28 Days Later
Short description
Animal rights activists break into a British research laboratory and free chimpanzees that are being used in experiments. The animals carry a highly contagious virus that sends those it infects into uncontrollable, murderous rage, and the activists are attacked at once. The disease spreads beyond the facility with devastating speed, carried through blood and contact, and within weeks most of the country has been evacuated while London stands empty. Twenty-eight days after the outbreak, a small group of survivors tries to stay alive among the infected.
Danny Boyle directed the film, the sixth of seventeen features in his career, following Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise and preceding Millions. Alex Garland wrote the screenplay, and Andrew Macdonald produced it for DNA Films. Cillian Murphy plays Jim, a courier who wakes from a coma into the deserted city; Naomie Harris is Selena, Brendan Gleeson and Megan Burns are Frank and Hannah, and Christopher Eccleston is Major Henry West, with Noah Huntley as Mark. The film runs 113 minutes.
Made for about 8 million dollars, it grossed roughly 73 million worldwide, a strong return on a modest budget. On IMDb it holds 7.5 out of 10 from around 542,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.2 from nearly 9,000 votes, with a critics' rating of 7.6 from 240 reviews, so critical and audience responses sit close together.
What's left behind the scenes
- The role of Major West was offered to Robert Carlyle, who had previously worked with Boyle on 'Trainspotting' (1995).
- Rainwater collection containers are visible on the rooftop scene. Ordinary laundry baskets, not designed to hold water, appeared in two shots.
- Athletes were among those who played the roles of the infected.
- The film was shot almost entirely digitally. Only the final scenes in the cottage were shot on 35mm film, and the flashbacks with Jim's parents on 8mm film.
- The film's final scene, as shown in the definitive version, is not the only one that was filmed. Three more pessimistic endings were released on DVD with the film as bonus material. In all of these endings, Jim dies.
- The word "fuck" is uttered 61 times in the film.
- Another clash with the police occurred during the filming of an explosion at a gas station. Boyle had all the necessary permits for the explosion, but the police had not been notified and rushed to the scene as soon as they learned of the blast. A fire brigade also arrived, despite the film crew having their own firefighting team.
- Christopher Eccleston and other actors who played the surviving squad of soldiers underwent three days of military training.
- Garland said he was inspired by several sources, including George A. Romero's 'Dead' trilogy and John Wyndham's 'The Day of the Triffids'.
- Stephen King bought a private screening of the film for himself.
- The role of Jim was offered to Leonardo DiCaprio, who had previously worked with Boyle on 'The Beach'.
- There is a comic book series "28 Days Later" from BOOM! Studios, telling the story of events following the film.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
