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511絕地救兵
THE GREAT RAID

5-10-05

美國軍事史上一次最大的拯救任務---「突襲甲萬那端城」行動，被喻為一次「自殺式行動」，卻成功以120多名美國突擊隊員，救援511名被日軍囚困的美國戰俘；而在死亡邊緣掙扎了3年多的美國戰俘，又憑著甚麼意志繼續生存下來 ?

故事大綱
美國史上一段不為人知的第二次世界大戰拯救行動，終於搬上銀幕！511名被日軍扣押於菲律賓戰俘營內的美軍，多年來一直被外間忽視，每一刻都面臨被殺掉的危機。幸得一班美國英勇將領發起自殺式拯救行動，突襲戰俘營，才得以重出生天，成就一段令人驕傲的歷史。

時為二戰期間，日軍狂轟菲律賓，視之為攻陷東南亞的據點。1942年，因抵受不住強攻，美國麥克阿瑟將軍撤退到澳洲。七萬名駐守當地的美軍及菲律賓士兵無奈的投降，淪為戰俘。在嚴重惡劣環境之下，他們因飢餓、疲憊、傳染病而一一死去。「有幸」生存的士兵被迫踏上「死亡行軍」，徒步穿越叢林，前往戰俘營；途上死傷不絕，住在戰俘營的美國戰俘，亦長期活在被日軍虐殺的恐懼之下，永無寧日。這批美軍早已被外界遺忘，他們的存在猶如「幽靈士兵」。

陸軍少校吉遜（約瑟費安尼斯飾）就是其中一名飽受折磨的戰俘，他身患瘧疾，垂死掙扎多年，只因為對愛人瑪嘉烈（康莉妮爾遜飾）念念不忘，叫他尚存一絲生存希望。瑪嘉烈是一名天主教救援工作者，一直以來協助菲律賓地下組織，希望有日能再見她的最愛！

1945年，陸軍中校梅亨利（班哲文畢列特飾）奉命展開「突襲甲萬那端城」行動，拯救被困多時的美軍。面臨日軍強大而深藏不露的軍力，還有地理上的不利，是次出擊被喻為「自殺式行動」。敢死隊以梅中校作為謀略，由卡斯上尉（占士法蘭高飾）率領120多名美國突擊隊員，加上菲律賓中途增援，終於成功攻陷甲萬那端城戰俘營，釋放所有被囚禁的美軍，當瑪嘉烈重遇吉遜少校……

製作花絮
一頁被遺忘的英雄血淚史　重現人間
一直以來，描寫二次大戰的荷里活電影都集中於歐洲的集中營、美國的珍珠港、日本的廣島、長崎等著名的戰事，其實在大戰場的周邊，比如東南亞的土壤上，每天就有不少軍人默默地犧牲。製作人聲言拍攝本片的動機並非要炫耀戰爭場面、玩大堆頭，而是希望把一個從頭到尾都被遺忘，卻又充滿人性、人情味的血淚史，展現觀眾眼前。

本片導演尊杜爾（John Dahl）與其他演員一樣，根本從未聽過這一頁悲壯的史實。杜爾和幾位監製都是透過著名歷史學家威廉貝亞(William B. Breuer)的著作【The Great Raid on Cabanatuan】，以及咸頓薜迪斯(Hampton Sides)的【Ghost Soldiers】才得知「甲萬那端城突擊」的來龍去脈，最後更以兩書為藍本，寫成劇本。導演杜爾說：「我最喜歡這部電影的地方，就是它帶出一個道理──自由有價，乃是要靠犧牲來換取的。」今次決定把故事搬上銀幕，也就是希望觀眾毋忘拯救隊的大無畏精神、戰俘的生命力，以及友情愛情的力量。

是次監製包括了《危險人物》的羅倫斯班特(Lawrence Bender)、《殺鹿遊戲》的馬堤卡斯(Marty Katz)等等，影片終於在澳洲及上海順利完成拍攝。

導演父親菲律賓體驗　走訪當時人添實感
憑《最後的誘惑》(The Last Seduction)、《天才遊戲》(Rounders)走紅荷里活的尊杜爾，今趟他一開始接觸這故事時，已被其深深吸引，且認為這部電影與自己有不解之緣。原來，杜爾的父親在二戰期間當兵時，就是被派去菲律賓，而他媽媽的表弟更是戰死於菲律賓。自小杜爾都希望知道更多父親的戰爭體驗，也想了解多一點母親在戰時的心情，拍攝這個二次世界大戰故事，除了是一次探索歷史的旅程，也是一次重新認識父母的機會。

為了令故事更貼近史實，杜爾與監製走訪了多位當時的生還者及目擊人士。當中占士法蘭高(James Franco)更走訪了他飾演的角色卡斯真人，卡斯且非常樂意親身向法蘭高講解當時的情況，令他更了解這個剛從名門史丹福大學畢業便立即上戰場率領敢死隊的角色。

當影片完成後，【The Great Raid on Cabanatuan】作者兼著名歷史學家威廉貝亞都大讚影片迫真，引人入勝。

約瑟費安尼斯勁減 21 磅 演活瀕死戰俘
本片找來多位紅人撐場，包括《選美俏臥底》性感靚佬班哲文畢列特(Benjamin Bratt)、《蜘蛛俠》反叛型男占士法蘭高(James Franco)、《寫我深情》演技紅人約瑟費安尼斯(Joseph Fiennes)及《帝國驕雄》丹麥靚女康莉妮爾遜(Connie Nielsen)等等。為求把角色演好，費安尼斯為了飾演被囚三年的戰俘的角色演好，本身已十分瘦削的他，也要減21磅來飾演角色面臨死亡邊緣的絕望狀態。

120名演員 10日激訓　赤腳行３哩路
至於其他120多位演員，在開拍之前，被導演安排到澳洲進駐「激訓十天」的體驗戰爭營。由主角以至菲律賓臨時演員、當地的日本留學生等，大家都集合在昆士蘭，接受被譽為「全球最佳軍事顧問」的狄爾戴(Dale Dye)訓練。所有演員均按其角色的階段獲分發一套二戰時的軍服、帳篷以及難吃的罐頭食品。這十天，軍令如山，大家照章受訓。畢列特不掩其痛苦之色，大喊：「入軍營是一個很特別的經驗。試想像一下，我們120個演員在樹林生活，無涼沖、無覺�唌A還要接受苛刻的體格訓練，只可以吃罐頭意粉、幾粒M&M，你話辛唔辛苦？」

更慘的是，為要重現戰俘踏上「死亡行軍」(Death March)，穿越叢林前往戰俘營的一幕，戲中的甲萬那端城戰俘營也是搭建在老遠的地方，導演命令大家要赤腳走３哩路，前往拍攝現場，於是就在此間拍下「死亡行軍」。

演戰俘的費安尼斯是多位主角中最辛苦的一個，體驗也最深：「我們平時如果只有白飯吃，會覺得好慘，但記著戰俘只能吃昆蟲和老鼠為生。相比起他們，我們的苦真是太皮毛了。」

取景澳洲、上海　迫真度100%
今時今日，要重現1945年的菲律賓，可說是不可能的事。攝製隊在考慮了多個方案後，決定到澳洲的昆士蘭及中國的上海取景。選昆士蘭，其實是看中它蒼翠繁茂的蕞林景色，與當年菲律賓的亞熱帶小森林十分相近。加上昆士蘭布里斯本以東31千米就有一個小島Bribie Island，令整體氣氛十足十菲律賓群島。這個海洋無敵景簡直是完美，當然，沿岸的棕櫚樹還是需要美術組人建造的。

另外，攝製隊更運來了大量大型道具，包括二戰期間使用的汽車、船舶等，務求百分百迫真。

至於1945年馬尼拉的市內景色，導演則挑選了依然殘留殖民地味道的上海作為主景。【Ghost Soldiers】作者咸頓薜迪斯(Hampton Sides)看到影片的場景後，笑言以為自己「回到未來」。

幕後陣容　
女人殺手　班哲文畢列特
魅力不凡、演技迫人的班哲文畢列特(Benjamin Bratt)一直以來走多元路線，去年便與影后荷爾芭莉合演了《貓女俠》(Catwoman)，在片中飾演情陷性感貓女的靚仔探員。在本片演繹二戰英雄之後，畢列特將演出由史提芬蘇德堡(Stephen Soderberg)執導的革命英雄哲古華拉傳記《Che》。

擁有秘魯及印度血統的畢列特，14歲起與家人定居美國三藩市，長大後於當地攻讀戲劇課程。他憑電視劇《律政風雲》(Law and Order)走紅，曾獲艾美獎最佳男配角提名，之後拍了多部愛情喜劇，包括與麥當娜合演《借借你的愛》(The Next Best Thing)、與姍迪娜布洛合演《選美俏佳人》(Miss Congeniality)，另外亦演出過科幻動作片，如《宇宙深慌》(Red Planet)、《越空狂龍》(Demolition Man)等。

1997年，畢列特與巨星茱莉亞羅拔絲公開戀情，令他的名字街知巷聞，但兩人拍拖四年，終告分手。2001年，畢列特在《不羈詩生活》(Pinero)中演繹了傳奇詩人的一生，獲影評一致讚賞，更推舉畢列特為德斯汀荷夫曼及羅拔迪尼路以後，塑造了最精采的反英雄形象。同時，他亦在片場邂逅了模特兒出身的女星塔麗莎蘇桃(Talisa Soto)，兩人馬上擦出愛火花，翌年誕下愛女，而今年秋天，亦將有第二胎出世。

至於早年，畢列特與姬蒂荷瑪絲(Katie Holmes)合演的驚慄片《小心，女人！》(Abandon)，亦因為荷瑪絲是靚佬湯告魯斯未婚妻的關係而再度掀起搶購熱。

占士甸現代版　占士法蘭高
占士法蘭高(James Franco)可說是現時最搶手的新晉男星之一，他於2001年憑TNT電視電影《James Dean》裡演繹占士甸一角而奪得金球獎最佳男主角獎，之後在兩集《蜘蛛俠》中大出風頭，與擔正主角的杜比麥奎爾魅力大比拼，繼而在影帝尼古拉斯基治(Nicolas Cage)執導的《裸男速遞》(Sonny)大膽演繹男妓一角，挑戰性感極限，迷倒不少女影迷。

現年27歲的法蘭高，師承謝夫高拔林(Jeff Goldblum)等著名演員，99年初出道便贏得多個電視片角色，其中在《Freaks and Geeks》演繹的憂鬱少年更是好評如潮。同年，法蘭高首次演出電影《從未咀過》(Never Been Kissed)，與祖莉芭莉摩炮製愛情笑料。之後，又與羅拔迪尼路合演了《夜海追兇》(City by the Sea)，以及主演了大導馬田史高西斯監製的《Deuces Wild》。短短數年，法蘭高(James Franco)已拍了超過廿部電影。

現時，法蘭高的片約已排至2007年，包括《蜘蛛俠３》、大導羅拔艾特曼(Robert Altman)寶刀未老之作《Paint》、與尚連奴(Jean Reno)合演的《Flyboys》、美籍華人導演Justin Lin 執導的《Annapolis》等等。而法蘭高亦繼去年自編自導自演《The Ape》之後，再接再厲，包辦編導演三角，炮製了《Fool's Gold》。

丹麥靚才女　康莉妮爾遜
丹麥美人康莉妮爾遜(Connie Nielsen)不但在銀幕上光芒四射，本身亦是能歌善舞及懂得六國語言（英、德、法、意、丹麥及瑞典）的才女。18歲起便勇闖演藝界的康莉，於2000年憑奧斯卡大片《帝國驕雄》(Gladiator)驚艷全球，戲中她演繹公主一角，與影帝羅素高爾大演對手戲，羨煞不少羅素Fan屎。隨後，她主演了多部口碑之作，包括：與羅賓威廉斯合演的《戀相．狂》(One Hour Photo)；與湯美李鍾斯合演的《獵網》(The Hunted)；與添羅賓斯合演的太空片《火星任務》(Mission to Mars)；與尊特拉華達及森姆積遜合演的《Basic》；以及由張曼玉前夫奧利維耶阿薩亞斯(Olivier Assayas)執導的《惡魔情人》(Demonlover)等等。

康莉出道以來，還有不少令人印象深刻的演出，包括與阿爾柏仙奴及奇洛李維斯合演的《追魂交易》(The Devil's Advocate)、與標梅利合演的怪雞笑片《撬牆腳》(Rushmore)，以及與賓史汀拿合演的《Permanent Midnight》。

翩翩君子　約瑟費安尼斯
出身自演藝之家的約瑟費安尼斯(Joseph Fiennes)，是著名的演技派紅人。他憑舞台劇闖出名堂，擅演高難度角色，曾經是英國「皇家莎士比亞劇團」的台柱，演出了《皆大歡喜》(As You Like It)等名劇；隨後他更憑《寫我深情》中演繹莎士比亞一角而竄紅影圈，一時之間，風頭蓋過了主演《別問我是誰》的哥哥賴夫費安尼斯(Ralph Fiennes)。

在短短幾年之間，約瑟主演了《傳奇女王伊利莎伯》、《敵對邊緣》等叫口叫座之作，又被陳凱歌賞識，主演了情慾連場的《殺死你的溫柔》(Killing Me Softly)，早前則與阿爾柏仙奴、謝洛美艾朗斯等巨星前輩合演莎翁名著《威尼斯之約》。今、明兩年，約瑟的新片依然陸續有來，包括剛與05康城影展首映的《Man to Man》、與雲露娜賴德(Winona Ryder)合演的愛情喜劇《The Darwin Awards》，並即將開拍愛情喜劇《Running with Scissors》，與影后桂莉夫柏德露(Gwyneth Paltrow)繼《寫我深情》後再度合作。

奇峰突出　不一樣的美國導演尊戴爾
於美國土生土長的導演尊杜爾（John Dahl），於1992年憑第二部自導自編作品《Red Rock West》嶄露光芒，影片找來尼古拉斯基治(Nicolas Cage)、丹尼斯賀巴(Dennis Hopper)上演一個搵錯殺手殺錯老婆的錯摸黑色電影，大獲影評人推祟。

1994年，杜爾憑《最後的誘惑》(The Last Seduction)奠定他的導演地位，這部圍繞「紅顏禍水」的電影，不但令蓮達菲奧蘭天璐(Linda Fiorentino)一夜成名，更為杜爾帶來「洛杉磯影評人學會」新一代導演獎。之後，杜爾炮製了多部口碑之作，包括《疊影追兇》(Unforgettable)、《天才遊戲》(Rounders)、《死神勾線》(Joy Ride)等。

THE GREAT RAID

Final Press Notes

About The Production

From director John Dahl comes the stirring true story of one of the most spectacular rescue missions ever to take place in American history: "the great raid on Cabanatuan," the daring exploit that would liberate more than 500 U.S. Prisoners of War in the face of overwhelming odds. A gripping depiction of human resilience, the film vividly brings to life the personal courage and audacious heroism that allowed a small but stoic band of World War II soldiers to attempt the impossible in the hopes of freeing their captured brothers.

Once a tale shared across the United States, the long-lost story of THE GREAT RAID has been recreated with meticulous authenticity to pay testimony to the many different people, from U.S. commanders to Filipino soldiers to women aid workers to the POWs themselves, who played a part in turning this time of intense hardship and unrelenting danger into a moment of inspiration.

THE GREAT RAID is directed by John Dahl, produced by Marty Katz and Lawrence Bender and is based on the books The Great Raid on Cabanatuan by acclaimed military historian William B. Breuer and Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides. The screenplay is by Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro. The film stars Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Connie Nielsen, Marton Csokas and Joseph Fiennes, alongside an international ensemble cast that includes a broad range of up-and-coming American, Filipino, Asian, and Australian actors.

The year is 1945 and hundreds of U.S. soldiers held captive in the brutal Japanese war camp at Cabanatuan in the Philippines are under imminent threat of death. These are the only soldiers who remain alive in the Philippines of the 70,000 American and Allied forces surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army at Bataan in 1942, following the departure of General MacArthur.

Forced to walk through the sweltering, mosquito-infested jungles on what would become known as the Bataan Death March, the survivors were then held captive in remote and deadly camps. Now, three years later, with MacArthur back as he promised in the Philippines, the Japanese War Ministry has issued a "Kill All Policy" to annihilate their war camps - and every single U.S. prisoner in them. At a camp named Palawan, 150 U.S. soldiers are forced into trenches, doused in gasoline and set on fire.

Meanwhile, believing themselves all but forgotten by their comrades and country, the surviving prisoners at Cabanatuan have dubbed themselves the "ghost soldiers." Among them is Major Gibson (Joseph Fiennes), weakened by malaria, who is hanging on by a thread of hope and his love for a Catholic aid worker, Margaret (Connie Nielsen), who has been assisting the Filipino Underground.

Back at the 6th Army Headquarters in nearby Luzon, Lieutenant Colonel Henry A. Mucci (Benjamin Bratt), the tough, ambitious but charismatic leader known for inspiring devoted loyalty among his men, has been assigned to find a way to penetrate behind enemy lines and free the U.S. prisoners before it is too late. The task appears to be strategically impossible - the men will likely face heavy resistance and will be far outnumbered by fearsome Japanese troops -- but Mucci is never deterred by an extreme challenge.

Mucci selects the young, bookish but brilliant Captain Robert Prince (James Franco) to lead the raid, who in turn comes up with an daring plan to have 121 hand-picked, elite Rangers and Alamo Scouts slip 30 miles deep into enemy territory and make a surprise, lightning assault on the camp. To increase the already slim chances for success, the U.S. will join forces with members of the Filipino resistance, led by Captain Juan Pajota (Cesar Montano), whose intimate knowledge of the lay of the land will help to guide the committed band of men to their ultimate goal.

As time begins to run out for the threatened prisoners and the rescue kicks into high gear, what ensues is an astonishing testimony to bravery, self-sacrifice and the ability of the human spirit to triumph over the most daunting adversity.

Uncovering A Lost Story of Heroism:

The Origins of THE GREAT RAID

In making THE GREAT RAID, director John Dahl and producer Marty Katz hoped to bring to vivid life one of the greatest little known stories of heroism and selflessness from American history. Much more than just an action-packed saga of war, they felt that the World War II story of the raid on Cabanatuan was a timeless one about how human beings face up to the most extreme dangers, pressures and terrors - and at times transcend them to give all those around them hope. After extensive meetings with both survivors of the infamous Japanese war camp and the soldiers who dared beyond all reason to set them free, Dahl and Katz felt they had an opportunity to recreate a major historical event with the immediacy and emotional intimacy of a thriller unraveling in real time.

It all began when the production team read William B. Breuer's acclaimed book The Great Raid on Cabanatuan: Rescuing the Doomed Ghosts of Bataan and Corregidor, which recounted the all-but-impossible liberation of 511 POW's captured by the Japanese Imperial Army in the Philippines carried out by a small but fearless band of American Rangers, Alamo Scouts and Filipino guerrillas. Intensely moved by the stories of bravery, devotion and simple human compassion they found within, the producers felt immediately this was a story that needed to be brought to movie audiences - both for its astonishing reality and its reminder of how strong the human spirit can be when it is tested.

"This was an amazing true story," says Katz, "about the most incredible rescue of American prisoners of war behind enemy lines in the history of our military. It was a mission that really couldn't succeed . . . and yet it did. It had a rare inspiring ending in spite of all the tragedy that surrounded it. It was almost as if it were written to be a Hollywood movie, but it was stark reality."

When John Dahl heard that a movie was being made about the miraculous raid, his interest was also immediately piqued. Dahl felt an intimate connection to the story -- his own father had been a World War II soldier who had participated in the liberation of the Philippines and his mother's cousin was killed while fighting in the Philippines. Dahl had always wanted to know more about his father's wartime experiences and here was an opportunity to really explore the territory. The more he learned about the audacious rescue operation and its unlikely outcome, the more Dahl felt committed to the what would become his most ambitious project to date.

"My Father fought in the Philippines so I was immediately attracted to the story," says Dahl. "But it also seemed to me that this was a really important untold story from World War II that had been shuffled to the back pages and ultimately forgotten. To have a chance to tell the tale of what these real-life, yet truly remarkable people accomplished was something I was grateful to have. What I really liked about this movie that it reveals that freedom often comes with a price of sacrifice. And I also think it shows how our country has been able in the times of greatest need to really go deep and overcome huge obstacles. We did it in Cabanatuan and we will do it again when needed in the future."

Though Dahl is best known for his modern film noirs and inventive psychological thrillers with credits that include "Red Rock West," "The Last Seduction" and "Joy Ride," Marty Katz was thrilled to have Dahl take on this much more epic story of love, survival and intense war-time action. "John is a very level headed story teller," Katz observes. "I knew he would find a way to present this historical story in a very immediate and realistic way that is also highly engaging - making you feel like you're part of the action and allowing you to feel deeply about the characters."

The first draft of the script had taken certain liberties with history for the sake of dramatic purposes, so Dahl and Katz set about developing a revised version that was much closer to the actual events. The more they immersed themselves in research, including delving into Breuer's book as well as Hampton Sides' equally acclaimed book, Ghost Soldiers, the more they felt that the truth of what happened at Cabanatuan was far more thrilling than anything even the most imaginative writer could fabricate.

"The challenge was to keep as much of the truly amazing real story intact while also structuring it as an entertaining cinematic screenplay," says Dahl. "We tried to walk the line between be respectful and irreverent of the past while also creating a story with love, drama and action that's exciting to watch," says Dahl.

To further add to the visceral realism of the project, Dahl and Katz also began meeting with as many survivors and witnesses from the period as they could find - including talking to the real Captain Robert Prince (played by James Franco in the movie) and even to several members of the Filipino guerilla movement who proved so indispensable to the mission -- which only served to inspire them further.

One constant that they found among those they interviewed was a desire for the story to be presented as accurately as possible. It was equally essential to Dahl and Katz that the screenplay carry the ring of truth so when it was completed, they presented it to author and Cabanatuan history expert William Breuer for his suggestions. Breuer says that he was "delighted" that the screenplay so scrupulously adhered to the real life facts that had moved him to originally write his critically praised non-fiction book.

"They have presented this riveting story with precise accuracy," Breuer summarizes.

With the script completed, Dahl was thrilled -- but he also was filled with the daunting realization that he was about to head into the largest and most technically complex filmmaking experience of his career. "I knew it was going to be a tremendous undertaking," he admits. "As it turned out there were mountains that had to moved for just about every scene we shot. But we had a tremendous amount of extremely talented people involved at almost every level of the film. And I think what pulled us all together was this sense that we were truly serving some kind of purpose in telling this story."

Recruiting The Team:

About the Casting of THE GREAT RAID

At the heart of THE GREAT RAID is not only the daring rescue mission that freed 511 POWs but the men and women who were caught up in the bold plan on all sides of the action. From the beginning, John Dahl wanted his film to focus as much on the rich human emotions involved in the making the mission a success as on the exhilaration of the covert rescue itself.

The filmmakers began by casting Benjamin Bratt in the lead role of Colonel Henry Mucci, the notoriously charismatic leader whose men would follow him anywhere, even into a top-secret rescue operation many originally called "a suicide mission." A former boxer and athlete, Mucci was notorious for his fierce, demanding physical training methods and his insistence that his soldiers be ready for anything - training that paid off in spades during the raid on Cabanatuan. Celebrated as a national hero after the War, Mucci would later run for Congress.

John Dahl didn't envision popular screen and television star Benjamin Bratt as Colonel Mucci at first, but after meeting with Bratt, he became convinced the actor possessed the strength and demeanor needed for the role. "Ben wasn't the obvious choice in the beginning, but now it is hard to imagine anybody else being the Colonel in this movie," Dahl says. "Ben really threw himself into it with heart and soul and developed the persona of a true leader."

Like many Americans, Bratt was unfamiliar with the story of what happened at Cabanatuan - and was filled with awe and respect for the men involved once he learned all the details of the raid. "I hope this movie will shed new light on one of the most amazing military operations ever undertaken," he says. "It's a really moving story because it's about the greatest and most real of all stakes - quite simply, it's about life and death."

Diving into historical research, Bratt quickly became fascinated with the real-life Mucci's driven nature and his intriguing relationship with Captain Robert Prince. "Everything I read about Colonel Mucci talked about his leadership and the charisma he possessed, so I was very interested in the challenge of playing that kind of larger than life personage," says Bratt. "The human side of the story is a big part of what makes it the story so compelling - especially the way that Mucci and Prince, who had completely opposite styles and were very different types of men, found a way to work so successfully together."

To play Captain Robert Prince, the studious and reserved 25 year-old Stanford graduate who would plan the mission under Mucci's watchful eye and then boldly lead the raid into Cabanatuan, Dahl cast James Franco. Franco, who first came to the fore in a Golden Globe-winning performance as James Dean in a TNT biopic and most recently has starred as Tobey Maguire's sidekick in "Spiderman" and "Spiderman 2," seemed to bear an uncanny resemblance to the real-life Prince.

Devoted to the role, Franco developed a disciplined military manner that impressed the filmmakers with its authentic feel. "Like Benjamin, he jumped right into the role. It was probably one of the most fun things we experienced during the filmmaking to see James go from actor to Captain in a course of a couple of weeks," says Dahl.

For James Franco, the role was impossible to resist. "I felt it was such an important story from American history," he says. "And I really liked that it's an unusual war movie that's not about death but about saving lives."

Franco had an opportunity to meet with the real Prince who is still alive and living in Seattle, as well as to watch extensive film footage and interviews with Prince from the 40s. "I really got a sense of the 1940s military sensibility from him, and especially of how extremely modest he was," says Franco. "What's amazing is that Robert Prince still really believes that this mission was simply part of his duty and he almost shrugs it off. That seemed very different to me from the modern mentality, so watching him helped me to slide into that different kind of thinking about responsibility and service."

Like Benjamin Bratt, Franco also became fascinated by the unusual working relationship that developed between Mucci and Prince. "I think you could say that Prince was the brains of the operation and Mucci was the brawn. Mucci knew he needed someone like Prince to plot out the strategy and that was the key to their success," he observes.

Ultimately, Franco felt that getting to know these characters gave him a new depth of admiration for the soldiers of the American past. "To take a look at these men's lives and the dangers they faced and the depths they had to achieve inside themselves gave me a tremendous feeling of gratitude for those who put their lives on the line," he summarizes.

Representing the long-suffering, abandoned soldiers who Mucci and Prince aimed to rescue is Joseph Fiennes, who plays the wearied but unrelentingly hopeful POW Major Gibson. Fiennes, too, was moved by his character. "Major Gibson has been in the POW camp for three years and he has always felt his role is to keep up the morale of the men and, above all, to maintain hope," explains Fiennes. "To me he's typical of the kind of man of that time who was seemingly made of something extraordinary. The things that he survived say to me that he was made up of some kind of amazing mettle."

Upon reading the screenplay, Fiennes was surprised that the story of Cabanatuan is so little known to his generation. "We're all familiar with the Holocaust and the War in Europe, but we don't really know very much about the War in Pacific," he notes. "It was an extraordinary moment in history that I think will really surprise and inspire people."

Fiennes went through his own miniature saga of suffering in preparing for the role, going on a severely limited diet and submitting to rigorous training that emulated the hard labor POWs were forced to perform by their captors. When Fiennes first saw the terrifyingly realistic Cabanatuan set, the enormity of the physical and spiritual challenges faced by Major Gibson, and those like him, really began to hit home. "To have that visual stimulus and be surrounded by hundreds of men made up to be very ill and thin, well, it didn't take a lot of imagination, to feel like you were transported back to that place. It was a very powerful experience for an actor," he says. "It reminds you of what a precious thing freedom is."

Says John Dahl of Fiennes: "His commitment to this part was extraordinary - he gave so much of himself and even went on a grueling diet to portray Gibson realistically. His desire to portray what these POWs went through was remarkable."

Starring as Fiennes' lost love, Margaret Utinsky, is Connie Nielsen starred opposite Russell Crowe in "Gladiator." Margaret is a composite character based on several real women who worked tirelessly to help the struggling resistance movement in the Philippines in the 40s.

Says Nielsen: "I think Margaret Utinsky's character represents all those women who were part of the Philippine resistance or worked with the Philippine resistance. They too endured unbelievable hardships and helped save an enormous number of lives."

Nielsen also felt the role, and especially the love story between Margaret and Major Gibson, brought something very basic and human to this story of intense military action. "One of the things I think the story of Margaret and Major Gibson brings out is that people during war are thinking everyday about their loved ones," she says. "For Margaret, one of the greatest agonies is being separated from the one person she really, really loves in this world."

John Dahl was also awed by Nielsen's devotion to the role. "Her character really makes an incredible emotional journey through the film," he says. "I don't think she had one easy day on the set."

Also joining the cast as another hero of the raid, the Filipino resistance fighter Captain Juan Pajota, is one of the Philippine's biggest stars, Cesar Montano. Montano portrays the man who was able to bring Colonel Mucci and Captain Prince's danger-laden plan to reality through his knowledge of the local culture and the lay of the land. The actor was eager to have a chance to reveal to the world how vital the Filipino resistance fighters were in helping save American lives.

Says Montano: "The Filipinos contributed so much to the raid. They knew the ins and outs of the country - the valleys, the mountains, everywhere. It was said that a Filipino guerilla could steal a Japanese weapon beside them while they're tying their shoe lace - that's how good they were."

Montano was joined by a number of other Filipino actors, including Ebong Joson in the role of the real-life Captain Joson. During casting it was noted that Ebong shared his last name with the character he was auditioning for, but this was considered a coincidence. It was only when Ebong accepted the part that he realized the importance of his role -- he was playing his own grandfather.

Off To Boot Camp:

Initiating The Cast in the Reality of the Pacific War

To better acquaint the cast of THE GREAT RAID with the extraordinary physical discipline, training and survival skills that their characters would have acquired in the harsh conditions of the Pacific War, the actors were shipped off to their own rigorous "boot camp." The filmmakers sent 120 cast members to a special 10-day training session in Queensland, Australia, under the command of the legendary Captain Dale Dye, whom producer Marty Katz refers to as "the world's best military consultant." Whether they were playing, Rangers, Alamo Scouts, Filipino guerrillas, U.S. POWS or Japanese soldiers, each of the actors had to endure days of exhausting physical exercise, meager diet and harsh living conditions to give them just a tiny taste of what soldiers of that time experienced on all sides of the action.

Separated into their individual groups, the actors playing Rangers and Scouts were each issued an appropriate World War II uniforms, tents and realistic rations of bland, canned food. Throughout the ten days, they had no choice but to follow strict military protocol and ranking. At night, they were even required to keep "watch" for enemy attacks rather than getting adequate rest. Captain Dye also devised complex, nocturnal combat missions to carry out, to build a sense of real camaraderie and military toughness. (Many of the cast felt an "eerie presence" during these long nights of waiting, watching and planning raids, causing some to wonder if there were indeed "ghost soldiers" among them.)

"Boot camp was quite an experience," says Benjamin Bratt. "Imagine if you will 120 actors living out in the bush with no showers, no sleep, lots of tough physical training and eating only canned spaghetti and M&M's. It wasn't a pretty picture!"

Meanwhile, the cast playing POWs went through a slightly different experience. Their "camp" involved being marched in their bare feet for three miles to the film's set of Cabanatuan

-- giving them a small taste of the Bataan Death March - and then being thrust into typical POW conditions, including being forced to dig trenches for their fellow fallen soldiers and live on near starvation diets (overseen by a nutritionist to ensure their safety). The objective was to give the men a sense of what being "surrendered" really meant to these young soldiers, and the emotional shock of being treated as worthless.

Still, the actors knew they were getting off remarkably easy. Says Joseph Fiennes: "I think it gave us just a small glimpse into what all these men went through - and the tenacity and will to live that they needed to survive. I mean, here we were living on bowls of rice, thinking it was so tough, and the POWs lived on insects and rats for three years. We were just scratching the surface of what those guys endured."

Fiennes also believes the experience helped the cast to forge tight bonds that are reflected on screen, just as the men in the POW camps did. "The toughness of what we were going through brought with it a huge team spirit. I've never really experienced anything like the physical training and strong bonds that were developed on this film," he says. "It was a very powerful thing."

Marty Katz recalls visiting the actors three days into the boot camp. "You could already see them changing, not just physically but mentally," he says.

Tough and demanding as the boot camp was, it turned out to be an appropriate introduction to a grueling production. Summarizes John Dahl: "The amount of hardship this cast faced - not just at boot camp, but on the set with the rain and the cold and the physical endurance required throughout the production was considerable. But we always kept in mind that the U.S. soldiers in the POW camps suffered this way for years - and for us to spend a few tough months making their story, well, I think we simply felt lucky to have the chance."

To The Rescue:

About the Production of THE GREAT RAID

As production of THE GREAT RAID kicked into high gear, the tremendous scale of recreating the Pacific War Theatre of 1945 on screen became clear to John Dahl and Marty Katz. "We realized we were going to have to somehow create 1941 pre-war Manila, 1945 occupied Manila, a POW camp with hundreds of emaciated prisoners in a setting filled with Filipino villages, Japanese Imperial soldiers, water buffalo, as well as weaponry and armament from World War II," says Katz.

Early on, the decision was made to shoot the majority of THE GREAT RAID in Queensland, Australia, a lush region that bears some resemblance to the jungle-lined Philippines. The vast pool of film talent, both in front of and behind the camera, that Australia offered sealed the deal. "Australia was a great location for us because it is a sub-tropical area with large film community," explains Dahl. "We were able to hire almost everybody we needed for the film there, including many of the Japanese soldiers, many of whom are Japanese students or backpackers who were traveling in Australia! Australia was also ideal because it is a country that was also invaded by Japan during World War II and they still feel a really strong and vivid connection to that period."

Australia also provided the production with award-winning cinematographer Peter Menzies Jr. who brings to the film a unique aesthetic - shooting the film almost entirely backlit to enhance the feeling of going back in time to the 1940s; and Academy Award-winning costume designer Lizzy Gardiner who delved into military history to outfit the American, Filipino and Japanese warriors of the film accurately while also recreating the fashions of colonial-era Manila.

Production began with the scenes set at the 6th Army Headquarters, which were filmed on 31-kilometer-long Bribie Island, one hour east of Brisbane, on a stretch of beach called Skirmish Point. The ocean location was stunning and replicated the Philippines almost to perfection, especially with the addition of numerous fake palm trees courtesy of the art department. Adding to the realism, the set boasted an array of original World War II vehicles and ships that had been painstakingly rounded up across the globe and shipped to Australia.

The filmmakers also made a considerable effort to hunt down historical armaments. "The stories I could tell you about just getting World War II-era guns out of China and into Autralia without them going off are an epic in and of themselves," says John Dahl. "Everyone involved in the film went to great lengths to pay incredible attention to detail, whether it was in the props, the wardrobe or the location designs."

The production then moved on to the Gold Coast where the majority of the film was shot on an extensive private property known as Green Meadows, which offered the geographic diversity for the different Filipino villages - Platero, Balincarin, Cabanatuan Village and Talavera - each of which was constructed from scratch within a five-mile radius of one another.

It was here, too, that the POW camp at Cabanatuan was built on a wide, flat expanse of land bordered by a distant tree line that replicated the memories of survivors -- who recalled only ever seeing distant trees for the three years of their incarceration.

Before he tackled the enormous challenge of making the camp seem disturbingly real, Academy Award-nominated production designer Bruno Rubeo did extensive research on life in Cabanatuan. He then spent four months building the camp to as a high a degree of accuracy as was possible. Using raw materials imported from the Philippines, Rubeo constructed the camp's huts and buildings in a style consistent with the architecture of the region. Even the farm tools used by the POW were authentically sourced in the Philippines.

Finally, to add the only personal touch to a place where humanity was stripped down to its barest elements, Rubeo allocated above each POW's bed a small collection of his essential possessions -- photographs and trinket that were cherished by the prisoners.

For John Dahl, it was impressive to see the sheer size of the replicated camp. "Usually when you see POW camps in films they are just a few banana huts in a contained space, but here you can see that this place was huge and open and you can see the incredible strategic challenge that Mucci, Prince and their men were facing in trying to raid it," he says.

When Hampton Sides, author of the acclaimed book Ghost Soldiers about the men who survived the horrors of Cabanatuan, visited the recreated camp, he was taken aback. "The camp was exactly as I had pictured it during all those years of research and writing. Meeting the POW extras there was an almost surreal experience for me: I felt as though I'd been transported back to the Philippines, circa 1945," he says.

As the production progressed, both cast and crew faced another challenge: extreme weather that ranged from dry, dusty winds to an onslaught of tropical storms. Despite the fact that the film's sets were built with extra drainage, the torrential Queensland rains managed to flood the production on several occasions, leading the crew to rename the main set "Lake Cabanatuan." Towards the climax of the film, as Dahl began shooting the raid itself, a new weather condition presented itself: severe fog. Each night there was a race against time as the cameras tried to beat the rolling mists to the retrieve the complex shots the production needed.

After Australia, the production traveled all the way to Shanghai, China, where Bruno Rubeo attempted to recreate the look and feel of 1945 Manila - the charming colonial city that was largely destroyed in World War II, and replaced by a more modern metropolis. "With painstaking set dressing and authentic vehicles and our extras, I think we were able to create good sense of what life was like in a Manila that no longer exists," says Rubeo.

One of the highlights of the production for Dahl was simply watching the international cast and crew - hailing from a mix nations some of whom were once enemies - come together to tell this story of human transcendence. "I think the most significant thing about this movie for everyone involved was that we had a chance to really be a part of a true story - to research the history, to meet the living participants and to recreate as much as possible some of what they experienced," the director summarizes. "I think it gave everybody the sense that we could shine a little light on what the Americans, the Filipinos and the Japanese all went through during the war - and to share one of the more magnificent stories of purely human courage and sacrifice."

THE GREAT RAID: A CABANATUAN TIMELINE

December 7, 1941: Japanese forces attack Pearl Harbor and shortly after attack Clark Field in the Philippines, a nation which is still then a colony of the United States on its way to independence. The Philippines becomes a major target of the Japanese, with the capture of its islands key to controlling the Southwest Pacific

December 10, 1941: The Japanese launch a full invasion on the Philippines, facing opposition from General Douglas MacArthur who is commanding American forces stationed there

December 27, 1941: General MacArthur retreats from Manila to Bataan

January 2, 1942: The Japanese occupy Manila after a fierce bombing campaign

March, 1942: Under orders from President Roosevelt, General MacArthur leaves for Australia

April 9, 1942: Luzon Force commander General Edward King surrenders 70,000 American and Filipino troops to the Japanese army, the largest army surrender in U.S. history, at Bataan

April 10, 1942: The Japanese Army sets their POWs onto the 65-mile long Bataan Death March. Over the next week hundreds of U.S. soldiers and thousands of Filipinos will die of starvation, trauma, disease and executions

April, 1942: The POWs are taken to Camp O'Donnell where some 1500 Americans and 15,000 Filipinos die in the first two months of their imprisonment

June, 1942: American POWs are transferred to a camp at Cabanatuan, where hundreds die in the first month of starvation, tropical illness and torture, a pattern that will continue over the next 3 years

August, 1944: The Japanese War Ministry issues a "Kill All Policy" - a broad edict calling for the deaths of all remaining POWs under their authority

October 20, 1944: General MacArthur returns to the Philippines

December 14, 1944: At the Palawan POW camp, 150 American solders are summarily executed - rumors circulate that Cabanatuan will be next

January 27, 1945: Colonel Henry Mucci and his 6th Army Rangers are ordered to execute the raid on Cabanatuan.

January 27, 1945: Alamo Scouts begin stealth reconnaissance behind enemy lines

January 30, 1945: The raid on Cabanatuan begins

January 31, 1945: The POWs are free

ABOUT THE CAST

Benjamin Bratt (Colonel Mucci)

An actor whose striking presence on screen is balanced by a deft hand with a variety of material, Benjamin Bratt most recently starred opposite Halle Berry in "Catwoman" and in "The Woodsman" with Kevin Bacon and Krya Sedgwick. He also makes a cameo appearance in Mike Mills' independent film "Thumbsucker" with Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Keanu Reeves and Tilda Swinton.

Bratt delivered a breakthrough performance in Miramax Films' "Pinero", about which Stephen Holden of The New York Times said: "It is a career-defining performance that could catapult (Bratt) into the kinds of juicy anti-heroic parts once gobbled up by Mr. Hoffman and Robert De Niro." His screen credits also include Steven Gaghan's "Abandon," Stephen Soderbergh's "Traffic", "Miss Congeniality" opposite Sandra Bullock, "Red Planet" with Val Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss, John Schlesinger's "The Next Best Thing," "The River Wild" with Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon, Phillip Noyce's "Clear And Present Danger," starring Harrison Ford, "Demolition Man" with Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, Taylor Hackford's "Bound by Honor," "Bright Angel" co-starring Lili Taylor and Dermot Mulroney, and "One Good Cop" with Michael Keaton.

Bratt established himself on Dick Wolf's critically acclaimed drama "Law & Order." A series regular for four seasons, he received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Detective Reynaldo Curtis in 1999. In 1998 and 1999, the cast garnered Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Bratt also starred in Showtime's "Woman Undone" with Randy Quaid and Mary McDonnell, James A. Michener's "Texas" and "After the Storm," based on the Hemingway story.

James Franco (Captain Prince)

James Franco most recently reprised of Harry Osborn in "Spiderman 2," having also portrayed the character in the blockbuster "Spiderman." He previously received a Golden Globe Award for his critically acclaimed performance as James Dean in the TNT film "James Dean," which also garnered Franco an Emmy nomination as well as a Screen Actors Guild nomination.

Franco's credits also include Robert Altman's "The Company," Nicolas Cage's directorial debut "Sonny," "City By The Sea," opposite Robert DeNiro, the Martin Scorsese produced "Deuces Wild," "Whatever It Takes" and "Never Been Kissed." On television, Franco starred in NBC's critically acclaimed "Freaks and Geeks."

Connie Nielsen (Margaret Utinsky)

Connie Nielsen is known for her star-making portrayal of Princess Lucilla opposite Russell Crowe's Maximus in the 2001 Academy Award-winning "Gladiator." She went on to garner further attention starring opposite Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in Taylor Hackford's "The Devil's Advocate." Her many memorable performances also include roles in "Rushmore" with Bill Murray, "Permanent Midnight" with Ben Stiller, "The Innocents" with Jean Hughes Angleade and "Mission to Mars" with Tim Robbins. She also starred alongside Chloe Sevigny and Gina Gershon in Olivier Assayas' "Demonlover," which drew considerable attention at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.

Recently, Nielsen starred in the chilling "One Hour Photo" opposite Robin Williams; "The Hunted" with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro; "Basic" starring John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson; and the Danish film "Brothers." She will next be seen in Harold Ramis' "Ice Harvest."

In addition to being an accomplished actress, Connie Nielsen is also a trained singer, dancer and is fluent in English, German, Danish, Swedish, French and Italian. She currently resides in New York.

Marton Csokas (Major Redding)

Marton Csokas has been working non-stop in several films over the course of the last year. He was last seen in the hit thriller "The Bourne Supremacy," in the epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and in Richard Donner's "Timeline" based on Michael Crichton's best-selling novel for Paramount Pictures, He stars in 2005 in Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" opposite Orlando Bloom and in "Asylum" based on the novel by Patrick McGrath.

Recently, Csokas starred opposite Vin Diesel in Rob Cohen's action thriller "XXX"; in Jerry Bruckheimer's production of "Down and Under" and in Alex Proyas' "Garage Days" and "Rain"

which screened at Cannes in the Directors' Fortnight.

Born in Aotearoa, New Zealand, Csokas completed a meandering education (including attending Canterbury University in Christchurch, studying art history and joining both the drama and writers clubs) before opting to pursue a career in acting. On the New Zealand stage, Csokas played the ambiguous Joe Pitt in Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" and his other credits include Brian Friels' "Dancing at Lughnasa," David Hare's "Amy's View," Patrick Marber's "Closer" (Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for Production of the Year) and Steven Berkoff's "Kvetch." His talent for classical theatre was seen in numerous productions of Shakespeare, Chekhov and Brecht.

After appearing in numerous short films, Csokas appeared in the acclaimed 1996 film "Broken English," which earned him a New Zealand Film Awards nomination for Best Actor. In an episode of the popular television series "G.P." Csokas was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Performance in a Television Drama. U.S. audiences also saw him as Ted Healy, creator of "The Three Stooges," in the highly rated television movie of the same name.

Joseph Fiennes (Major Gibson)

Joseph Fiennes worked with the Young Vic Youth Theatre for eighteen months and went on to train at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He left Guildhall and went straight into the West End into the production of "Woman in Black." He continued in the West End starring with Bernard Hill in Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge." He then went on to star opposite Helen Mirren in "A Month in the Country," directed by Bill Bryden. Fiennes again worked with Bill Bryden on "Son of Man" at the RSC. He went on to play numerous roles at the Royal Shakespeare Company including "Troilus And Cressida," "The Herbal Bed," "As You Like It" and "Les Enfants Du Paradis" Fiennes has also played Edward in "Edward II" for Michael Grandage at the Crucible in Sheffield and Berowne in "Love's Labours Lost" at the National Theatre, directed by Trevor Nunn.

On the big screen, Fiennes grasped worldwide fame through his role as William Shakespeare in John Madden's "Shakespeare in Love" alongside Gwyneth Paltrow. He also played opposite Cate Blanchett in Shekhar Kapur's "Elizabeth.". Other screen credits include Jean Jacques Annaud's epic "Enemy at the Gate" with Jude Law, Milcho Manchevski's "Dust," "Killing Me Softly" with Heather Graham and "Luther" co-starring Alfred Molina. Fiennes most starred in "The Merchant of Venice" with Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons and in Regis Wargnier's "Man to Man" opposite Kristen Scott-Thomas. He recently completed shooting "The Darwin Awards" with Winona Ryder and also "Running with Scissors" with Annette Benning and Gweneth Paltrow. The fall, Fiennes returns to the stage in the London West End Production of "Epitaph for George Dillon."

Mark Consuelos (Gutierrez)

THE GREAT RAID marks the first feature film for Mark Consuelos who has had an accomplished carrer as a television actor. Born in Zaragoza, Spain, Mark grew up in Lebanon, Illinois and Tampa, Florida. His early acting credits include "Hello, Dolly" at the Lookinghouse Glass Playhouse in Illinois and guest appearances on television shows such as "Fortune Hunter" and "SeaQuest." He has appeared off-Broadway in "Boy's Life" by Howard Korder, "Orphans" by Lyle Kessler and the Penguin Repertory production of "One Shot, One Kill" by Richard Vetere.

Mark is perhaps best known for his role in as the tormented Mateo Santos I the long-running soap opera favorite, "All My Children." Mark also met his future wife on the show - actress Kelly Ripa. Their characters we paired on screen as a married couple (Kelly played Hayley Vaughn).

Max Martini (Wojo)

Max Martini has most recently been seen in a recurring role on Fox's hit series "24" and in the Steven Spielberg produced mini-series "Taken." His film roles include co-starring opposite Jodie Foster in Robert Zemeckis' "Contact" as a fellow scientist with an affinity for brightly colored shirts, and sharing the screen with Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in "Saving Private Ryan" as Ryan's commanding officer. He has also had roles in some smaller independent films, working with Calista Flockhart in "Jane Doe," Chris Penn and Jeffrey Wright in "Cement" and in the 2000 Sundance Film Festival fave, "Backroads."

Martini has also worked steadily in television, most recently opposite Lauren Holly in "Caught in the Act." Other television work includes series regular roles on John Sacret Young's "Level 9," Chris Carter's "Harsh Realm" and recurring roles on "Breaking News" and the award-winning Canadian series, "Da Vinci's Inquest." He has also co-starred in several TV movies including Morgan Freeman's "Mutiny" and Francis Ford Coppola's "Another Day." Martini also has appeared on "C.S.I." and "C.S.I. Miami." Martini is active in the theatre, having co-founded Theatre North Collaborative in NYC, a theatre company of American and Canadian actors dedicated solely to producing new works from both sides of the border. He has also written a film, "Desert Son," which he co-directed with his younger brother, Christopher.

Logan Marshall Green (Lt. Colvin)

THE GREAT RAID marked Logan Marshall Green's first film role. He also appears in Evan Oppenheimer's romantic comedy "Alchemy." Green earned a B.A. in Theatre at the University of Tennessee followed by an MFA in Acting from NYU- Tisch. His other training includes studying Meisner at Brown University and working with Richard Digby Day at the National Theater Institute.

Robert Mammone (Fisher)

Although based in Australia, the majority of Robert Mammone's work has been starring in American productions shooting in Australia. He starred as A.K. in "The Matrix II" and "The Matrix III" for the Warchowski brothers prior to which he filmed "The Vertical Limit" and the Canadian feature "Echo." His most recent work includes the telefilm "Salem's Lot" and the thriller "Man-Thing."

Mammone's extensive credits also include the "The Beast," "The Lost World" and "Beastmaster" for American television. In addition, Mammone has starred in numerous Australian television productions including "Water Rats," "Blue Heelers," "Wildside" and " Stingers". Mammone started his career as singer and bass player in a Sydney band before focusing on acting. His first break came starring in "The Crossing" in 1990 with Russell Crowe. The two went on to star together in "Heaven's Burning."

Cesar Montano (Captain Pajota)

Cesar Montano has starred in over 35 feature films and four television series in the Philippines. He is highly regarded for his work in action films and has a large and dedicated audience following. Cesar was a civil engineering student when he started acting in Shakespeare productions in the late 1980s.

Cesar's portrayal of the title character in "Jose Rizal" earned him many awards including Movie Actor of the Year at the 15th Star Awards for the Philippine Movie Press Club. This film broke box office records and earned Cesar a Best Actor Award at the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Cesar's film "Muro Ami" won him the Best Performer Award at the Benodette International Film Festival in France in 2000 and "Bagong Buwan" earned him numerous awards and nominations. Prior to filming "The Great Raid," Cesar filmed three features with Marilou Diaz Abaya, who is considered one of the best directors currently working in the Philippines. He most recently directed and starred in "The Call of the River" and starred in Mark Solomon's comedy "Wrinkles."

James Carpinello (Cpl. Aliteri)

James Carpinello recently starred in the comic-book action-thriller "The Punisher" with Thomas Jane and John Travolta. Earlier, he made his Broadway debut starring as Tony Manero (the John Travolta role ) in the stage production of "Saturday Night Fever." For television, he has also starred in a recurring role on "Felicity."

Clayne Crawford (PFC Aldridge)

An Alabama native who first moved to Los Angeles to play baseball for UCLA, Clayne Crawford unexpectedly found himself becoming an actor. His film credits include the independent feature "Gas Station Jesus," the romance "A Walk To Remember" with Mandy Moore and Shane West, the thriller "Swimfan" with Erika Christensen and "A Love Song for Bobby Long" with John Travolta and Scarlet Johansson. He next stars in Brian Jun's "Steel City."

Motoki Kobayashi (Major Nagai)

An actor and cinematographer, Motoki Kobayashi makes his feature film debut as Major Nagai in THE GREAT RAID. He previously served as director of photography on the Japansese sci-fi comedy "Wild Zero."

Gotaro Tsunashima (Yamada)

A native of Tokyo, Japan, Gotaro Tsunashima recently drew international acclaim for his role in Sue Brooks' stirring cross-cultural tale of love, "A Japanese Story," starring opposite Toni Collette as a Japanese businessman touring the Australian Outback. For his feature film debut, Tsunashima was awarded a Best Actor nomination from the Australian Film Institute, among other accolades. Tsunashima previously played a World War II soldier in the Australian mini-series "Changi." In Japan, he has been seen in numerous television and stage productions.

Craig McLachlan (Lt. Riley)

Craig McLachlan is one of Australia's best known and most versatile actors. He became a household name in Australia and the UK with the 1986 hit Network Ten series, "Neighbours" and the Seven Television Network series "Home & Away". Craig won Silver Logies for Most Popular Actor for both shows, and the Gold Logie for Most Popular Australian Television Personality. In 1990 Craig achieved success as a musician when his single "Mona" won an Australian Recording Industry Association Award and reached No. 2 in the UK charts. Subsequent albums made it into the top 20 in both Australia and the UK.

He has starred in the television mini-series "Heroes II - The Return" and the WWII love story "Absent Without Leave." On stage, he took the role of Dr. Frank N. Furter in "The New Rocky Horror Picture Show" and was cast as Danny Zuko in a box office record-breaking West End production of "Grease." McLachlan went on to play Saltykov in "Catherine The Great" with Catherine Zeta Jones. He reprised his role of Danny Zuko in 1998 in the Australian and New Zealand production of "Grease - The Arena Spectacular," which was seen by over 900,000 people. He also starred in Paramount Theatrical's "Happy Days - The Arena Mega Musical."

His film and television credits include "Tribe," "Backlands," "My Husband, My Killer," "The Circle," "Let's Get Skase" and "Hero's Mountain." In America, he appeared in the mini-series "Superfire." Most recently, he starred in the Australian mini-series "Through My Eyes," the telefilm "Blackjack: Ace Point Game" with Colin Friels and the feature film "Hating Alison Ashley."

Sam Worthington (Lucas)

Sam Worthington is fast becoming one of Australia's top new acting talents having worked consistently since graduating from the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in 1998. His film debut was in the starring role of Mitchell in "Bootmen" in 1999. This was quickly followed up with guest roles in the major Australian network television productions "Water Rats," "JAG" and "Blue Heelers."

His film roles include "Hart's War" with Bruce Willis, "Dirty Deeds," "Getting Square," "Somersault" and "Thunderstruck." He will next be seen in Tim Boyle's "Fink!"

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

John Dahl (Director)

John Dahl first gained notoriety as a film director in 1993 with his feature film "Red Rock West" which was hailed as modern film noir. The film starred Nicolas Cage as a man who is mistaken for a contract killer hired by Dennis Hopper to do in a seductress played by Lara Flynn Boyle.

Dahl followed "Red Rock West" with another critically acclaimed thriller, "The Last Seduction", starring Linda Fiorentino as a femme fatale who ditches her husband, played by Bill Pullman, in New York City after stealing money he's made from a drug deal. She then wreaks havoc on a small town man, played by Peter Berg, using him as a patsy. In 1994 Dahl received the Los Angeles Film Critics Association New Generation Award for "Red Rock West" and "The Last Seduction."

Dahl's directing credits also include "Kill Me Again" starring Joanne Whalley-Kilmer; "Unforgettable," a thriller starring Ray Liotta and Linda Fiorentino; and "Rounders," a drama set in the world of high stakes poker, starring Matt Damon, Edward Norton and John Malkovich. Most recently, Dahl filmed "Joy Ride" starring Paul Walker, Steve Zahn and Leelee Sobieski.

Dahl attended Montana State University where he earned a degree in film production. He worked as an assistant director for a year and was then accepted into the directing fellowship program at the American Film Institute. He graduated from the AFI and worked as a storyboard artist on such films as "Something Wild," "RoboCop" and "Married to the Mob" before gaining a profile as a music video director.

Marty Katz (Producer)

Marty Katz has been involved in the motion picture and television industries for over thirty years.

His film career started in the US Army -- he was the 1st Lieutenant Combat Pictorial Unit Director in Vietnam. When he returned home in 1969 Marty began working for Roger Corman as a Production Manager / Associate Producer.

In 1971 Marty became Director of Film Production for ABC Circle Films and supervised production on more than 50 television movies that earned a total of 25 Emmy Awards. He worked as Executive Vice President of Production for Quinn Martin Productions in 1976 and then became Producer and Production Consultant for Paramount Pictures television division from 1978 until 1980. Following this, he produced various television and theatrical films including Fox's "Heart Like a Wheel" (1983) and Geffen / Warner Bros.' "Lost in America" (1985).

In 1985, Marty joined the Walt Disney Studios as Senior Vice President, Motion Picture and Television Production. In this role he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of physical production for Disney, Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures including all projects and series for Walt Disney Television and production for theme parks and feature animation.

During this time Marty supervised the feature film hits "Down & Out in Beverly Hills," "Outrageous Fortune," "Good Morning Vietnam," "Three Men and a Baby," "The Color Of Money," "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," "Dead Poets Society," "Dick Tracy," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Pretty Woman," "Father of the Bride,," "The Rocketeer," "The Little Mermaid," "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "New York Stories."

Three years later Marty was promoted to the position of Executive Vice President and continued to oversee the physical production side of the studio's rapidly expanding motion picture and television slate. In 1992 Marty formed his own independent production banner, Marty Katz Productions. He had an exclusive production agreement with Disney and produced the comedy hits "Man of the House" starring Chevy Chase and "Mr Wrong" starring Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Pullman. During this time Marty continued to serve The Walt Disney Studios as a production consultant with various film and television projects and new technology issues.

Marty Katz Productions began operating independently in 1996. In 1997 Marty was Twentieth Century Fox's Supervising Producer on James Cameron's "Titanic." He then produced "Reindeer Games" directed by John Frankenheimer, and "Imposter" directed by Gary Fleder and starring Gary Sinise and Madeline Stowe. Prior to producing THE GREAT RAID, Marty produced "The Four Feathers" with Stanley and Robert Jaffe. "The Four Feathers" starred Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson and was directed by Shekhar Kapur. He is producing "John Carter of Mars," an epic sci fi adventure, for Paramount Pictures.

Lawrence Bender (Producer)

Lawrence Bender has produced all of Quentin Tarantino's feature films - "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction" (for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture), "Jackie Brown," "Kill Bill - Vol. 1" and the recent "Kill Bill - Vol. 2." His additional producing credits include Boaz Yakim's "Fresh" and "A Price Above Rubies" with Renee Zellweger, Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting" (for which he also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture), Andy Tennant's "Anna and the King" with Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat, Gore Verbinski's "The Mexican" with Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt, and Brian Koppelman and David Levien's "Knockaround Guys."

Bender's films have been honored with nineteen Academy Award nominations. "Good Will Hunting" received a total of nine nominations, and won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor. Bender was nominated for a Producers Guild Award and a Golden Satellite Award for "Good Will Hunting," and also received a Producers Guild Award nomination for "Pulp Fiction."

Worlds away from Hollywood, Bender studied civil engineering at the University of Maine. He later was a dancer who toured Maine and Massachusetts with the Ralph Robertson Ballet Company. He earned a scholarship to study with "Fame" choreographer Louis Falco in New York, before his dancing career was cut short by a series of injuries. After dancing, he began acting classes with famed coach Sandra Seacat and appeared in several films and stage productions, including a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with Ellen Burstyn and Christopher Walken.

Supporting himself with production jobs on New York-based film crews, Bender discovered that he enjoyed the work, and kept his eyes open for an opportunity to produce on his own. In 1987, working with an overall budget of $125,000, he produced writer-director Scott Speigel's "The Intruder" for Sam Raimi's Renaissance Pictures. A year later, Bender met Quentin Tarantino at a BBQ at Scott Speigel's house and began their long-lived partnership with "Reservoir Dogs."

Tarantino and Bender formed a production company together, A Band Apart, in 1993. The firm has produced films in which Tarantino was involved either as the director or as an actor or both, including "Four Rooms" (1995), Robert Rodriguez's "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996), and several projects with other filmmakers, including "Fresh""Good Will Hunting." Bender was an executive producer, with Tarantino, on Roger Avary's directorial debut "Killing Zoe." In 1996 Bender launched a new division, A Band Apart Commercials, which makes ad spots and music videos. Bender's recent film include "Havana Nights: Dirty Dancing 2" and Luis Mandoki's "Innocent Voices." His forthcoming films include Quentin Tarantino's epic war movie "Inglorious Bastards."

Bruno Rubeo (Production Designer)

Production designer Bruno Rubeo was nominated for an Academy Award early in his career for his work on "Driving Miss Daisy." He has worked on many successful feature films since and is highly regarded as a production designer. His credits include "Sommersby," "Bound By Honor," "The Client," "Dolores Clairborne," "Kindergarten Cop," "The Evening Star," "Devil's Advocate" and "Pushing Tin."

He has worked with Oliver Stone on many of his films including "Salvador," "Platoon," "Talk Radio" and "Born on the Fourth of July." Rubeo also collaborated with Carlo Rambaldi on the visual masterpieces "Conan the Destroyer" and "Dune." His recent films include "The Thomas Crown Affair" starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo; "Proof of Life" with Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe; and "The Merchant of Venice" starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes.

Anthony Winley (Co-Producer)

Anthony Winley has worked in film production for over twenty years across America and throughout the South Pacific, including New Zealand. Prior to being co-producer on THE GREAT RAID, Winley was executive producer on "Pitch Black" which was filmed in the Australian outback in 1999 and starred Vin Diesel and Radha Mitchell.

He began his career working on many Australian classics including "My Brilliant Career" and "Gallipoli." Winley worked as a location manager and an assistant director before producing the television series "The Ray Bradbury Theatre" for the USA Network & Atlantis Films. This won an ACE Award for Best Science Fiction Mini Series. Following this he worked as a production manager for over a decade on numerous productions including "Going Sanem" "Les Patterson Saves the World," "The Punisher" and "No Escape."

He was a co-producer for the television productions "The Ripper" and "The Munster's Scary Little Christmas" and was the Unit Production Manager for "The Island of Dr. Moreau" starring Val Kilmer and Marlon Brando. He also produced the television series "Farscape" from 1999 - 2001, which also won an ACE Award for Best Science Fiction Mini Series.

Peter Menzies Jr. (Cinematographer)

Born in Sydney, Australia, Peter Menzies was introduced to the film industry by his father, director and cinematographer Peter Menzies. He started as a camera loader and worked his way through the ranks in commercials and features as camera assistant and later as operation. His early credits in "The Year of Living Dangerously," "Crocodile Dundee" and "Crocodile Dundee II."

Peter's first feature as cinematographer, "White Sands", starred Willem Dafoe and Samuel L. Jackson and was the beginning of impressive body of work which includes "Posse," "The Getaway," "Die Hard: With a Vengeance," "A Time to Kill," "Hard Rain," "The General's Daughter," "The 13th Warrior," "The Kid," "Bless the Child" and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." His most recent films include "Kangaroo Jack," "Man of the House" and "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous."

Pietro Scalia (Editor)

A two-time Academy Award winner, editor Pietro Scalia's illustrious career began as an assistant editor to Oliver Stone on such features as "Wall Street" and "Talk Radio." He went on to win his first Oscar for Best Editor for Stone's "JFK." Following acclaim for Sam Raimi's "The Quick and the Dead," he worked on Bernardo Bertolucci's "Stealing Beauty" and "G.I. Jane." He received Best Editor Oscar nominations for "Good Will Hunting" and "Gladiator" before winning a second Academy Award for Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down." Scalia's recent films also include "Hannibal," "Levity," "Masked and Anonymous" and the fothcoming "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Scott Chestnut (Editor)

THE GREAT RAID marks the fifth film on which editor Scott Chestnut has collaborated with director John Dahl, having previously edited "Red Rock West," "Unforgettable," "Rounders" and, most recently, the acclaimed thriller "Joy Ride." Chestnut's credits also include "The Blue Iguana," Tim Hunter's "The Maker" and the telefilm "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Amy and Isabelle."

Trevor Rabin (Composer)

Born and raised in South Africa, composer Trevor Rabin was formerly a member of the influential progressive rock band Yes, serving as guitarist, songwriter, keyboardist, singer, producer and recording engineer. He left the band in 1994 to pursue his career as a film composer. He has since composed the music for such films as "Armageddon," "Enemy of the State," "Remember the Titans," "Bad Boys 2," "Gone in 60 Seconds," "Con Air, "Deep Blue Sea," "The Banger Sisters," "Kangaroo Jack" and many others. His most recent film include "National Treasure," "Coach Carter" and "Paul Schrader's Exorcist: The Original Prequel."

Lizzy Gardiner (Costume Designer)

Costume designer Lizzy Gardiner came to prominence in 1994 when she won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." Her

subsequent films have included "Bound" in 1996 starring Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon, "Welcome to Woop Woop," "Gone Fishing," "Woundings," "Eye of the Beholder," "Theory of Trojans" and "Mission Impossible II" directed by John Woo and starring Tom Cruise. Her forthcoming work includes the action-adventure "Stealth," directed by Rob Cohen.

Vic Armstrong (2nd Unit Director-Action Unit)

Vic Armstrong has been responsible for many of modern cinema's most magical and memorable action sequences and is considered one of the greatest action directors of all time. Armstrong has worked in motion pictures for nearly forty years, firstly as a world-renowned stuntman and stunt co-ordinator and now director. His resume reads like a "who's who" of film history and includes some of the most popular films ever, culminating in his acceptance in 2001 of an Academy Award and in 2002, the prestigious Michael Balcon BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema.

Following his stunt debut as an accomplished horse rider, doubling Gregory Peck in Stanley Donen's "Arabesque," Armstrong went on to work as stunt performer in countless movies doubling the likes of Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Christopher Reeve. In fact, it was his work on the "Indiana Jones" Trilogy as stunt coordinator and double for Ford that led to his directorial debut, on the premiere episode on the second season of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles." This led to his first directorial feature, the 1994 film "Joshua Tree," starring George Segal.

Armstrong's reputation as an Action Unit Director and Stunt Co-ordinator has seen him lend his creative vision to films by directors such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Paul Verhoven, Ridley Scott and George Lucas. His recent work includes "Die Another Day," "Gangs of New York," "Charlie's Angels" and "Entrapment."

Captain Dale Dye (Military Advisor)

Captain Dale Dye has worked in film and television production for nearly twenty years as a military advisor. His films include: "Platoon," "Casualties of War," "Born on the Fourth of July," JFK," "Last of the Mohicans," "Under Siege," "Guarding Tess," "Natural Born Killers," "Forrest Gump," "Outbreak," "Sgt. Bilko," "Wag the Dog," "Mission Impossible," "Starship Troopers," "Saving Private Ryan" and "Rules of Engagement."

Dye's television credits include: "Neon Empire" (Showtime), "Supercarrier" (ABC), "Tour of Duty" (CBS), "Vietnam War Stories" (HBO), "Tales from the Hollywood Hills" (PBS), "Guts and Glory" (CBS), "By Dawn's Early Light" (HBO), "Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson" (TNT), "Mission of the Shark" (CBS), "Servants of Twilight" (Showtime), "L.A. Law" (NBC), "The Raven" (CBS), "Rooster/Alice In Chains" (MTV Video), "JAG" (NBC), "Space: Above and Beyond" (Fox), "Roughriders" (TNT), "Seven Days" (Fox), "Air America" (ABC), "The Port Chicago Mutiny" (NBC TV Movie), "Band of Brothers" (HBO TV Series), "Semper Fi" (NBC Co-Producer) and "Sam's Circus" (CBS Co-Producer).

Born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri Dye graduated from Missouri Military Academy and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in January 1964. He served in Vietnam in 1965 and 1967 through 1970 surviving 31 major combat operations and earning a number of decorations including three purple hearts for wounds suffered in combat. He spent 13 years as an enlisted Marine, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant before he was chosen to attend Officer Candidate School. Appointed a Warrant Officer in 1976, he later converted his commission and was a Captain when he was sent to Beirut with the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in 1982-83.

Dye worked for a year at "Soldier of Fortune" Magazine and spent time in Central America, reporting and training troops in guerrilla warfare techniques in both El Salvador and Nicaragua before leaving the magazine in 1985 and heading for Hollywood. He has authored four books: "Run Between the Raindrops" (Avon and Berkley, NYC), "Outrage" (Little, Brown and Berkley, NYC), "Platoon" (Berkley, NYC - NY Times best-seller x 6 wks), "Conduct Unbecoming" (Berkley, NYC) and "Duty & Dishonor" (Berkley, NYC).

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