Tagline: The greatest adventure history has ever revealed.
“Here’s to the men who did what was considered wrong, in order to do what they knew was right.” — Benjamin Franklin Gates
National Treasure thrills audiences in holiday season, combining a savvy crime caper with a rip-roaring quest for ancient treasure. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub have teamed up to bring a fresh, original adventure story which traverses from 2,000 year-old mysteries to a daring high-tech heist, as the action unfolds against the backdrop of America’s most famous monuments and landmarks.
From the secrets of America’s past comes this action-packed modern-day treasure hunt. Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage stars as Benjamin Franklin Gates, who has spent his whole life searching for a fortune few dare to believe exists.
This is the Knights Templar Treasure, the most awesome bounty in human history, rumored to be hidden somewhere in America. For six generations, the Gates family has chased after clues left behind by America’s Founding Fathers and scoured the nation in search of the treasure. But the mystery has only grown deeper and deeper.
Now the maverick Ben Gates has made a breakthrough. At last, he knows where the ultimate hint to the treasure’s location lies: an invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. As news of the map spreads to a ruthless adversary (Sean Bean), Ben is faced with a terrible dilemma. Either Ben must steal America’s most sacred document – one guarded by the most sophisticated security in the world — or let it fall into dangerous hands.
National Treasure is a 2004 American adventure heist film produced and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was written by Jim Kouf 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.
National Treasure was filmed primarily in Washington, New York, Philadelphia and Utah. Most scenes were filmed on location, with the exceptions of the Independence Hall scene, which was filmed at the replica of Independence Hall at Knott’s Berry Farm, and the Arctic scene, which was filmed in Utah.
National Treasure grossed $173 million in the United States and Canada, 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). In Japan National Treasure beat out the double-billing MegaMan NT Warrior: Program of Light and Dark and Duel Masters: Curse of the Deathphoenix by grossing $11,666,763 in its first week. It remained number one for three weeks.
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National Treasure (2004)
Directed by: Jon Turteltaub
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Harvey Keitel, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Plummer, Oleg Taktarov, Annie Parisse, Armando Riesco
Screenplay by: Terry Rossio, Ted Elliot, Marianne Wibberley
Production Design by: Norris Spencer
Cinematography by: Caleb Deschanel
Film Editing by: William Goldenberg
Costume Design by: Judianna Makovsky
Set Decoration by: Anne D. McCulley
Art Direction by: Geoff Hubbard, Lawrence A. Hubbs
Music by: Trevor Rabin
MPAA Rating: PG for action violence and some scary images.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: November 19, 2004
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