Redbelt (2008)

Director:

David Mamet

Writer (WGA):

David Mamet (written by)

Release Date:

9 May 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

There's always a way out. You just have to find it.

Plot:

A fateful event leads to a job in the film business for top mixed-martial arts instructor Mike Terry. Though he refuses to participate in prize bouts, circumstances conspire to force him to consider entering such a competition. |

Plot Keywords:

Mixed Martial Arts | Shot In The Head | Bloody Nose | Gun Accident | Police Officer

Cast

Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Mike Terry
Tim Allen	...	Chet Frank
Alice Braga	...	Sondra Terry
Emily Mortimer	...	Laura Black
Joe Mantegna	...	Jerry Weiss
Ricky Jay	...	Marty Brown
Max Martini	...	Officer Joe Collins
Jose Pablo Cantillo	...	Snowflake
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Bruno Silva
Cyril Takayama	...	Jimmy Takata
Randy Couture	...	Dylan Flynn
John Machado	...	Augusto Silva
David Paymer	...	Richie
Rebecca Pidgeon	...	Zena Frank
Cathy Cahlin Ryan	...	Gini Collins
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jeffrey Addiss	...	Celebrity
Joseph Alfieri	...	Security
Douglas Barcellos	...	Fighter (voice)
Craig Collington Bator	...	Assistant
Matt Cable	...	Street Fighter #1
Ryan Everett Canfield	...	Marty's Underling
Steve DeCastro	...	Knife Fighter
Caroline de Souza Correa	...	Monica
Justin Fair	...	Non-Smoking Attendant
Scott Farrell	...	Announcer
Hugh Fitzgerald
Mike Goldberg	...	Sports Announcer #2
Jennifer Grey	...	Lucy Weiss
Vincent Guastaferro	...	Announcer / Eddie Bialy
Damon Herriman	...	Official
Kei Hirayama	...	Japanese Interviewer
Caroline Z. Hurley	...	Pretty Blonde at the Bar
Dan Inosanto	...	Joao Moro
Enson Inoue	...	Taketa Morisaki
Bob Jennings	...	Sammy
Jake M. Johnson	...	Guabayera Shirt Man
J.J. Johnston	...	Ring Announcer
Christopher Kaldor	...	Official Security Guard In Blazer
Allison Karman	...	Lawyer
Jess King	...	Bar Patron #4
Jean Jacques Machado	...	Himself
Renato Magno	...	Romero
Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini	...	George Coriani (as Ray Mancini)
Jennifer McTamney	...	Event Girl
Marc Opitz	...	Reporter
Emily Peck	...	Bar Patron
James Ralph	...	Bartender
Rob Reinis	...	Officer Roberts
Jonathan Rossetti	...	Celebrity
Lee Ryder	...	'Rude' Photographer
Tino Struckmann	...	Academy Instructor
Jessica Taylor	...	Abbey
Daniel Cage Theodore	...	Toro's Handler
Galen Tong	...	Referee
Jack Wallace	...	Bar Patron
Erin Anne Williams	...	Videotech
David Kiiskinen	...	Special Ability Actor (uncredited)
Ed O'Neill	...	Man Speaking to Jerry in Restaurant (uncredited)
John Robert	...	Newsman at Ringside (uncredited)
Eric Shackelford	...	Celebrity Fight Fan (uncredited)

Directed by
David Mamet

Writing credits (WGA)
David Mamet		(written by)

Produced by
Chrisann Verges	....	producer

Original Music by
Stephen Endelman

Cinematography by
Robert Elswit

Film Editing by
Barbara Tulliver

Casting by
Sharon Bialy
Sherry Thomas

Production Design by
David Wasco

Art Direction by
Ray Yamagata

Set Decoration by
Sandy Reynolds-Wasco

Costume Design by
Debra McGuire

Makeup Department
Suzanne Diaz	....	makeup department head (2007)
Scott Wheeler	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Luca Borghese	....	post-production supervisor
Mads Hansen	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cara Giallanza	....	first assistant director
Yuko Ogata	....	day player additional second second assistant director
John Tagamolila	....	second second assistant director
Ken Twohy	....	crowds assistant director

Art Department
Peter Bankins	....	property master
Timothy M. Earls	....	set designer
Erin Fite	....	set decorating buyer
Anne Hyvarinen	....	lead scenic artist
David Ladish	....	set dresser
Edward J. Protiva	....	leadman
Stuart Rankine	....	assistant property master
Jacob Reinwand	....	art production assistant
Karen Teneyck	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Steve Bissinger	....	sound editor
Gary C. Bourgeois	....	sound re-recording mixer
Anita Cannella	....	foley artist
Steven Gerrior	....	assistant sound editor
Amy Kane	....	foley artist
Michael Kirchberger	....	supervising sound editor
Nick Kray	....	adr recordist
Jon Logan	....	post sound intern
Mike Marino	....	foley mixer
James Simcik	....	adr supervisor
Roy Waldspurger	....	sound re-recording mixer
Roy Waldspurger	....	supervising sound editor

Visual Effects by
Patrick Clancey	....	digital opticals
Dick Edwards	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Eddie Braun	....	stunts
Rico Chiapparelli	....	fight choreographer
Debbie Evans	....	stunt driver
Jack Gill	....	stunt coordinator
Bevin Kaye	....	stunts
Jess King	....	utility stunts
Tony Lazzara	....	stunt performer
John Machado	....	fight choreographer
Simon Rhee	....	stunts
Aaron Toney	....	stunt double: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Jose L. Vasquez	....	stunt double
Todd Warren	....	stunt double: Tim Allen
Boni Yanagisawa	....	stunts
Alan Zborovsky	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Luke Allein	....	assistant camera
Mike Bachman	....	video assist
Jason Goebel	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Barry Idoine	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Michael Kenner	....	key grip
Jeff Kunkel	....	dolly grip
Jim McComas	....	electrician
Jim Sheldon	....	still photographer
Larissa Supplitt	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Michael Ursetta	....	rigging electrician

Casting Department
Kathy Kaplan	....	casting assistant
Judith Sunga	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joseph Cigliano	....	set costumer
Robin McMullan	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Kenny Becker	....	color timer
Yale Kozinski	....	first assistant editor
Christian Prejza	....	digital intermediate producer

Music Department
Brian Bulman	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Tim Abbatoye	....	transportation coordinator
Rich Bennetti	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Anna Boudinot	....	production assistant
Dante	....	warm-up comic
Erin Davis	....	assistant production coordinator
Srdjan Dobic	....	set production assistant
Christopher Field	....	production assistant
Neale Fishback	....	assistant location manager
Matthew Goben	....	assistant to cast
Andy Goldman	....	title designer
Charles Heaphy	....	production financing
Kenneth Hunter	....	location scout
Jeff Hunt	....	production secretary
Shea Kammer	....	first assistant accountant
S. Dylan Kirkland	....	assistant location manager
Meaghan Librizzi	....	assistant: Mr. Mamet
Jean Jacques Machado	....	assistant fight choreographer
Renato Magno	....	consultant: jiujitsu
Jackson Rowe	....	set production assistant
Jason Ruffolo	....	key production assistant
Joe Rynearson	....	production assistant: additional photography
Pam Susemiehl	....	assistant: Mr. Mamet
Trevor Tavares	....	set production assistant
Katie Taylor	....	assistant: Ms. Verges
Marion Tumen	....	script supervisor
Matthew Wersinger	....	location manager
Kelley Whitis	....	assistant: Mr. Ejiofor

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Classics (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Reel Security  security

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language.

Runtime:

USA:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | Dolby SR

Certification:

South Korea:15 | USA:R (certificate #43844)

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Trivia:

Ed O'Neill's practice of Brazilian Ju-Jitsu partially inspired Mamet to write the movie.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mike Terry: Tie him up.
[to class]
Mike Terry: The hands are not the issue. The fight is the issue. The battle is the issue. Who imposes the terms of the battle will impose the terms of the peace. Think he has a handicap? No. The other guy has a handicap if he cannot control himself. You control yourself, you control him.
[to student]
Mike Terry: Take him to court.

Movie Connections:

References Titanic (1997)

More than Jiu-Jitsu

"Never stop fighting 'til the fight is done." Mamet's Untouchables.

From Jackie Chan gymnastics to Crouching Tiger fantasy and all martial arts in between, if you are watching to witness bloody realism, then go to snuff movies because most mainstream filmmakers would wish you to see the metaphor in the mayhem rather than the shock in the schlock. David Mamet's Redbelt is more than a Jiu-Jitsu competition for the highest belt; in the best tradition of complicated fight films, this competition is for the principled soul of academy owner/instructor Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the fight representing a challenge to his long-standing Samurai principle that "a competition is not a fight." Mamet's love affair with crisp crude language (See Spartan and Glengarry Glen Ross for starters) is in this film still a staccato rhythm mixed with minimal dialogue emphasizing the great issues such as authenticity and honesty rather than expletives. Mike is unwittingly thrown into the maelstrom of a con, which he should be able to evade according to his mantra that there is always an escape.

The academy needs cash; Terry is maneuvered by slick operatives to fight for $50, 000, contrary to his belief in the authenticity of a real fight and the sham of competition. What happens next is minor for the outcome but major for seeing the corruption of those around the fighter. It's all a house of cards, to pick the title of one of Mamet's challenging films. The playwright, director is constantly facing his heroes with con games that threaten their sense of right in an essentially chaotic universe.

Redbelt may be one of Mamet's less dense films, but it still reflects a filmmaker dedicated to unearthing the ambiguity through the metaphors of gritty, violent daily life, in which principle will not always defeat betrayal. I am thankful this film is neither the fantasy of so many Asian martial arts films these days, nor is it the inane romance of Never Back Down. "It is what it is," as today's tough guys might say, and that's a violent concept just right in the age of Iraq and presidential politics.