Saw
How much blood would you shed to stay alive?
Country
Production
Budget
$1 200 000
Revenue
$103 096 345
Director
Actors
Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Tobin Bell, Danny Glover, Ken Leung, Dina Meyer, Mike Butters, Paul Gutrecht, Michael Emerson, Benito Martinez
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Operator
David A. Armstrong
Composer
Artist
Audition
Amy Lippens
Editing
Short description
Two strangers come to in a dirty, derelict bathroom, chained by the ankles to opposite walls. Neither recalls how he got there, and neither knows the other. Between them lies a dead man and a tape that explains their situation: a figure who stages deadly tests for his victims has decided they must prove they are willing to do anything to survive. One of them is told that his wife and daughter will die unless he kills the other. A detective who has been pursuing the same elusive killer works the case from outside, trying to act before the game runs out.
James Wan directed from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell, who also plays Adam. Cary Elwes appears as Lawrence Gordon, Tobin Bell as the killer known as Jigsaw, and Danny Glover as detective David Tapp, with Ken Leung and Dina Meyer in supporting roles. The film followed a short 2003 version Wan had directed, and came before his later features, including Death Sentence, Dead Silence, Insidious and The Conjuring.
Made for about a million dollars, it returned roughly a hundred and four million worldwide, an unusually large multiple that turned a small independent production into the start of a long-running horror series. On IMDb it holds 7.6/10 from around 507,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.4/10 from over 10,000 votes, while critics gave it 5.8/10 across 194 reviews, a noticeably cooler response than that of general audiences.
What's left behind the scenes
- The idea's authors, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, had to reshoot some scenes at a time when the actors involved were no longer available. The filming was done so that faces wouldn't flash in the frame. All these scenes were shot with Whannell's participation. Thus, the actor played Detective Sing entering the building with a shotgun, as well as the character of Shawn Moore slashing his victim with a knife. To make the shadow on the wall look female, Whannell had to wear a wig.
- The film was initially intended for direct-to-video release, but after positive test screenings, a theatrical release was decided upon.
- At the 43rd minute of the film, various newspaper clippings are shown, but the content of the articles has no relation to their headlines.
- At the 70th minute, Adam sees a laughing doll and grabs a bat to hit it. In the next shot, it can be seen that he hits a completely different doll.
- At the 20th minute of the film, Mark steps on broken glass with his bare foot, but in the next scene he moves across the glass in boots.
- Casting director Amy Lippens asked James Wan who he would like to see in the role of Amanda. Wan immediately replied – Shawnee Smith, whom he had been in love with in his youth.
- Actor Tobin Bell was given sedatives each of the six shooting days so that he would lie completely still.
- The scene where Gordon turns off the lights and then whispers to Adam, hoping to arrange his death, was somewhat different in the script. Initially, the characters were supposed to saw off the ends of a long pipe and talk through it. This scene was even filmed, but later it was cut because James Wan decided there would be an inconsistency – if the characters can saw off a piece of pipe, they could also saw through the chains.
- The test scene presented to Hollywood producers was filmed using a bear trap. The only difference from the final film was that Lee Wannell was presented in place of Shawn Smith. Interestingly, the device could actually break a victim's jaw if adjusted correctly.
- During filming, Tobin Bell had to lie motionless on the floor for six days.
- The scene where a character dips their hand into the toilet was inspired by a similar scene in the film 'Trainspotting'.
- In the 96th minute of the film, a large dark gunshot wound is visible on Adam's shoulder, however, the gunshot wound lacks an exit hole, which could explain the large tear in his t-shirt.
- According to commentary on the DVD, the nightmares of James Wan and Leigh Whannell formed the basis for most of the film's frightening scenes.
- A test scene for the producers was filmed with a bear trap. The only difference from the film was that Lee Wannell was used instead of Shawnee Smith. This device could actually break a victim's jaw if set correctly.
- In August 2005, Carey Elwes (Dr. Gordon) filed a lawsuit against the film's producers, demanding $500,000 in payment. He claimed that he was promised 1% of the film's total box office revenue as a fee, but he received less; for example, Danny Glover (Detective Tapp) was to receive 2% of the revenue.
- The menacing killer doll is a reference to the film "Carrie" (1975).
- Only five days were spent preparing for filming. The filming process itself lasted 18 days, of which six were spent on the scenes in the bathroom.
- At the 31st minute of the film, the wall clock in the shower where Lawrence and Adam are located first shows 11:25, then at the 33rd minute – 12:05, and at the 38th minute – 13:07, although this scene is continuous and lasts several minutes.
- At the 40th minute of the film, Allison silently says something after Gordon as he opens the front door.
- Several particularly brutal moments were cut from the film: Amanda rummages through the entrails of a dead cellmate; a large man struggled through the barbed wire for a significantly longer time.
- Casting director Amy Lippens asked James Wan who he would like to see in the role of Amanda. Wan, without hesitation, replied – Shawnee Smith, whom he had been in love with in his youth. A couple of days later, to James' great surprise, Amy informed him that Shawnee had agreed to star in the film.
- Director James Wan took a serious risk by foregoing his usual fee and opting to work for a percentage of the profits.
- The film closed the competition program at the Toronto Film Festival.
- In August 2005, Cary Elwes filed a lawsuit against the film's producers, demanding payment of $500,000. He claimed that he had been promised 1% of the total box office receipts as a fee, but he received less.
- Lee Wannell reported that the scene where his character dips his hand into the toilet was inspired by a similar scene in the film 'Evil'.
- Amanda's dead cellmate was played by one of the film's producers, Oren Koules.
- Director James Wan took a serious risk by refusing his usual fee and opting to work for a percentage of the profits. The film managed to gross $102 million internationally, earning 85 times its budget (1.2).
- The scenes in the bathroom were filmed in chronological order to help the actors better understand their characters.
- When Adam finds a player in the pocket of the dead Zepp in the 96th minute of the film, it can be noticed that it is breathing.
- The car chase scene was filmed in the warehouse garage with the lights off, using artificial smoke, and several people rocked the cars to create the illusion of movement.
- At the 51st minute of the film, Jigsaw removes the sheet from Jeff, and it hangs on the support opposite the camera in his trap. In subsequent shots, the sheet disappears from there and then hangs on the support again.
- During filming, Tobin Bell had to lie motionless on the floor for six days. He took sedatives for this purpose.
- The film was originally intended for direct-to-video release. However, after positive feedback from test screenings, a decision was made to release it in theaters as well.
- Karey Elwis agreed to the role after watching a tape that James Wan and Leigh Whannell made as a visual example for the producers.
- In the 91st minute of the film, Zepp holds a silver-black pistol, but during the subsequent fight with Detective Tapp, the pistol becomes completely black. After Zepp manages to shoot the detective and escape in the 92nd minute, the pistol returns to its original colors.
- At the 88th minute of the film, Zepp flees from Detective Tapp in a 1980s Ford Bronco, but at the 89th minute he arrives at the location in an early 1990s Ford F-150 pickup truck.
- The decision to greenlight the sequel was made immediately after the opening weekend.
- All filming took place in a single soundstage.
- James Wan and Leigh Whannell had to reshoot some scenes when the actors involved were no longer available. The filming was done in a way that avoided showing faces clearly. All of these scenes were shot with Whannell's participation. Thus, the actor played Detective Sing entering the building with a shotgun, as well as the character of Shawnee Smith slashing a victim with a knife.
- Several particularly brutal scenes were cut from the film, including: Amanda rummaging through the entrails of her dead cellmate; the scene where a fat man crawls through barbed wire was significantly longer.
- No rehearsals were scheduled. The actors had to perform from scratch.
- In the 91st minute of the film, Lawrence saws off his foot, but in the 93rd minute, when he is about to shoot Adam, it can be seen that the severed leg is simply covered with a cloth.
- The film contains numerous references to the works of Dario Argento.
- After reading the script, the agent of James Wan and Leigh Whannell advised them to film one of the scenes as a short film and send it to Hollywood studios along with the script.
- The majority of filming took place in an abandoned warehouse. The necessary rooms were renovated for shooting specific scenes. Separate sets were built only for the toilet.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
