The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Timing: 1:46 (106 min)

8.2/10
11254

7.829/10
123889

8.5/10
1200000

All about film

Video 12

Photo 79

Actors and characters

Release date

1995-07-19

Country

United States

Production

Bad Hat Harry Productions, Blue Parrot Productions

Genre

Drama, Crime, Thriller

Budget

$6 000 000

Revenue

$23 341 568

Website

http://www.mgm.com/#/our-titles/2083/The-Usual-Suspects

Director

Bryan Singer

Actors

Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite, Suzy Amis, Giancarlo Esposito, Dan Hedaya
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Christopher McQuarrie

Producer

Bryan Singer, Michael McDonnell, Robert Jones, Art Horan, François Duplat, Hans Brockmann

Operator

Newton Thomas Sigel

Composer

John Ottman

Artist

Audition

Francine Maisler

Editing

William Hoy, Peter S. Elliot, John Ottman
All team (126)

• The face recognition scene was an improvisation by the actors.
• A more accurate translation of the title is "The Usual Suspects".
• When writing the screenplay, McQuarrie drew inspiration from one of his early, unpublished works, whose protagonist, after dealing with his own family, disappeared from the sight of the criminal world and the police for a long time. All the characters were given the names of employees of a law firm where the screenwriter once worked. He found the word "soze" in an English-Turkish phrasebook, which means "chatter" (a hint at the main character's nickname). Later, the screenwriter described "The Usual Suspects" as a hybrid of "Rashomon" and "Double Indemnity".
• The film was shot in just 35 days. Throughout the narrative, enough clues were scattered regarding Keyser Söze’s identity to motivate repeat viewings. The advertising campaign was run with the slogan “Do you know who Keyser Söze is?” Later, while accepting an “Oscar,” Kevin Spacey quipped: “Whoever Keyser Söze is, I can assure you that tonight he will be dead drunk.”
• The role of Verbal Kint was originally intended for Kevin Spacey.
• The idea for the film originated from the concept of a poster for the movie, depicting men lined up for identification at a police station.
• Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie once worked at a detective agency, and his experience there definitely influenced the portrayal of criminals and law enforcement in the script.
• When Kevin Spacey saw Brian Singer's first film, 'Public Access' (1993) at the Sundance Film Festival that same year, he met the young director there and told him he wanted to star in his next film.
• Gabriel Byrne initially refused the offer to star in the film. He changed his mind after a detailed conversation with screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie and director Brian Singer. On the eve of filming, the actor informed the filmmakers that he would not be able to play the role after all due to personal issues, as he could not leave Los Angeles. Singer made the necessary changes to the plot for the actor’s sake, so that the entire film could be shot in five weeks exclusively in Los Angeles.
• Michael Biehn was offered the lead role, but after reading the script, he didn't understand it and turned it down. Steven Baldwin became the next potential candidate, and he took on the role. Biehn later admitted that he had made a mistake by refusing to work with Bryan Singer.
• When Kevin Spacey received the script, he had to read it twice because he didn't understand everything the first time.
• It took 18 hours to film the robbery scene in the underground parking lot. According to Gabriel Byrne, the director still didn't have the material he needed the next day and continued filming in the underground parking lot, even despite threats from the insurance company to shut down the project.
• When writing the script, McQuarrie drew inspiration from one of his early, unpublished works, whose protagonist, after eliminating his own family, disappeared from the sight of the criminal world and the police for a long time. All the characters were given the names of employees of a law firm where the screenwriter once worked. He found the word 'soze,' meaning 'chatter,' (a hint at the protagonist's nickname) in an English-Turkish phrasebook. The screenwriter later described 'The Usual Suspects' as a hybrid of 'Rashomon' and 'Double Indemnity'.
• The film was shot in just 35 days. Throughout the narrative, enough clues were scattered regarding Keyser Söze's identity to motivate repeat viewings. The advertising campaign was launched with the slogan 'Do you know who Keyser Söze is?' Later, while accepting an 'Oscar,' Kevin Spacey quipped, 'Whoever Keyser Söze is, I can assure you, tonight he will be dead drunk.'
• When Peter Greene's character flicks a cigarette towards McManus (played by Stephen Baldwin), it hits him in the face, although it was intended to hit his chest. Baldwin's reaction was genuine and unscripted, so Bryan Singer decided to keep that take in the film.
• According to Kevin Spacey, Bryan Singer managed to convince each of the leading actors that the role of Keyser Söze was intended for them. When it turned out that this was not the case, Gabriel Byrne, for example, left the set in a rage and then argued with the director for another half hour.
• “Fenster” translates from German as “window.” Initially, the character was supposed to be the oldest. Benicio Del Toro was initially offered the role of McManus. He himself volunteered to try out for the role of Fenster. Del Toro came up with the idea for Fenster to speak incoherently, and the director agreed. In one scene, Hockney, played by Kevin Pollak, replies to Fenster's line: “What did he just say?” – the actor genuinely couldn’t understand what Del Toro had said. Similarly, MacQuarrie's line, “Please speak English,” said to Fenster, was not in the script, nor was Fenster’s reaction to it.
• A more accurate translation of the title is 'The Usual Suspects'.
• When writing the script, McQuarrie drew on one of his early, unpublished works, whose protagonist, after eliminating his own family, disappeared from the sight of the criminal world and the police for a long time. All the characters were given the names of employees of a law firm where the screenwriter once worked. He found the word 'soze', meaning 'chatter' (a hint at the main character's nickname), in an English-Turkish phrasebook. The screenwriter later described 'The Usual Suspects' as a hybrid of 'Rashomon' and 'Double Indemnity'.
• The film was shot in just 35 days. Throughout the narrative, enough clues were scattered regarding Keyser Söze's identity to motivate repeat viewings. The advertising campaign was launched with the slogan 'Do you know who Keyser Söze is?' Later, while accepting an 'Oscar', Kevin Spacey quipped: 'Whoever Keyser Söze is, I can assure you he'll be dead drunk tonight.'