The Monuments Men (2014)

Cate Blanchett as: Claire Simone

Directed by: Simon Stone (Segment: Reunion)
Selected Cast: Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville
Written by: George Clooney and Grant Heslov (Based on Robert M. Edsel’s book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History)
Release Year: 2014
Genre: Drama | History
MPAA Rating: PG-13

 

 

 

 

 

IMDb | Photos | Videos | Official Site

Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, the The Monuments Men centers around an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners. In a seemingly impossible mission, the Monuments Men, as they were called, find themselves risking their lives in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1,000 years of culture.

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On set, B-roll
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Quotes from Cate Blanchett

  • “I think what I found really inspiring about her and I think about all the characters is that they were such unlikely heroes and heroines. Rose Valland, on whom Claire Simone is based, was utterly alone and would write all this stuff down on the back of her cigarette papers and put them into this book which any day could have gotten her killed. I found that the fear that she had to serve under on a daily basis was very inspiring. I think the crisis in World War II was one of the most monumental crises that we faced as a species. It really reveals who you are, and that’s what I find really ennobling about the Monuments Men and Rose Valland.” (Collider, February 2014)
  • “I mean, projects like this don’t come along very often with ensembles like this. For me, the power of the story is that it shines a light and a perspective on what we previously thought were very well known facts. My children saw the film last night, which George quipped that they were killing off the demographic. But, when they find the barrelful of wedding rings and gold fillings, we all know we’ve seen those horrendous pictures, and the power of cinema is that it draws on that collective history. I feel like the film harnesses our understanding of the Second World War, but yet it opens a door into a very particular and noble and quirky bunch of guys and girl who really changed where we are now and what we understand our contemporary culture to be. But am I confident? Never.”
  • On George Clooney: “My husband [Sydney Theatre Company artistic director Andrew Upton] said: ‘What is it with you and George and World War II?’ But it was great to work with him again, because he’s an incredible raconteur and I think that’s translated into the way he tells stories. The way he told me the story, about what he wanted to do with this film, I really think that spirit comes across in the film, that it’s at once horrific and painfully hilarious and deeply human.”

Quotes from Others

  • George Clooney
    — “We changed the names of the characters because we wanted to give some of them some flaws for entertainment purposes, quite honestly, for storytelling purposes. You don’t want to take somebody who’s real and heroic and give them a drinking problem. It’s not really fair to do. So we changed the names because we wanted to be able to play with the story some. But these are all based on real men. There were a hundred of them eventually by the time this went on. They went through Italy and did the same thing. But they’re based on real people. There were two gentlemen that were killed in there, one trying to save the Bruges Madonna. They really are based on real people all the way through, and of course, our lovely Rose Valland. It was pretty close. A lot of that stuff was pretty accurate.”

Trivia & Facts

  • Filmed in UK and Germany.
  • The film premiered in New York on 4 February 2014, and it screened Out of Competition at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival on 8 February 2024.
  • The “Monuments Men” were a group of approximately 345 men and women from thirteen nations, most of whom volunteered for service in the newly created MFAA section during World War II. Many had expertise as museum directors, curators, art historians, artists, architects, and educators. Their job description was simple: to protect cultural treasures so far as war allowed.
  • Daniel Craig was cast as Lieutenant James Granger but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, Matt Damon replaced him.
  • Cate Blanchett and Matt Damon worked together in Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) prior to this film.
  • Cate Blanchett and George Clooney starred in Steven Soderbergh’s The Good German (2006).
  • Georger Clooney flew to Sydney for one night to show Cate Blanchett the screenplay and convince her to be in the film.

New York premiere, 4 February 2014; USA Today