The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Timing: 2:11 (131 min)

7.252/10
6104

7.265/10
220196

7.5/10
495000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 87

Actors and characters

Release date

2008-10-10

Country

United States, United Kingdom

Production

Summit Entertainment, Voltage Pictures, Kingsgate Films, Grosvenor Park Media, Film Capital Europe Funds (FCEF ), First Light, Grosvenor Park Productions

Genre

Drama, Thriller, War

Budget

$15 000 000

Revenue

$49 259 766

Website

Director

Kathryn Bigelow

Actors

Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, David Morse, Guy Pearce, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes, Christian Camargo, Christopher Sayegh, Suhail Dabbach
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Mark Boal

Producer

Kathryn Bigelow, Greg Shapiro, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Jenn Lee, Tony Mark

Operator

Barry Ackroyd

Composer

Marco Beltrami

Artist

Audition

Mark Bennett, Laura Toplass, Lara Atalla

Editing

Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
All team (97)

• Filming took place in Amman.
• Part of the film was shot during the Muslim month of Ramadan. Non-Muslim members of the film crew lived and ate in tents and special enclosed canopies with windows covered with carpets (out of respect for traditions and in accordance with Jordanian law). Smoking, eating, and drinking in public places during Ramadan are prohibited in Jordan, as well as in many Middle Eastern countries, and those who violate the law can be imprisoned.
• The first week of filming (in the Jordanian summer) was terribly hot. It was so hot that the cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, suffered heatstroke.
• Amateur 16mm cameras were used in the filming to give the film an additional documentary effect. Nearly 200 hours of footage was shot with these cameras.
• The character of Brian Geraghty is Specialist Eldridge. A Specialist (SPC) is a senior enlisted rank in the US Army, equivalent to a corporal, but unlike corporals, Specialists are not considered part of the non-commissioned officer corps.
• As part of preparation for the project, screenwriter Mark Boal spent two weeks in Iraq with a sapper platoon in 2004, including participating in actual operations.
• "Hurt locker" is slang among American sappers for a mythical "box of pain" that sappers who have been blown up by a mine end up in, similar to the "Dead Man's Chest" among sailors. It can also simply refer to a dangerous or difficult situation. In the middle of the film, Sergeant James also gathers personal items that caused him pain—from IED components to a wedding ring—into a plastic "box of pain."
• Part of the film was shot during Ramadan. Non-Muslim members of the film crew lived and ate in tents and special enclosed canopies with windows draped with carpets.
• The first week of filming (in Jordan in the summer) was very hot. It was so hot that the cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, suffered heatstroke.
• "Hurt locker" in American EOD slang refers to the mythical "box of pain" that sappers who have been blown up by a mine end up in, analogous to the "Dead Man's Chest" for sailors. It can also simply be called a dangerous or difficult situation. Also in the middle of the film, Sergeant James collects personal items that caused him pain – from IED components to a wedding ring – into a plastic "box of pain."