American Sniper

American Sniper (2014)

Timing: 2:13 (133 min)

7.412/10
13563

7.022/10
166753

7.3/10
567000

All about film

Video 8

Photo 76

Actors and characters

Release date

2014-12-25

Country

United States

Production

Warner Bros. Pictures, RatPac Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures, 22 & Indiana Pictures, Malpaso Productions, Mad Chance

Genre

War, Action

Budget

$58 800 000

Revenue

$542 300 000

Website

http://www.americansnipermovie.com

Director

Clint Eastwood

Actors

Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Cole Konis, Ben Reed, Elise Robertson, Keir O'Donnell, Luke Sunshine, Kevin Lacz, Troy Vincent
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Jason Hall

Producer

Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper, Peter Morgan, Bruce Berman, Tim Moore, Jason Dean Hall, Sheroum Kim, Steven Mnuchin

Operator

Tom Stern

Composer

Artist

Rachid Quiat

Audition

Geoffrey Miclat

Editing

Joel Cox, Gary D. Roach, Holly Hagy
All team (198)

• The film is based on the memoirs of Chris Kyle, who served as a sniper in Charlie Platoon, 3rd SEAL Team in Iraq. Chris became the most successful sniper – he had the highest number of confirmed kills of enemy soldiers (160 confirmed out of 255 claimed). For this, the Iraqis nicknamed him "The Devil of Ramadi".
• To gain over 18 kilograms of muscle mass, Bradley Cooper ate 8,000 calories a day. Together with his personal trainer, he worked out for four hours every day for several months. In addition, Cooper had vocal lessons twice a day and spent a lot of time watching video materials of Chris Kyle. When it came to rifle shooting, the actor trained with a "Navy SEAL" sniper, Kevin Latch, who served with Kyle.
• Initially, Bradley Cooper was only going to act as a producer of this film, and Chris Pratt was supposed to play the main role, but he eventually changed his mind.
• At the peak of his form, Bradley Cooper could deadlift 193 kilograms, which is twice his body weight. And with that weight, he could do 5 sets of 10 repetitions each. Cooper said that during the filming of the training scene where he lifts the barbell, he was actually lifting 193 kilograms, despite the crew offering him to use fake barbell plates with less weight.
• The real Chris Kyle once said that if a film was ever made about him, it should be directed by Clint Eastwood and no one else.
• Preparing for his role, Bradley Cooper trained to the same music that Chris Kyle himself trained to. He also hung a picture of Chris Kyle on the wall of the gym to constantly see the goal he was working towards.
• According to Jason Hall, two children were supposed to play Chris and Taya Kyle's child, but they ended up having to use a doll when one of the children got sick and the other wasn't brought to the set.
• In the film, Bradley Cooper wears Chris Kyle's actual boots and was even allowed to keep them after filming was completed.
• David O. Russell was considered as the film's director, but a deal with Warner Brothers didn't materialize. Steven Spielberg then expressed interest in the project, but ultimately Clint Eastwood took the director's chair.
• Chris Kyle was 25 years old when he joined the Navy and went to 'Navy SEAL' training, not 30 as depicted in the film.
• Before starting work on the film "Sniper" (2014), Bradley Cooper filmed with John Krasinski in "Aloha" (2015), where Krasinski played the role of a muscular guy. Cooper was so impressed with Krasinski's physical shape that he ultimately decided to train with his trainer, Jason Walsh, to prepare for the role of Chris Kyle.
• Jamie Alexander, Kate Mara, and Evangeline Lilly were considered for the role of Taya Kyle, but Sienna Miller ultimately got the part.
• The maximum effective range of the real Chris Kyle was 1920 meters. Bradley Cooper's maximum range was 600 meters.
• While preparing for her role, Sienna Miller first contacted Taya Kyle via email, after which they communicated via Skype for several months. Miller also met with Taya Kyle in person in Los Angeles to adopt her mannerisms and speech.
• When it was first announced in 2012 that Jason Hall would be writing the screenplay for a film based on Chris Kyle's memoirs, Kevin Lach's wife, Lindsey, contacted him via Facebook and asked him not to ruin the story. To her surprise, Hall responded to her almost immediately, after which he asked her to help him with the technical aspects of the script. Kevin Lach agreed to advise him. Moreover, a month before his death, Chris Kyle himself offered his assistance to the filmmakers.
• Chris Kyle's primary weapon is a McMillan TAC-338 with .338 Lapua Magnum rounds.
• In real life, Chris Kyle and his fellow servicemen were big fans of G.I. Joe. They even named their vehicles after two of its characters – “Duke” and “Cobra Commander.” Sienna Miller, who played Chris Kyle's wife, previously played the Baroness in the film about the team – “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” (2009).
• When Kyle teases his friend about reading comics, the comic in question is “The Punisher.” It is also the source of the skull emblem that the Navy SEALs later applied to their body armor and vehicles.
• In 2013, the film's script appeared on the Black List of unproduced screenplays.
• In real life, Chris Kyle's shot from a distance of 1920 meters was fired at an armed militant with a grenade launcher.
• Bradley Cooper spoke with Chris Kyle only once over the phone, just a couple of weeks before Kyle's tragic death. According to Cooper, they spoke for only two minutes.
• In the scene where a helicopter fires a rocket at insurgents, the rocket accidentally misses the building where the "Navy SEALs" were located. According to Chris Kyle's autobiography, the helicopter pilot did not know that "Navy SEALs" were in that building. Moreover, he thought that insurgents had positioned themselves on the roof of the building. Kyle noticed that the helicopter was about to open fire and ordered his unit to display identification signs. The pilot noticed them at the last second and did not fire. If Kyle hadn't noticed the helicopter was about to open fire, his entire unit would most likely have been killed.
• When Jason Hall attended Chris Kyle's funeral, he received numerous threats from soldiers who were friends of Chris. One of them even threatened to kill him if the film's script turned out to be bad. Later, after watching the film, he approved of it.
• In the bar scene where Kyle first meets his future wife, a bottle of Fireball Cinnamon whiskey is clearly visible behind the bar. The events in this scene take place in 2000/2001, but Fireball whiskey under that brand was not sold until 2006.
• In the scene where explosions from artillery shells are visible in the distance, the sound of the explosions is heard at the same moment as the flash appears. In reality, at such a distance, the sound of an explosion would be heard with a delay of several seconds.
• After feeding the baby, Taya buttons up her cardigan. Then the camera switches to Chris holding the baby. And when the camera returns to Taya, her cardigan is unbuttoned again.
• In scenes where Mustafa is cleaning his weapon, a Dragunov rifle is shown, but in combat Mustafa uses a Romanian PSL-54C rifle.
• At the beginning of the film, when Chris is at home with his wife, you can notice that the tattoo located on the upper part of his left arm appears on his right arm after a cut.
• When Chris Kyle meets the soldier he saved, the camera shows Chris holding his son by the shoulders. At this moment, a watch can be noticed on his wrist. However, the watch then disappears and reappears with each cut.
• After Kyle kills the militant with the RPG in Sadr City, the position of the grenade launcher changes with the cut.
• During Kyle's first mission, when he's observing a mother and a young boy with a grenade, the camera shows an M1A2 tank from a top and front view, but from the side view it's a different tank without a ballistic skirt.
• In the film, when Kyle goes to Iraq for the second time (2004), he is referred to as a First Sergeant. He only received this rank five years later.
• When the camera shows a view through the rifle scope as the shooter tracks a target, the rifle should also move, but it remains stationary throughout.
• When Kyle is observing a woman and a child through the scope, the camera shows his own eye through the other end of the scope. In this moment, his eye appears magnified, when in reality it should appear smaller than it actually is.
• During the Iraq War, but after 2003, the US Armed Forces used the Bradley Fighting Vehicle instead of the M113 armored personnel carriers shown during the battle in Sadr City.
• When snipers are sent on a mission to provide cover for marines during patrol, the first 'marine' to exit the vehicle wears the insignia of the 1st US Cavalry Division on his left shoulder, not that of the Marine Corps.
• During a nighttime mission, Kyle and the marines enter a house where they are invited to stay for dinner. However, the kitchen light was on, and there was a large window uncovered by curtains, making them easy targets for snipers. The curtains should have been closed before they entered the kitchen.
• In the rooftop scene, as the soldiers pass by laundry hanging out to dry, creases can be seen on the laundry, as if it had been folded dry and then unfolded.
• In the scene where the Iraqi woman throws an RPG grenade, this type of grenade should release a stabilizer (paper cone) in flight, which is ejected by one of the grenade’s safety mechanisms. Therefore, if the cone is not released, the grenade will not detonate.
• In the scene where the soldiers are approached by a blue car, it is clearly visible that the driver has a hand through prayer beads, but they are no longer present after he is killed.
• Marc Lee was killed in Ramadi in 2006, not in Sadr City as depicted in the film.
• The film is based on the memoirs of Chris Kyle, who served as a sniper in Charlie Platoon, 3rd SEAL Team in Iraq. Chris became the most successful sniper – he had the highest number of confirmed enemy kills (160 confirmed out of 255 claimed). For this, the Iraqis gave him the nickname “The Devil of Ramadi”.
• To gain over 18 kilograms of muscle mass, Bradley Cooper ate 8,000 calories a day. Together with his personal trainer, he worked out for four hours every day for several months. In addition, Cooper had vocal lessons twice a day and spent a lot of time watching video materials about Chris Kyle. When it came to rifle shooting, the actor trained with a Navy SEAL sniper, Kevin Latch, who served with Kyle.
• Chris Kyle was 25 years old when he joined the Navy and went to BUD/S training, not 30 as depicted in the film.
• Before starting work on the film “American Sniper” (2014), Bradley Cooper filmed with John Krasinski in “Aloha” (2015), where Krasinski played the role of a buff guy. Cooper was so impressed with Krasinski’s physical form that he ultimately decided to train with his trainer, Jason Walsh, to prepare for the role of Chris Kyle.
• The maximum effective range of the real Chris Kyle was 1920 meters. Bradley Cooper’s maximum range was 600 meters.
• Chris Kyle's primary weapon is the McMillan TAC-338 with .338 Lapua Magnum cartridges.
• In real life, Chris Kyle and his comrades were big fans of the G.I. Joe team. They even named their cars after two of its characters – “Duke” and “Cobra Commander.” Sienna Miller, who played Chris Kyle's wife, previously played the Baroness in the film about this team – “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” (2009).
• In the scene where the helicopter fires a missile at insurgents, purely by chance, the missile does not hit the building where the “Navy SEALs” were located. According to Chris Kyle's autobiography, the helicopter pilot did not know that there were “Navy SEALs” in the building. Moreover, he thought that insurgents were positioned on the roof of the building. Kyle noticed that the helicopter was about to open fire and ordered his unit to deploy identification signs. The pilot noticed them at the last second and did not fire. If Kyle hadn't noticed the helicopter was about to open fire, his entire unit would most likely have perished.