Captain Alatriste: The Spanish Musketeer
Country
Production
Genre
Budget
$24 000 000
Box office
$22 973 571
Director
Actors
Viggo Mortensen, Elena Anaya, Unax Ugalde, Eduard Fernández, Eduardo Noriega, Ariadna Gil, Juan Echanove, Javier Cámara, Antonio Dechent, Blanca Portillo
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Antonio Cardenal, Álvaro Augustin, Belén Atienza, Íñigo Marco
Camera operator
Composer
Roque Baños
Artist
Emilio Ardura, Alejandro Fernández
Audition
Luis San Narciso, Boros Mária
Editing
José Salcedo
Whole Team (73)
Whole Team (73)
Short description
In 17th century Spain, Diego Alatriste, a brave and heroic soldier, is fighting in his King's army in the Flandes region. His best mate, Balboa, falls in a trap and, when near to his death, asks Diego to look after his son and teach him to be a soldier.
What's left behind the scenes
- Several years before the film's release, the project had almost received the green light. Antonio Banderas was to direct and play the main role, with Enrique Urbizu as the screenwriter.
- Gael García Bernal was initially considered for the role of Inigo Balboa, which ultimately went to Unax Ugalde.
- Leonor Watling was offered one of the roles in the project, but she declined.
- The role of Martín Saldaña was to be played by Antonio Resines, but unfortunately, a few weeks before filming began, the actor was involved in a car accident. He was forced to use crutches for a long time, and a replacement had to be found urgently. As compensation, Antonio Resines was given the opportunity to appear in the film in a small role as a musketeer officer in the final battle.
- The film is based on a series of novels by Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte. The idea of writing books on this topic came to him when he noticed that his daughter Carlota's history textbook devoted only one page to the 16th-17th centuries, a period when Spain was a dominant superpower. Carlota, who was then 12 years old, helped her father with historical research on this period, and the first novel in the Captain Alatriste series, published in 1996, was released with Arturo and Carlota Pérez-Reverte listed as co-authors. By the time the film was released, five novels had been published, and the film included the most notable episodes from each of them. On the other hand, according to the author, the film served as a source of inspiration for his future works in the series.
- Spanish composer Roque Baños wrote the music for the film, however, a fragment of it that was supposed to be heard during the final scene was replaced by a funeral march called “La madruga” written by Colonel Abel Moreno. This march is often used during Easter processions in Spain and was intended to give the scene an atmosphere of suffering, inevitable defeat, and the end of life’s journey. This decision caused considerable dissatisfaction on the part of the composer, although the music he had written was included in the film's soundtrack.
- With a budget of 24 million euros (approximately $30 million at the time), “Captain Alatriste” became the most expensive Spanish film in history. According to the film's director, Agustín Díaz Yanes, this amount was sufficient to shoot the largest European project, although in America it would have been enough for complete nonsense.
- A woman, experienced Spanish actress Blanca Portillo, was invited to play the role of Inquisitor Emilio Bocanegra. This decision caused quite a controversy not so much because it could be considered disrespectful to the church, but because many moviegoers saw no sense in it. The director later admitted that this idea had occurred to him from the very beginning, as he found the role of the “Grand Inquisitor” too cliché and wanted to introduce a fresh, less recognizable element into it. As a result, in the actress's next film, Pedro Almodóvar’s “Volver” (2006), Blanca Portillo was forced to wear very short hair, as it had been cut for this role.
- A few years before the film's release, the project had practically been given the green light. Antonio Banderas was intended to be the director and lead actor, with Enrique Urbizu as the screenwriter.
- The initial choice for the role of Inigo Balboa, which eventually went to Unax Ugalde, was Gael García Bernal.
- One of the roles in the project was offered to Leonor Watling, who declined the offer.
- Antonio Resines was set to play the role of Martin Saldaña, but unfortunately, a few weeks before filming began, the actor was involved in a car accident. He was forced to use a crutch for a long time, and a replacement had to be found urgently. As compensation, Antonio Resines was given the opportunity to appear in the film in a small role as a musketeer officer in the final battle.
- The film is based on a series of novels by Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte. The idea to write books on this topic occurred to him when he noticed that in the history textbook his daughter Carlota was using, only a single page was devoted to the historical period of the 16th and 17th centuries, when Spain was the dominant superpower. Carlota, who was 12 at the time, assisted her father in historical research on the period, and the first novel in the Captain Alatriste series, released in 1996, was published with Arturo and Carlota Pérez-Reverte as co-authors. By the time the film was released, five novels had been published, and the movie incorporated the most notable episodes from each. On the other hand, according to the author, the film served as a source of inspiration for his future works in the series.
- Spanish composer Roc Baños wrote the music for the film; however, the fragment intended for the final scene was replaced by a funeral march titled "La madruga," written by Colonel Abel Moreno. This march is frequently used during Easter processions in Spain and was intended to imbue the scene with an atmosphere of suffering, the inevitability of defeat, and the end of life's journey. This decision caused noticeable dissatisfaction for the composer, although the music he wrote was included in the film's soundtrack.
- With a budget of 24 million euros (approximately 30 million dollars at the time), "Captain Alatriste" became the most expensive Spanish film in history. According to the film's director, Agustín Díaz Yanes, this amount was sufficient to produce a major European project, though in America, it would have barely covered some trivial nonsense.
- A woman, the experienced Spanish actress Blanca Portillo, was cast in the role of Inquisitor Emilio Bocanegra. This decision sparked considerable controversy, not so much because it could be seen as a sign of disrespect toward the church, but because many moviegoers saw no logic in it whatsoever. The director later admitted that this idea had occurred to him from the very beginning, as the role of the "Grand Inquisitor" seemed too stereotypical to him, and he wanted to introduce a fresh, less recognizable element. As a result, in her next film, Pedro Almodóvar's "Volver" (2006), Blanca Portillo was forced to wear very short hair, as it had been cut for this role.
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