Starship Troopers
Short description
Starship Troopers is set in a future where humanity is governed by a militaristic federation that grants full citizenship only to those who serve. Johnny Rico joins the Mobile Infantry to follow his girlfriend Carmen, a pilot, while their friend Carl, who has telepathic abilities, enters military intelligence. Their classmate Dizzy, long devoted to Johnny, ends up in the same training unit. When giant arachnids from the distant planet Klendathu attack Earth, the recruits are drawn into an interstellar war against an enemy that vastly outnumbers them.
The film was directed by Paul Verhoeven, the eleventh of the sixteen features he has directed in chronological order, arriving between Showgirls and Hollow Man. Edward Neumeier wrote the screenplay, and Alan Marshall and Jon Davison produced. Casper Van Dien leads the cast as Johnny Rico, with Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris and Clancy Brown in supporting roles. The production involved a large credited cast and crew. Made for about 105 million dollars, it earned roughly 121 million worldwide, a modest return against its cost. Audience reception has stayed favourable over the years, with a rating of 7.3 on IMDb from a large vote count and 7.1 on TMDB. A film critics' rating of 6.9 from 82 reviews places critics and audiences in close agreement on the film.
What's left behind the scenes
- A scene in which servicemen and women shower in a communal shower was not included in a number of early television versions of the film, and the brain-sucking scene (present in the video cassette and DVD editions) was also cut, as were various scenes showing arachnids tearing off soldiers' limbs or ripping a military correspondent in half.
- In the German dub, Egon Högen voiced the newsreader. He previously voiced all episodes of “7. Sinn, Der” (1966) (a popular program about traffic rules).
- In the scene where Sergeant Zim throws a knife at Private Levi's wrist, a slow-motion review clearly shows blood flowing from the hand before the knife actually hits the palm.
- That aggressive man from Buenos Aires who declares “A good bug is a dead bug” is the film’s producer, John Davison.
- The battle in the fortress contains numerous references to the classic war drama “Zulu” (1964) in its dialogue.
- At the time of its creation, the film employed the largest amount of military equipment.
- The name of the heroine, Amy Smart, is not mentioned in the film, however, the FedNet announcer refers to her as "Lieutenant Stack Lambreze," which may well be a reference to one of the film's producers – Stacy Lambreze.
- During the battle episode with the "bugs," paratroopers use machine gun mounts that appear to be similar to Soviet-made DShK large-caliber machine guns.
- In one of the docks of the space station, the “Millennium Falcon,” a spaceship from “Star Wars,” can be noticed.
- Paul Verhoeven and cinematographer Jost Vacano shot the shower scene alone, removing all crew members from the set.
- Dina Meyer was accidentally hit on the head during filming and lost consciousness.
- The film is based on Robert Heinlein's novel “Starship Troopers” (1959).
- Casper Van Dien broke a rib while filming a scene where he jumps off a beetle.
- Most of the bugs were created using computer special effects, but several life-size models were also built. However, during the action scenes, the actors looked at Paul Verhoeven, who was standing where the bugs would appear in post-production, and he would constantly jump and shout to elicit more believable emotions from the actors.
- Around 300 artists and computer designers worked on creating the special effects, primarily all kinds of insects. In total, the film features 500 different visual effects.
- Some of the sets were made from sets used in “Total Recall” (1990).
- Jake Busey's character performs the Mexican national song “Las Golondrinas” on the violin. In Mexico, this song is sung as a farewell.
- The lyrics in David Bowie’s song “I Have Not Been To Oxford Town” were slightly altered – a mention of the 21st century was changed to the 23rd. The cover version of this song is performed by Zoë Polleduris, the elder daughter of composer Basil Poledouris.
- The images of "units" from the Zerg race in the computer game Starcraft largely correspond to the appearance of the "bugs."
- Screenwriter Edward Neumeier appeared as a death row convict.
- The explosions in Buenos Aires were assembled from footage of a real fire in Oakland Hills in October 1991.
- According to Paul Verhoeven, he was never able to finish reading the book, as he found it too boring.
- The paratroopers' rifles resemble French FAMAS assault rifles, but with extended barrels.
- The film is dedicated to the memory of Gavin Garitty and Tom O’Halloran.
- Originally, according to the script, Karl’s pet was supposed to be a froglet.
- The base where the "Pilot Academy" is located is named after Valentina Tereshkova.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
