A Good Year (2006)

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers (WGA):

Marc Klein (screenplay)
Peter Mayle (novel)

Release Date:

10 November 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Everything matures... eventually.

Plot:

A British investment broker inherits his uncle's chateau and vineyard in Provence, where he spent much of his childhood. He discovers a new laid-back lifestyle as he tries to renovate the estate to be sold.

Plot Keywords:

Vineyard | Provence | Uncle | Chess | Chateau

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Freddie Highmore	...	Young Max
Albert Finney	...	Uncle Henry
Russell Crowe	...	Max Skinner
Rafe Spall	...	Kenny
Archie Panjabi	...	Gemma
Richard Coyle	...	Amis
Ben Righton	...	Trader #1
Patrick Kennedy	...	Trader #2
Ali Rhodes	...	20-Something Beauty
Daniel Mays	...	Bert the Doorman
Nila Aalia	...	Newscaster #1
Stephen Hudson	...	Newscaster #2
Giannina Facio	...	Maitre D'
Tom Hollander	...	Charlie Willis
Lionel Briand	...	Rental Car Employee
Maria Papas	...	Gemma's Friend
Didier Bourdon	...	Francis Duflot
Isabelle Candelier	...	Ludivine Duflot
Kenneth Cranham	...	Sir Nigel
Marion Cotillard	...	Fanny Chenal
Igor Panich	...	Russian Couple #1
Oleg Sosnovikov	...	Russian Couple #2
Magali Woch	...	Secretary
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi	...	Nathalie Auzet
Jacques Herlin	...	Papa Duflot
Abbie Cornish	...	Christie Roberts
Catriona MacColl	...	English Couple #1
Patrick Payet	...	English Couple #2
Félicité Du Jeu	...	Hostess
Mitchell Mullen	...	American Customer #1
Judy Dickerson	...	American Customer #2 (as Judi Dickerson)
Gilles Gaston-Dreyfus	...	Oenologue
Philippe Méry	...	Chateau Buyer
Dominique Laurent	...	Chateau Buyer
Stewart Wright	...	Broker #1
Tom Stuart	...	Broker #2
Catherine Vinatier	...	Fanny's Mother
Marine Casto	...	Young Fanny
Gregg Chillin	...	Hip Hopper #1
Toney Tutini	...	Hip Hopper #2
Philippe Bergeron	...	(voice)
Edita Brychta	...	(voice)
Hélène Cardona	...	(voice)
Jean-Louis Darville	...	(voice)
Neil Dickson	...	(voice)
Jean Gilpin	...	(voice)
Nicholas Guest	...	(voice)
Patrick Hillan	...	(voice)
Frank Isles	...	(voice)
Peter Lavin	...	(voice)
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	...	(voice)
Paula J. Newman	...	(voice) (as Paula Jane Newman)
Moira Quirk	...	(voice)
Valeria Milenka Repnau	...	(voice)
Darren Richardson	...	(voice)
Jean-Michel Richaud	...	(voice)
Samantha Robson	...	(voice) (as Samantha Jane Robson)
Ian Ruskin	...	(voice)
Linda Sans	...	(voice)
Bruno Stephane	...	(voice)
Karen Strassman	...	(voice)
Jean-Paul Vignon	...	(voice)
Craig Robert Young	...	Trevor

Directed by
Ridley Scott

Writing credits (WGA)
Marc Klein		(screenplay)
Peter Mayle		(novel)

Produced by
Mark Allan	....	line producer: France
Lisa Ellzey	....	executive producer
Branko Lustig	....	executive producer
Julie Payne	....	executive producer
Guy Pechard	....	executive producer
Ridley Scott	....	producer
Erin Upson	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Marc Streitenfeld

Cinematography by
Philippe Le Sourd		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Dody Dorn
Robb Sullivan		(co-editor)

Casting by
Antoinette Boulat
Jina Jay

Production Design by
Sonja Klaus

Art Direction by
Robert Cowper
Frederic Evard

Set Decoration by
Bárbara Pérez-Solero

Costume Design by
Catherine Leterrier

Makeup Department
Pascale Bouquière	....	makeup artist: London
Anita Burger	....	hair stylist: London
Hayat Ouled Dahhou	....	key hair stylist
Karen Dawson	....	hair stylist
Karen Dawson	....	makeup artist
Giancarlo De Leonardis	....	wigs
Raffaella Iorio	....	makeup artist
Melissa Lackersteen	....	makeup artist: London
Daniele Perosillo	....	hair stylist
Alessio Pompei	....	hair stylist
Alessandra Sampaolo	....	makeup artist
Fabrizio Sforza	....	key makeup artist
Carla Vicenzino	....	makeup artist: London

Production Management
Mark Allan	....	unit production manager
Rémi Bergman	....	production manager
Teresa Kelly	....	post-production supervisor
Vincent Lefeuvre	....	assistant unit manager
Branko Lustig	....	unit production manager
Jean-Patrick Nourricier	....	unit manager trainee
Emily Stillman	....	production manager: UK

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tarik Ait Ben Ali	....	third assistant director
Dan Channing-Williams	....	crowd assistant director
Caroline Chapman	....	crowd assistant director: UK
Emilie Cherpitel	....	second assistant director
David Decio	....	additional third assistant director: London
Eliot Mathews	....	second second assistant director
Frédéric Millet	....	assistant director
Cian O'Clery	....	third assistant director
Bonnie Pirès	....	assistant director
Darin Rivetti	....	first assistant director
Anthony Wilcox	....	second assistant director: UK

Art Department
Florian Augis	....	dressing props
Olivier Breban	....	drapery
Tristan Carlisle-Kitz	....	stand-by props
Anthony Caron-Delion	....	stand-by art director
Stéphane Cressend	....	property master
Emmanuel Delis	....	props chargehand
Frédéric DeVilliers	....	drapery
Sarah Duncan	....	assistant buyer
Luke Edwards	....	set decorating assistant
Matthew Foster	....	property master
Jean-Luc Fouvet	....	carpenter
Samuel Garcin	....	construction runner
Jean-Claude Giusti	....	construction chargehand
Daniel Hoffmann	....	construction coordinator
Alexis Imbert	....	props
Coralie Lew	....	graphic designer
James Newell	....	painter foreman
Julie Pitt	....	assistant set decorator
Derek Reddington	....	stand-by carpenter
Lydie Rugiero	....	art department assistant
Amy Simons	....	art department coordinator
Hugo Slight	....	construction manager
Nick Turnbull	....	property master
Lloyd Vincent	....	supervising prop dresser
Dicken Warner	....	head greensman
Krissi Williamson	....	production buyer
Ghislain Gabriel	....	art buyer (uncredited)
Hélène Imbert	....	painter (uncredited)
Frédéric Jourdan	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Christopher Assells	....	sound effects editor
Karen M. Baker	....	supervising sound editor (as Karen Baker Landers)
Kerry Ann Carmean	....	sound effects editor (as Kerry Carmean-Williams)
Derek Casari	....	adr engineer
Samuel Cohen	....	boom operator
Samuel Cohen	....	sound
Dino Dimuro	....	sound effects editor (as Dino R. DiMuro)
Ivan Dumas	....	additional assistant sound
Dawn Fintor	....	foley artist
Patrick J. Foley	....	dialog editor
Tim Gomillion	....	sound recordist
Chris Goodes	....	adr recordist
Per Hallberg	....	supervising sound editor
Dan Hegeman	....	sound effects editor (as Daniel Hegeman)
Doug Hemphill	....	sound mixer (as D.M. Hemphill)
Craig S. Jaeger	....	supervising foley editor
Chris Jargo	....	supervising adr editor
Kimaree Long	....	adr editor
Paul Massey	....	sound re-recording mixer
Philip D. Morrill	....	assistant sound editor
Jean-Paul Mugel	....	production sound mixer
Chris Murphy	....	assistant sound
Tony Negrete	....	assistant sound editor (as Tony R. Negrete)
Troy Porter	....	adr mixer
Charleen Richards	....	adr mixer (as Charleen Richards-Stevees)
Dennis Rogers	....	sound recordist
Frederick H. Stahly	....	foley editor
Peter Staubli	....	sound effects editor
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
William Stein	....	re-recording engineer
Alicia Stevenson	....	foley artist
John C. Stuver	....	dialogue editor
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist
John Soukup	....	sound transfer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Steve Benelisha	....	special effects technician
David Brighton	....	special effects lead senior technician
Manex Efrem	....	special effects senior technician
Dave Poole	....	senior special effects technician
Steven Warner	....	special effects supervisor
Alistair Williams	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Dick Edwards	....	visual effects supervisor: Invisible Effects
Wesley Sewell	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Caroline Bouffard	....	stunts
Alexis Boutiere	....	stunts
David Forax	....	stunts
Alain Gaudiard	....	stunts
Philippe Guégan	....	stunt coordinator
Jules Madi	....	stunts
Ksénia Zarouba	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Victor Abadia	....	electrician
Franck Barrault	....	gaffer
François Bert	....	key grip
Bruno Bimbard	....	generator operator
Michel Bouquerel	....	electrician
Josh Breckeen	....	best boy: London
Julian Bucknall	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera, London
Toby Eedy	....	second assistant camera: London
Tristan Favre	....	additional first assistant camera
Gil Fontbonne	....	key grip
James Foster	....	central camera loader: London
Tristan Haley	....	daily clapper loader: UK
Robert Hamilton	....	video technician
Paul Hatchman	....	grip: London
Frédéric Hauss	....	camera loader
Philippe Janois	....	best boy grip
Philippe Leroy	....	electrician
Philip Lozano	....	additional assistant camera
Roger McDonald	....	additional camera operator
Gregory Pagnier	....	video assist
Rod Patterson	....	assistant grip
Lionel Pedro	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Yvan Quehec	....	best boy electric
Marco Sacerdoti	....	focus puller: first camera
Marco Sacerdoti	....	third camera operator
Tom Scott	....	rigger
Vince Shaw	....	stand-by rigger
Basil Smith	....	additional first assistant camera
Basil Smith	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Leah Striker	....	first assistant camera
Rico Torres	....	still photographer
Richard Weber	....	lighting technician
Jörg Widmer	....	Steadicam operator
Jörg Widmer	....	camera operator
Harry Wiggins	....	gaffer: UK

Animation Department
Johnny Wong	....	animator

Casting Department
Frederic Bacchi	....	assistant extras casting
Dixie Chassay	....	casting associate
Lucky Englander	....	casting: Austria/Germany
Kasia Krynska	....	casting assistant: france
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	....	adr voice casting
Michael Laguens	....	additional casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Castellano	....	costumer: Russell Crowe
Céline Collobert	....	dresser
Lee Croucher	....	costume supervisor
Corinne Fulconis	....	costumes
Andrew Hunt	....	costume assistant
Camille Janbon	....	assistant costume designer
Camille Joste	....	head textile artist
Karen Muller Serreau	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Karen Muller-Serreau)

Editorial Department
Philippe Akoka	....	editorial coordinator: France
Emily Aulagnon	....	assistant editor
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Quinby Chunn	....	editorial assistant
Jo Dixon	....	film assistant: london (as Joanne Dixon)
Emmanuel Fleury	....	editorial assistant
Skip Kimball	....	digital intermediate colorist
Céline Kélépikis	....	assistant editor
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Debra L. Tennant	....	first assistant editor
Yon Van Kline	....	assistant editor
Zara Roberts	....	digital intermediate producer (uncredited)

Music Department
Christopher Benstead	....	music editor (as Chris Benstead)
Thomas Bowes	....	orchestra leader
Peter Cobbin	....	score mixer
Peter Cobbin	....	score recordist
Bruce Fowler	....	orchestrator
Vic Fraser	....	music preparation
Isobel Griffiths	....	orchestra contractor
Nick Ingman	....	conductor
Mike Knobloch	....	music executive
Goh Nakamura	....	musician: guitar, vocals
Joel J. Richard	....	music programmer
Del Spiva	....	music editor
Jill Streater	....	music preparation
Marc Streitenfeld	....	music supervisor
Charlotte Trinder	....	assistant orchestra contractor
Jake Walker	....	musician
David Walter	....	technical assistant to composer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Stéphan Arnoux	....	transportation
Gerry Gore	....	transportation captain (as Gerard Gore)
Tony Jayes	....	driver: russell crowe
Nicolas Piechaczek	....	transportation co-captain
Olivier Suffert	....	production driver: Ridley Scott

Other crew
Mustafha Addouda	....	bodyguard: Russell Crowe
Segolene Amice	....	production secretary
Mallorie Ballestra-Duquesnoy	....	location assistant
Linzi Baltrunas	....	assistant location manager: UK
Fred Baron	....	production executive
Jeremy Bau	....	assistant location manager
Andrea Bichi	....	assistant: Russell Crowe
Penelope Bischoff	....	production assistant
Rino Bonavita	....	assistant accountant
Andy Brunskill	....	stand-in: Mr. Spall
Donna Casey	....	assistant accountant: UK
Nikki Clapp	....	script supervisor
Laurence Coutaud-Garnier	....	production coordinator
Maureen 'Mo' Crutchfield	....	production accountant
Joelle Cugny	....	craft service
Matt Dalton	....	accountant: UK
Bruno De Oliva	....	assistant: Russell Crowe
David Decio	....	stand-in: Tom Hollander
Judy Dickerson	....	dialogue coach: Russell Crowe (as Judi Dickerson)
Gaetan Dinon	....	assistant location manager
Scott Eaton	....	rushes runner
Patrick Fox	....	production runner
Fiona Garland	....	production coordinator: London
Marco Giacalone	....	location supervisor
John Gibbs	....	medic
Gary Gillingham	....	production controller
Alex Gladstone	....	location manager
Leo Haidar	....	legal counsel
Lucy Hassan	....	stand-in: Archie Panjabi
Mark Hopkins	....	set runner
Sophie Hortal-Day	....	production assistant
Pascal Jouval	....	production assistant
Tilu Khalayi	....	assistant post-production accountant
Bernard Lamy	....	production accountant
Eric Leblond	....	production assistant
Natascha Maksimovic	....	assistant: Mr. Scott
Ernie Malik	....	unit publicist
Gabriel Mamruth	....	production accountant
Berenice Moliere	....	craft service
Astrid Monarque	....	assistant accountant
Helen Olive	....	assistant: Branko Lustig
David Oliver	....	stand-in: Russell Crowe
Sebastien Ordonez	....	production assistant
Synderella Peng	....	title designer
Amelia Price	....	production secretary: UK
Matthew Ripley	....	production runner
Ryan Robertson	....	main title producer
Keith Rodger	....	assistant: Russell Crowe
David Roker	....	assistant to producer
Asha Sharma	....	daily location assistant: London
Jordan Sheehan	....	assistant: Ridley Scott
Neville Shulman	....	special advisor: Ridley Scott
Joel Silverman	....	dog handler
Tom Stourton	....	assistant location manager
Géraldine Sérafini	....	assistant to producer
Susan Weeks	....	lead tutor
Johnny Wong	....	title designer: main titles
Garson Yu	....	title designer
Thierry Zemmour	....	location manager
Darren Helman	....	location assistant (uncredited)
Xavier Legris	....	location scout supervisor (uncredited)
Craig john Robinson	....	location assistant (uncredited)
Howard R. Schuster	....	financing (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Fox 2000 Pictures (presents)
• Scott Free Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Fox 2000 Pictures (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2006) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox C.I.S. (2006) (Russia) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (DVD)
• Oxygen Media (2007) (USA) (TV)
• RTL Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL4)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Invisible Effects (visual effects)

Other Companies

• 20th Century Fox Studios  post-production facilities (as Twentieth Century Fox Studios)
• Abbey Road Studios  music recorded and mixed at (as Abbey Road Studios, London)
• Audiolink Radio Communications  walkie talkies/mobiles
• Bloomberg L.P.  thanks
• Casting Collective  extras casting
• Compuhire  computer and video playback
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color and prints
• ESPN Enterprises  footage courtesy of
• Gearbox Sound and Vision  additional ProTools systems supplied by
• Isobel Griffiths Limited  orchestra contractor
• Legacy Records  soundtrack (as Legacy Recordings)
• Media Safety  health & safety
• Modern VideoFilm  digital intermediate
• Movie Lot, The  security
• Radical Media  production services: France
• Scarlet Letters  end title crawl
• Sony Music Soundtrax  soundtrack
• Trans World International  footage courtesy of
• yU+Co.  main and end title sequence

Also Known As:

"Un buen año" - Argentina, Mexico (imdb display title), Spain
"Хороший год" - Russia
"Bor, mámor, Provance" - Hungary
"Dobra godina" - Croatia (imdb display title)
"Dobry rok" - Poland
"Ein gutes Jahr" - Germany
"Et godt år" - Norway (imdb display title)
"Ett bra år" - Sweden
"Iyi bir yil" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Mainio vuosi" - Finland
"Mia kali hronia" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Um Ano Especial" - Portugal
"Um Bom Ano" - Brazil (imdb display title)
"Un bon cru" - Canada (French title)
"Un'ottima annata" - Italy
"Une grande année" - France

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and some sexual content

Runtime:

118 min | Canada:118 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | French | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | Germany:o.Al. | Malaysia:U | Australia:M | Finland:K-7 | Argentina:Atp | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Brazil:10 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:M/12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42357) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:AL | South Africa:10L

Filming Locations:

Cucuron, Vaucluse, France

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

Aaron Eckhart originally had a role in this film, but dropped out.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Christie Roberts finds the scorpions in her window in the morning, Madame Duflot races to her aid with a whisk broom. When she gets there, she starts hitting the scorpions with a fly swatter.

Quotes:

Uncle Henry Skinner:Max, have I told you why I enjoy making wine so much?
Young Max:You don't make the wine, Uncle Henry - that guy Duflot does.
Uncle Henry Skinner:[Reproachfully] In France it's always the landowner who makes the wine, even though he does nothing more than supervise with binoculars from the comfort of his study. No, I enjoy making wine, because this sublime nectar is quite simply incapable of lying. Picked too early, picked too late, it matters not - the wine will always whisper into your mouth with complete, unabashed honesty every time you take a sip.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Big Bang: Episode #1.3" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Never Ending Song of Love

Very enjoyable - ignore the reviews!

This is definitely the first time I have gone to see an Russell Crowe and/or Ridley Scott film at the cinema, fully bracing myself to be disappointed and...

I am very pleased to be able to say that I enjoyed it thoroughly. It has a very warming glow to it - beautifully played; gorgeously shot. Anyone who isn't just a little bit seduced by Provence after seeing it needs their head (or more likely their heart) examining. The lessons may well have been taught in a hundred films before, but that doesn't make them any less relevant or resonant for the commercial era in which many of us now live...

So, why the terrible reviews? I really don't know. The comedy was not overplayed in the way implied by the critics at all. To be blunt, it was not really necessary, as the warmth and effectiveness of the film and story lies in the romantic drama. The comedy is fine, but doesn't really add anything to the film. However, it does give it a very upbeat, cheerful and likable feel and maybe that is reason enough.

Max's character and Russell Crowe's performance? It's in the quieter moments where Crowe really excels and shows just why someone would want to cast him, as opposed to say Hugh Grant, in a film like this. His reactions to memories and the things that other characters do and say are just so much deeper and more real than Grant is capable of: which is why Grant always comes off as the same character in these films (a variation on the Grant formula) and Max comes off as real.

It almost seems as though the critics have a film with this plot pegged into a box: because they can only see (and can only expect to see) a Hugh Grant characterisation, they cannot accept anything other than a Hugh Grant characterisation. Whereas the actual reason that Crowe doesn't come off as Hugh Grant is because he isn't channelling that kind of characterisation at all. This is a very different kind of film.

Also, the critics seem to be completely off the mark in assessing the character, when they say that he starts off a bastard and ends a bastard too. Actually, this is far more about unearthing other qualities - not completely rejecting those 'bastard' qualities that he begins the film with, but refining and diluting them, as he becomes more and more adjusted to his past. He doesn't change, he opens his heart and mind to qualities that he has been ignoring within himself. You can see that other Max from the moment he opens the letter telling him Henry is dead - but he tries to resist the feelings that are clearly there, in large part because he doesn't want to face the fact that he has let his Uncle down - and all of the guilt that is allied with that.

The film is not the best film I have ever seen. The questions it asks are fairly fundamental, but they aren't startling or especially thought provoking.

But the film is highly enjoyable, from start to finish; and it's warm, something that is pretty rare in films these days.

So, to end, clearly I am not in tune with the critics - but then, increasingly that seems to be the case nowadays. I just think that I see completely different films to them...