National Treasure (film)

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National Treasure
File:Movie national treasure.JPG
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jon Turteltaub
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
Jon Turteltaub
Screenplay by Ted Elliott
Terry Rossio
Cormac Wibberley
Marianne Wibberley
Story by Jim Kouf
Oren Aviv
Charles Segars
Starring Nicolas Cage
Harvey Keitel
Jon Voight
Diane Kruger
Sean Bean
Justin Bartha
Christopher Plummer
Music by Trevor Rabin
Cinematography Caleb Deschanel
Edited by William Goldenberg
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Release dates
 November 19, 2004 (2004-11-19)
Running time
 131 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $100 million[1]
Box office $347.5 million

National Treasure is a 2004 American discovery/[2]adventure/heist film produced and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was written by Jim Kouf, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, and The Wibberleys, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Jon Turteltaub. It is the first film in the National Treasure franchise and stars Nicolas Cage, Harvey Keitel, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Justin Bartha, and Christopher Plummer.

Cage plays Benjamin Franklin Gates, a historian and amateur cryptologist searching for a lost treasure of precious metals, jewelry, artwork and other artifacts that was accumulated into a single massive stockpile by looters and warriors over many millennia starting in Ancient Egypt, later rediscovered by warriors who form themselves into the Knights Templar to protect the treasure, eventually hidden by American Freemasons during the American Revolutionary War. A coded map on the back of the Declaration of Independence points to the location of the "national treasure", but Gates is not alone in his quest. Whoever can steal the Declaration and decode it first will find the greatest treasure in history.

A sequel, entitled National Treasure: Book of Secrets, was released in December 2007.

Plot

Benjamin Franklin Gates is an American historian, amateur cryptologist, and the youngest descendant of a long line of treasure hunters whose first and middle names are based on American historical figures. As a child, Ben is discouraged from following the family line by his father, Patrick Henry Gates. Young Ben is driven on by a story told by his grandfather, John Adams Gates. According to John, a clue - the phrase "The secret lies with Charlotte" - was entrusted to the family by Charles Carroll of Carrollton in 1832, and will lead to the fabled "national treasure", a wealth of artifacts dating from Ancient Egypt and secretly hidden by the Founding Fathers and the Freemasons during the American Revolutionary War.

Thirty years later, Ben leads an expedition along with Ian Howe, computer expert Riley Poole, and Ian's accomplice Shaw to find the Charlotte, a ship trapped in Arctic ice, which is believed to be referenced in the clue. The group discovers a meerschaum pipe hidden in a barrel of gunpowder in the cargo hold. Ben discovers a clue is engraved on the stem of the pipe, which he concludes indicates the next clue to be on the back of the Declaration of Independence. When Ian suggests they steal the Declaration, a fight ensues, during which spilled gunpowder is ignited. Ian and Shaw escape the ship, trapping Ben and Riley, who escape through a smuggler's hold.

In Washington, D.C., Ben and Riley report Ian's plan to the FBI, and to Dr. Abigail Chase at the National Archives, where the Declaration is stored. When their claims are dismissed on the twin grounds that Ian can never steal it and it does not contain a secret clue, Ben decides to steal the document himself during a gala at the Archives. Ben sends Abigail one of George Washington's campaign buttons, having dipped it in invisible ink, causing her to leave marks on the code keys that open the preservation room. At the gala, Ben obtains Abigail's fingerprint, using it to access the preservation room's hallway. A blacklight reveals Abigail's key code, and Ben grabs the Declaration. Ian and his team arrive to steal the document, shooting at Ben as he escapes, but not before a clerk in the gift shop forces Ben to pay for what she thinks is a souvenir duplicate. Abigail follows Ben out of the building, where Ian's team kidnaps her, believing she has obtained the Declaration from Ben. Ben and Riley rescue her, but Ian retains the document, which turns out to be a duplicate Ben purchased. FBI Agent Sadusky and his team begin tracking Ben through his credit card purchase at the gift shop.

Ben, Riley, and Abigail arrive at Patrick's home in Philadelphia. Ben and Abigail review the animal skin the Declaration is written on, finding an Ottendorf cipher written in invisible ink on its back. The encrypted message references the Silence Dogood letters written by Benjamin Franklin kept at the Franklin Institute. Ben, Abigail, and Riley use schoolchildren to acquire the key words from the letters, with a message pointing them to the bell tower of Independence Hall where the Liberty Bell was originally located. They find a hidden cache with a pair of spectacles with multiple colored lenses, which when used to read the back of the Declaration, reveal the clue Heere at the Wall. They split up when they realize that Ian and his team are following them. Ben is arrested and interrogated by the FBI, while Abigail and Riley lose the Declaration to Ian. Abigail is able to convince Ian to help them rescue Ben in exchange for the next clue, meeting at New York City's USS Intrepid museum, where they engineer Ben's escape.

When Ben remains coy about the next clue, Ian reveals they have captured Patrick, coercing Ben to lead then to New York's Trinity Church. They find a passage that leads deep underground, ending in a room lit by a single lantern, which Patrick asserts refers to Paul Revere's Ride, pointing to the Old North Church in Boston. Ian and his men ditch Ben's group and race to Boston, unaware that the clue was fake. Ben opens a secret door, behind which they find a notch which the pipe from the Charlotte fits, opening onto a large chamber containing the national treasure. Ben contacts Agent Sadusky, and learns he is a Freemason; Ben returns the Declaration and the location of the treasure in exchange for their names being cleared of stealing the Declaration. Ben also informs Sadusky of his bluff on Ian, who along with his men are successfully caught by the FBI and charged with abduction, attempted murder, and trespassing on multiple government properties.

Ben and Abigail have started a relationship, while Riley is somewhat upset that Ben turned down the 10% finder's fee for the treasure for a much smaller amount that still has netted them all significant wealth.

Cast

Production

Filming locations

Film set for the underground chambers beneath Trinity Church

National Treasure was filmed in the following locations:

Reception

Critical reception

National Treasure received mixed reviews from critics, with some of whom lauded it as a fun, straightforward family adventure, while others ridiculed its numerous implausibilities and unbelievable plot twists. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 44%, based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's consensus reads, "National Treasure is no treasure, but it's a fun ride for those who can forgive its highly improbable plot."[4] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 39 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[5]

Roger Ebert gave the film 2/4 stars, calling it "so silly that the Monty Python version could use the same screenplay, line for line."[6] Academic David Bordwell has expressed a liking for the film, placing it in the tradition of 1950s Disney children's adventure movies,[7] and using it as the basis for an essay on scene transitions in classical Hollywood cinema.[8]

Box office

National Treasure grossed $173 million in North America and $174.5 million in other territories for a total of $347.5 million, against a $100 million budget.

In its opening weekend the film grossed $35.1 million, finishing in 1st place at the box office, beating out fellow newcomer The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie ($32 million).[9]

Home video releases

Collector's Edition DVD

A special collector's edition, two-disc DVD set of the movie was released on December 18, 2007.

Blu-ray Disc

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Blu-ray Disc versions of National Treasure and its sequel, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, on May 20, 2008.[10]

Soundtrack

National Treasure (Original Score)
File:National Treasure Soundtrack.jpg
Film score by Trevor Rabin
Released November 16, 2004
Recorded 2004
Genre Stage & screen
Length 38:45
Label Hollywood
Producer Trevor Rabin
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3/5 stars[11]

All songs written and composed by Trevor Rabin. 

No. Title Length
1. "National Treasure Suite"   3:17
2. "Ben"   4:03
3. "Finding Charlotte"   1:04
4. "Library of Congress"   2:27
5. "Preparation Montage"   4:53
6. "Arrival at National Archives"   1:54
7. "The Chase"   4:22
8. "Declaration of Independence"   1:43
9. "Foot Chase"   3:34
10. "Spectacle Discovery"   3:18
11. "Interrogation"   4:30
12. "Treasure"   3:39

Sequels

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

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Main article: National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Although the DVD commentary stated that there were no plans for a sequel, the film's box office gross of an unexpected $347.5 million worldwide warranted a second film, which was given the green light in 2005. National Treasure: Book of Secrets, on the DVD as National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, was released on December 21, 2007.

National Treasure 3

Director Jon Turteltaub said that the filmmaking team will take its time on another National Treasure sequel,[12] but Disney has already registered the domains for NationalTreasure3.com and NationalTreasure4.com.[13] Though the second film ended with the question about page 47 of the President's book of secrets, the new movie may or may not be a sequel about the "Page 47". Turteltaub responded in a press interview that the idea was not set in stone as the basis for National Treasure 3.[14]

See also

References

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External links

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