The Bourne Identity (2002)

Director:

Doug Liman

Writers (WGA):

Tony Gilroy (screenplay) and
W. Blake Herron (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 June 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

He was the perfect weapon until he became the target.

Plot:

A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and without memory, then races to elude assassins and recover from amnesia.

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Jason Bourne | Sea | Bank Account | Boat

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Dec. 24

3:00 PM

USA

Cast

Matt Damon	...	Jason Bourne
Franka Potente	...	Marie
Chris Cooper	...	Conklin
Clive Owen	...	The Professor
Brian Cox	...	Ward Abbott
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje	...	Wombosi
Gabriel Mann	...	Zorn
Walton Goggins	...	Research Tech
Josh Hamilton	...	Research Tech
Julia Stiles	...	Nicolette
Orso Maria Guerrini	...	Giancarlo (as Orso Maria-Guerrini)
Tim Dutton	...	Eamon
Denis Braccini	...	Picot
Nicky Naude	...	Castel
David Selburg	...	Marshall

Also Known As:

Die Bourne Identität (Germany)
Identidad desconocida (Argentina) (Colombia) [es]
La mémoire dans la peau (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Идентификация Борна (Russia) [ru]
A Identidade Bourne (Brazil) [pt]
A bourne-rejtély (Hungary) [hu]
Bornov identitet (Serbia) [sr]
Bourneov identitet (Croatia) [hr]
Die Bourne Identität (Austria) [de]
El caso Bourne (Spain) [es]
Geçmisi olmayan adam (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Horis taftotita (Greece) [el]
Hvem var Jason Bourne (Norway) [no]
Manden uden navn (Denmark) [da]
Medusan verkko (Finland) [fi]
Tozsamosc Bourne'a (Poland) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and some language.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Czech Republic

Language:

English | French | German | Dutch | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 (TV rating) | Malaysia:18SG | Hungary:14 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Italy:T | India:UA | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Austria:14 | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37892) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Avenue Kleber, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In Bourne Identity, the novel this movie was based on, Jason Bourne does not recover from his injuries on the ship. Instead, he spends months at the coast at an alcoholic doctor, who performs multiple surgeries on him. Also, in the novel, Jason's deposit box does not contain cash and a gun, and he opens it in the presence of a high-level bank employee. After this, Jason gets attacked already in the bank by professional assassins. Also in the novel Marie plays a much more important role.

Goofs:

Continuity: After knocking out Conklin, Bourne kills one guard and knocks out the other at the top of the stairs. He then reloads his gun, pushes the guard and jumps after. On the way down he shoots once, killing the third guard. At the bottom he reloads his gun again. Most guns hold more than one shot.

Quotes:

Jason Bourne: I don't wanna know who I am any more.
Marie: Shh.
Jason Bourne: I don't care. I don't wanna know.
Marie: Come on, we'll...
Jason Bourne: Everything I found out, I wanna forget.
Marie: It's okay.
Jason Bourne: I don't care who I am or what I did.
Marie: It's okay.
Jason Bourne: We have this money. We can hide. Could we do that? Is there any chance you can do that?
Marie: [pause] I don't know. Come on.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Power Down (#7.8)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Epoca

What a Spy Movie Should Be Like These Days

James Bond and Ethan Hunt take notice. "The Bourne Identity" is my new standard for contemporary spy thrillers. Gone (or almost gone) are the special effects that James and Ethan rely on all too heavily. Hell, in those franchises the special effects have virtually replaced story and characters. "The Bourne Identity" has a very straightforward story to tell, a mystery that slowly unravels. Spycraft is not all about technical gizmos, but requires human brains and human brawn (and a fair amount of gunplay and car chases).

Set in various locales in Switzerland and France during the winter much of the visuals for "The Bourne Identity" are gray and damp. That's a plus, Monte Carlo and like locales can get boring. Mat Damon is great as Jason Bourne, fished from the Mediterranean mostly dead by gunshot wounds. A total amnesiac, he slowly realizes that he possesses the deadly skills of a well-trained assassin, and that someone is out to kill him. Franka Potente is equally good as the young woman swept up in his life and forced to run with him. Run or be killed.

I can't say enough good things about this movie. Doug Limon, thanks, you did a great job.