X-Men: First Class
Short description
X-Men: First Class is a 2011 superhero film set in the early 1960s, before mutants became known to the public. Charles Xavier, a young academic in his twenties, and Erik Lehnsherr, a man shaped by persecution, meet as adults and discover they share both extraordinary abilities and a vision of a future where mutants and humans might coexist. Recruited by a CIA agent, they gather a group of young mutants and train them. Their common enemy is Sebastian Shaw, who leads a secret organisation and is pushing the world towards nuclear confrontation, with Erik holding a personal score to settle against him. The partnership between Charles and Erik comes under strain as their views on humanity and on the place of mutants diverge.
The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, his fourth feature after Layer Cake, Stardust and Kick-Ass, and he wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman and Ashley Miller. James McAvoy plays Charles, Michael Fassbender plays Erik, and Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Kevin Bacon and January Jones appear alongside them, among a credited cast of 69 and a crew of 194. Produced by 20th Century Fox with The Donners' Company, Bad Hat Harry Productions and Marvel Entertainment, it had a budget of 160 million dollars and took 354 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.7 out of 10 from 762,000 votes, on TMDB 7.3 from 13,879 votes, while critics gave it 7.4 from 294 reviews, a level of approval broadly in line with that of the wider audience.
What's left behind the scenes
- January Jones has now appeared in a second film set in 1962 with an actor with a 'pig'-related surname. The first was the television series 'Mad Men' (2007) and actor Jon Hamm (English 'ham' meaning cured pork). And in this film, the actress stars with Kevin Bacon (English 'bacon').
- In one scene, young Mystique takes the form of actress Rebecca Romijn. Rebecca Romijn played Mystique in previous X-Men films.
- The scene in the concentration camp is marked with the year 1944. In the scene with little Erik in Sebastian Shaw's office, the latter plays the song “La Vie en rose,” which was actually written in 1946.
- When the administration of the resort on Jekyll Island agreed to accept the “First Class” crew, they set a condition for the producers: after completing work, the filmmakers had to cover the beach with new, high-quality sand.
- Colin Firth and Bryan Cranston were considered for the role of Sebastian Shaw.
- The reason why Charles Xavier cannot walk in the film is close to the version from the Ultimate Marvel comics (Ultimate X-men, Ultimates and Ultimatum). In them, it is Magneto who deprives Charles Xavier of the ability to walk: learning that Charles Xavier no longer adheres to his views and is fleeing with his followers from the Wild Lands (an island built by Magneto for mutants, from where he planned to rule the Earth), he shoots an iron rod into him, which breaks Charles' spine.
- McAvoy planned to copy Patrick Stewart's pronunciation, but Matthew Vaughn said it wasn't essential and he preferred James McAvoy's softer Scottish accent.
- The coin that Dr. Schmidt gave to Erik Lehnsherr is engraved with the year 1934. In reality, this design with the swastika and imperial eagle appeared on the coin after 1936.
- Robert Sheehan turned down the role of Banshee.
- When Charles Xavier uses Cerebro, a young Storm and Cyclops can be noticed.
- The scene in the concentration camp, in which Erika is separated from her parents, is partially assembled from the film “X-Men” (2000). The shots of the bending gates, as well as the soldier hitting Erika with the butt of his rifle, and even the sequence of some cuts – are an exact copy of the old scene.
- Among the rockets launched into mutants, models of the Harpoon RGM-84, created in 1977, and the Tomahawk RGM-109, which entered production after 1983, are noticeable.
- In the scene where Charles holds a pistol to Erik's forehead, the distance from the pistol's muzzle to Erik's head changes with the shot: when the camera shows the view from Erik's perspective, it is clear that the pistol is at a small distance from his head, but when the camera changes the angle and shows the view from Charles' side, the muzzle of the pistol is pressed tightly against Erik's head.
- During the scene where Xavier talks to the CIA directors, Charles reads the mind of one of the agents and says he's thinking about his son William and states the agent's last name – Stryker. This makes it clear that he is referring to William Stryker, the main antagonist of 'X2: X-Men United' (2003) and 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' (2009).
- In August 2011, a scene in a strip club, which was missing from the theatrical version of the film, was released. In this excerpt, Angel wants Magneto and Charles to demonstrate their mutant abilities. Magneto makes a bucket of champagne levitate, and Charles makes Angel briefly believe that Magneto is lying in bed in women's clothing.
- During the end credits, a song by Take That – "Love Love" plays. Take That also performed the final song for another Matthew Vaughn film – "Stardust" (2007), titled "Rule The World".
- In the film “X-Men” (2000), Professor X clearly states that Magneto helped him build Cerebro. But not Beast.
- Producers wanted to cast Taylor Lautner in the role of Beast.
- Despite the fact that any Russian speech in American films is usually dubbed, this film features undubbed segments. For example, the Soviet radio operator transmitting the order to "Aral Sea" to turn back remained from the American version of the film, as did the Soviet general "playing" with Emma Frost on the bed.
- The characters of Nicholas Hoult and James McAvoy discuss Dr. Jekyll while running. Notably, Jason Fleming, the actor who played Azazel, played Dr. Jekyll in the film *The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen* (2003).
- In the film “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006), there was an episode where the professor was no longer young but didn’t need a wheelchair (when they visited Jean’s parents). But in this part of the film, we learn that Charles Xavier became disabled even in his youth.
- Sebastian Shaw's submarine is named "Caspartina" in honor of director Matthew Vaughn's children – Caspar and Clementine. The same name is borne by a ship in another Matthew Vaughn film – "Stardust" (2007).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
