible, tries to convince the newly-crowned King Tus and Garsiv that Dastan is trying to overthrow them and must be killed without a trial to avoid a rebellion. When this fails, Nizam sends his secret magical snake-equipped Hassansins, elite warriors forbidden by Sharaman.
Added by MichaelmonNext day, the now friendly group, encouraged by Tamina's tales of temple gold, follow paths "every princess must learn" to the mountain sanctuary, where the Dagger can be safely sealed in the stone where it came from. Tamina,
Added by Mihaix
Added by MihaixTamina, Dastan, Amar and Seso, return to Alamut to expose Nizam and retrieve the Dagger. The Dagger is guarded in a temple by a Hassansin, so Seso is the natural choice of opponent, but is fatally wounded in combat.
Added by PrincessfarahTus rewinds time to revive Dastan, but Nizam then slices his throat, and leaves with the Dagger. Tamina distracts the guard on Dastan, and sees the hand mark for a Temple official. The dead guard was the traitor who told Nizam about the Dagger. Nizam descends by pulley to the Sandglass caves beneath Alamut, while Dastan and Tamina race through secret undergound passageways, booby-trapped. Dastan follows carefully in her footsteps, but a stray pebble falls from the roof, and the floor collapses. Dastan battles the Hassansin Leader, finally throwing him into the chasm. Dastan and Tamina slowly kiss. They reach Nizam at the Sandglass stabbing in the Dagger. Tamina lets go of Dastan's hand, falls into the bottomless pit, so Dastan can hold onto the Dagger with Nizam. When Dastan presses the handle end as the Sandglass breaks and tries send out the Sands, everything whirls back to when Dastan first found the Dagger in the Alamut seige.
Added by PrincessfarahDastan sees his best friend Bis alive again, uses his knowledge of the Lost Time to expose Nizam. Dastan gains his brothers' trust by repeating the exact words of Sharaman in private to Tus, as told to Dastan in the Lost Time where Tus was killed by Nazim. Exposed, Nizam stabs at Tus, but Dastan gets the villain first.
After apologizing for the ransacking of her city, Tus suggests that perhaps Tamina should marry Dastan as a sign of good will. The Prince gives her with the Dagger, gazing with knowing love, stumbling over his words, hinting they have a past and a destiny. She invites him to walk, asking how he has changed so suddenly. As in the Lost Time before, Dastan repeats "We make our own destiny", adding "We hardly know each other well enough, though I look forward to the day that we do".
Cast Edit
- Jake Gyllenhaal - Prince Dastan , a sixth-century Persian prince and the film's protagonist.
- Gemma Arterton - Tamina, a feisty and exotic princess and the films deutoragonist.
- Ben Kingsley - Nizam, an evil nobleman, and the film's main antagonist.
- Alfred Molina - Sheik Amar, an enterpreneur, a mentor to Prince Dastan and an ostrich-racing organizer.
- Toby Kebbel - Garsiv, prince Dastan's brother, a Persian prince, and head of the Persian army.
- Richard Coyle - Tus, the eldest of the princes and heir to the throne.
- Ronald Pickup - Sharaman, the father of the three princes of Persia.
- Steve Toussaint - Seso, an african native that is working for Sheik Amar.
- Reece Ritchie - Bis, Dastan's childhood friend and manservant.
- Gísli Örn Garðarsson - Zolm, Leader of the Hassansins.
- Darwin Shaw - Asoka, Princess Tamina's retainer.
ProductionEdit
In March 2004, the production company Jerry Bruckheimer Films sought to acquire feature film rights to the 2003 video game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time with the film to be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Under John August as executive producer, the series' creator Jordan Mechner was hired to write the script. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer's Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy served as a touchstone in how a theme park ride was converted into a film franchise. According to Mechner, "Rather than do a straight beat-for-beat adaptation of the new videogame, we're taking some cool elements from the game and using them to craft a new story."[1] Mechner previously considered producing an animated film based on the games, but could not resist Disney and Bruckheimer's offer.[2] In February 2006, Disney hired screenwriter Jeffrey Nachmanoff to write a new script for Prince of Persia.[3]
Early in 2007, Disney announced Prince of Persia as one of its tentpole film and by June had scheduled a release date for July 10, 2009, before having a final script or any actors attached.[4] By November 2007, Disney entered negotiations with Mike Newell to direct the film based on a script by Mechner and Nachmanoff, though the studio held off production until the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike was resolved.[5] Newell was fond of Bruckheimer's films,[6] and loved the "exciting [and] immensely romantic" script, which reminded him of Lost Horizon. His assistant played the video games and gave the director key details.[7] Mechner, in writing the script, re-conceived the storyline to shift the perspective from the interactive one experienced by video gamers to the non-interactive experience by film audiences. The screenwriter left out elements of the Prince of Persia video games Warrior Within and The Two Thrones and did not anticipate including these elements in the film's possible sequels.[2]
When filming began, the film's release date was postponed to May 28, 2010, with the studio seeking enough time for the post-production process in designing the film's special effects. The profit margin on the Pirates of the Caribbean films was compromised by overspending as special effects teams rushed to complete the films for their release dates.[8] Variety also ascribed the postponement to avoiding the potential 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike so the studio could ensure that the film leads to a "mega-franchise" similar to its successful Pirates of the Caribbean series.[9] Other reasons for the release date change were that the film was originally scheduled a week before "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", and Disney needed more time to co-ordinate its marketing campaign.[8]
CastingEdit
On May 20, 2008, it was announced that Jake Gyllenhaal would portray Dastan, the protagonist of the film. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer explained his choice, "He's a wonderful actor. He's someone I've been watching for a long time and somebody I've always wanted to work with."[10] Gyllenhaal claims he "over-prepared"[11] for the role, gaining five or six pounds of muscle.[11] The actor says, "…I never knew how much they were going to ask me to do, so I just made sure I'd be hopefully able to do anything."[11] Gemma Arterton was announced to play the role of protagonist Tamina,[10] and Arterton reported she practiced horse back riding in Madrid before filming.[12] Sir Ben Kingsley was to portray the film's antagonist, Nizam.[13] Alfred Molina was to portray a character named Sheik Amar, who becomes a mentor to the prince.[14] Toby Kebbell was to play Prince Garsiv, Dastan's brother, and head of the Persian army.[15] The leading characters of the film all speak with a recognisable British English accent, albeit with a slight Middle Eastern color.
FilmingEdit
In March 2008, director Mike Newell selected Morocco as a shooting location for Prince of Persia and also planned to film in Pinewood Studios. Production was scheduled to begin in mid-June 2008.[16] By May 2008, actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton were cast into the lead roles. With a new script by Jordan Mechner, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard, and Boaz Yakin, filming began in July 2008 in Morocco as well as London.[10] Eight weeks were spent in MoroTemplate:Citation neededcco before the first unit moved to Pinewood.[11] The film is intended to be the first in a seven film series.
ReceptionEdit
The film received mixed reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 36% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 209 reviews, with an average score of 5/10. The critical consensus is: It doesn't offer much in the way of substance, but Prince of Persia is a suitably entertaining swashbuckler—and a substantial improvement over most video game adaptations. Another review aggregate, Metacritic, which calculates an average rating based on reviews from mainstream critics, gave a score of 50/100. Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four and wrote, "The two leads are not inspired. Jake Gyllenhaal could make the cover of a muscle mag, but he plays Dastan as if harboring Spider-Man's doubts and insecurities." Film critic David Roark of Relevant Magazine, on the other hand, gave the film a positive review and wrote: "Newell has unquestionably accomplished what he set out to do, which is ridiculous, silly and forgettable, but amusing nonetheless."
SequelEdit
Gemma Arterton expressed her interest in returning for Prince of Persia sequel if it happens by saying: "Yeah, I would love to, actually. We made it two years ago and I feel refreshed. So if they wanted to do another one, which I'm sure as it is hinted at (towards the end of the film) that there are many different avenues that it can go down". Jake Gyllenhaal said that if the movie does well there would be a potential sequel."I think everybody's just hoping that the audience is going to like this movie and if they respond to it I think we would be more than happy to try our hand at another one. I think at this point we're all just hoping people will like this and go and see this one". So far, there have been no official announcements of a sequel.
SoundtrackEdit
The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time soundtrack features music from and inspired by the popular action-adventure film.Edit
Alanis Morissette composed the theme song for the film, named "I Remain". The score was written by composer Harry Gregson-Williams.
- 1. "The Prince of Persia" 5:20
- 2. "Raid On Alamut" 6:32
- 3. "Tamina Unveiled" 2:34
- 4. "The King and His Sons" 2:59
- 5. "Dastan and Tamina Escape" 4:31
- 6. "Journey Through the Desert" 2:55
- 7. "Ostrich Race" 0:59
- 8. "Running from Sheikh Amar" 3:27
- 9. "Trusting Nizam" 4:37
- 10. "Visions of Death" 1:46
- 11. "So, You're Going To Help Me?" 2:20
- 12. "The Oasis Ambush" 1:54
- 13. "Hassansin Attack" 2:59
- 14. "Return To Alamut" 3:05
- 15. "No Ordinary Dagger" 4:39
- 16. "The Passages" 3:09
- 17. "The Sands of Time" 3:58
- 18. "Destiny" 3:38
- 19. "I Remain" (performed by Alanis Morissette, writen by Alanis Morissette and Mike Elizondo) 4:57
GalleryEdit
TriviaEdit
- Before Jake Gyllenhaal was cast in the leading role, both Orlando Bloom and Zac Efron were rumored for the part.
- Rey-Phillip Santos was replaced by actor Toby Kebbell due to a motorcycle accident on location.
- Screenwriter Robin Morningstar approached the property owner Jordan Mechner with a script based on the original 1989 game of the franchise, the aim being working as a team to get a film made. He and his materials were abruptly exorcised before Disney bought the film rights to the series. The Disney film focuses on the much-later "Sands Of Time" story arc, whilst the game canon seemingly reboots well clear of its origins with a new game titled simply "Prince Of Persia". Robin Morningstar's script, much like the original 1989 canon, is out in the cold. (This was referred to briefly during interview in Retro Gamer Magazine Issue 51.)
- In February 2008, Iranian star Golshifteh Farahani was invited to do a screen test in London along with Gemma Arterton for the role of Tamina but she was arrested at the airport by the Iranian authorities & banned from leaving the country for six months because she had played in Ridley Scott's Body of Lies (2008)
- This film marks the second PG-13 rated movie under the Walt Disney Pictures label in the United States. The first was Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).
- The "Hassansins" are obviously modeled on the famous Islamic mystery cult called the Hashashin from which the word "assassin" is derived given their use of terror and assassinations as political leverage. Their leader was named Hassan Ibn Sabbah.
- The Assassin's Creed series, also made by Ubisoft, is based off the concept of the "Hassassins".
- At the first UK screening at the Disney Roadshow, Director Mike Newell stated that, as he has known 'Jake Gyllenhall' since Jake was 7 years old, he always wanted Jake for the part. He went on to say that he selected Gemma Arterton because of "how very old seeing the back of her beautiful neck" made him feel.
- Dastan, the Prince's name in this movie means "Champion" or "Hero" in Farsi. However, it means "The Trickster" in Persian.
- Throughout the movie, many references are made to the games in the Sands of Time trilogy:
- One of the Hassansins is shown using a spiked chain weapon that directly mirrors Daggertail, a weapon used by the Dark Prince in The Two Thrones.
- Tamina's knowledge of the Sands of Time and what they can do somewhat mirrors Kaileena from Warrior Within. Likewise, her actions, aside from using weapons, mirror that of Farah from Sands of Time.
- Nizam in the movie is highly akin to the Vizier in the Sands of Time game. Both are cold manipulators that try to get what they want through unleashing a powerful force.
- Many of Dastan's outfits bear resemblence to the Prince's outfits throughout the games. During the fight between Dastan and a soldier, his appearance mirrors that of the Prince's appearance at both the end of Sands of Time (before turning back time) and his whole appearance throughout The Two Thrones. During the takeover of Alamut, his appearance mirrors that of the Prince's appearance in Warrior Within.
- When the Hassansins are first introduced, during their weapon training, upon being hit with a weapon, what looks like sand flies out of one of them. This is a direct reference to the Sand Creatures in the Sands of Time game, until it is revealed that they are indeed human.
- While not considered to be a canon game to the Sands of Time Trilogy, while in the desert, Dastan's appearance almost somewhat mirrors the appearance of the thief prince in the 2008 Prince of Persia game.
- When the Dagger of Time is used to turn back time, the half of the wielder's torso and arm that is holding the Dagger turn black with yellow tattoos running along it, which mirriors the Prince's Sand Corruption in The Two Thrones.
- There are a few quotes that reference the trilogy, such as Tamina saying "I'm not some desperate slave girl" which is referencing Farah in the Sands of Time, and when Nizam says that Dastan "use to spit the seeds at Gasiv" the fruit he is holding is a pomegranate, which in The Two Thrones, The Prince says he dislikes immensely and on the part were Tus was killed Nizam qouted "Poor Dastan, always charging in to prove his more than something the king scraped of the streets" which was referring to Sands of Time wherein the beggining of the game, the Prince infiltrated the Treasure Vault to find a treasure to give to his father, the king that would make him proud of the Prince.
- During the attack on Alamut, Dastan stands on a short ledge as the camera pans around him, showing a panoramic of the city (this scene is featured in the trailer below). This is a direct reference to the Viewpoints cinematics in the Assassin's Creed video game series, the spiritual successor to the Sands of Time series, both of which were developed by Ubisoft Montreal.
- The lines from the movie theme song "I Remain" such as "...affected I remained..." may have reffered to that of the videogame since the Sands of Time had affected the citizens of Azad.
TrailerEdit
The trailer begins with quick scenes of the Dagger of Time, Dastan - The Prince - (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) jumping from heights, and then several action scenes before the screen turns black. The scene then continues with Dastan using the Dagger of Time, turns back time before being hit by an enemy's sword (To be noted that when Dastan uses the Dagger, his right side body will be affected by The Sands, causing his right side body turns into 'burnt' state, similar like the Dark Prince's skin). The scene than changes into a brief explanation about the Persian Kingdom, before Nizam (played by Ben Kingsley) uses the Dagger to release the Sands, causing some parts of the Kingdom destroyed. The trailer continues with a long scene depicting the adventure of the Prince and Princess Tamina (played by Gemma Arterton) to reach The Secret Guardian Temple in order to retrieve the Dagger and restore the Kingdom. This long scene contains many action scene that is very similar to the game's. The trailer ends with the scene involving the Giant Hourglass.
External links Edit
- Official Site
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (film) Wikipedia Article
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (film) at the Internet Movie Database
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (film) at Allmovie
| Prince of Persia Series |
|---|
| Games |
| Prince of Persia (Original) - Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame - Prince of Persia 3D - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - Prince of Persia: Warrior Within - Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones - Battles of Prince of Persia - Prince of Persia Classic - Prince of Persia (2008) - Prince of Persia: The Fallen King - Prince of Persia: Epilogue - Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands |
| Books |
| Prince of Persia: The Graphic Novel - Prince of Persia: Stories And Secrets - Prince of Persia: Before the Sandstorm |
| Movies |
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (movie) |
Cite error:
<ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
