Varian's War (2001) (TV)

Director:

Lionel Chetwynd

Writer (WGA):

Lionel Chetwynd (written by)

Release Date:

22 April 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

He changed the world forever. One person at a time. The true story of the American Schindler.

Plot:

Varian Fry rescues more than 2,000 artists from Nazi persecution during World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Artist | Nazi | Refugee | WWII | Character Name In Title

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

William Hurt	...	Varian Fry
Julia Ormond	...	Miriam Davenport
Matt Craven	...	Beamish
Maury Chaykin	...	Marcello
Alan Arkin	...	Freier
Lynn Redgrave	...	Alma Werfel-Mahler
Rémy Girard	...	Colonel Joubert (as Remy Girard)
Christopher Heyerdahl	...	Marius Franken
Gloria Carlin	...	Bella Chagall
Joel Miller	...	Marc Chagall
Vlasta Vrana	...	Franz Werfel
John Dunn-Hill	...	Heinrich Mann
Ted Whittall	...	Harry Bingham
Dorothée Berryman	...	Mme Fanny
Howard Ryshpan	...	Konditorei Owner
Carol Shamy	...	Wife of Konditorei Owner
Harald Winter	...	First Brownshirt
Susan Almgren	...	Eileen Fry (as Susie Almgren)
Barry Blake	...	Drury
Noël Burton	...	Thompson
Emma Campbell	...	Clifton's Girl
Ian Finlay	...	Ballroom Man #1
Maitreya Friedman	...	Ballroom Woman #1 (as Maitreya Frieman)
Alain Goulem	...	Clifton
Christopher B. MacCabe	...	Ballroom Man #2 (as Christopher Maccabe)
Walter Massey	...	Sydney
Tom Rack	...	Reinhold Neibuhr
Michael Rudder	...	Thomas Mann
Andrea Sadler	...	Ballroom Woman #2
Guy Sprung	...	Karl Frank
Bill Corday	...	Diplomat
Sheena Larkin	...	Mrs. Roosevelt
Tony Robinow	...	Bureaucrat
Jacques Allard	...	Splendide Clerk
Victoria Barkoff	...	Frau Willie
Jude Beny	...	Older Woman
Harvey Berger	...	Older man
Alexander Bisping	...	Second Civilian
Lorne Brass	...	Lion Feuchtwanger
Bibi Burton	...	Nelly Mann
Tony Calabretta	...	Angelo, the Maitre D'
Robert Crooks	...	Sixteen-Year-Old
Kliment Denchev	...	Stravinsk
Thomas Donohue	...	Distinguished Man
Dawn Ford	...	Woman in Office
David Francis	...	US Consul Jamison
Sam Gesser	...	Old Man in Street
Renée Girard	...	Older Woman #2
Tamar Kozlov	...	Teenage Girl
Mark Antony Krupa	...	Gestapo Officer
André Lacoste	...	Real Estate Agent
Pierre LeBlanc	...	Gendarme Clerk
Marc Legault	...	Elderly Refugee
Richard Lemire	...	Gendarme Captain
Bonfield Marcoux	...	French Officer
Kent McQuaid	...	Young Painter
Pascale Montpetit	...	Mme Joubert
Aubert Pallascio	...	Consul Wille
Jean Michel Paré	...	Naval Officer
François Pratte	...	Harried Man
Miriam Samuels	...	Teased Old Woman
Christophe Rapin	...	First Civilian
Felicia Shulman	...	Sad Woman #1 (as Felicia Schulman)
Marjorie Silcoff	...	Thirtyish Woman
Paul-Antoine Taillefer	...	Port Café Waiter
Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge	...	French Porter
Leah Vineberg	...	Sad Woman #2
Elyzabeth Walling	...	Hannah Arendt
Lenie Scoffié	...	Splendide Maid (as Léni Scoffié)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anne Nahabedian	...	Woman (uncredited)
Jeremy Zafran	...	Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Lionel Chetwynd

Writing credits (WGA)
Lionel Chetwynd		(written by)

Produced by
Cis Corman	....	executive producer
Michael Deakin	....	producer
Danièle Rohrbach	....	line producer
Barbra Streisand	....	executive producer
Kevin Tierney	....	producer
Edward Wessex	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Neil Smolar

Cinematography by
Daniel Jobin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Denis Papillon

Casting by
Nadia Miller
Vera Miller

Production Design by
Raymond Dupuis

Art Direction by
Marc Bonin
Michel Langevin

Costume Design by
Nicoletta Massone

Makeup Department
Claudette B. Casavant	....	makeup artist (as Claudette Casavant)
Béatrice de Lempdes	....	assistant makeup artist
Sandro Di Gioacchino	....	assistant hair stylist
Nathalie Garon	....	assistant hair stylist
Johanne Gravel	....	makeup artist
Daniel Jacob	....	assistant hair stylist
Martin Lapointe	....	hair stylist
Martine Léveillé	....	hair stylist
Manon Miserany	....	assistant hair stylist
Johanne Paiement	....	key hair stylist
Marie-Angèle Protat	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Gary Evans	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Anabelle Berkani	....	third assistant director
Claude Dallaire	....	second assistant director
Mireille Goulet	....	first assistant director
Auree Tommi Lepage	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Francis Back	....	storyboard artist
André Bédard	....	scenic technician
François Blanchard	....	scenic technician
Stéphane Brunelle	....	set props assistant
Frances Calder	....	key decorator
Fabrice Callegher	....	assistant property master
Denis Caspar	....	key scenic artist
Simon Chamberland	....	props master
Jean-Claude Dubé	....	draftsman
Michel Farruggello	....	painter
Nicolas Godbout	....	set props assistant
Hélène Lafrance	....	art department coordinator
Étienne Lapointe-Proulx	....	property master
Elissa Lewis	....	art department production assistant
Daniele Paré	....	set props assistant
Camille Parent	....	decorator
Julie-Anne Proulx	....	set props
Benoit Robitaille	....	swing gang
François Sénécal	....	decorator
Eliot W. Smith	....	assistant decorator
Kim Thibodeau	....	assistant decorator

Sound Department
Victoria Bate	....	assistant foley mixer
Diane Boucher	....	supervising adr editor
Peter Burgis	....	foley artist
Ed Colyer	....	foley recordist (as Edward Colyer)
Vital Côté	....	assistant dialogue editor
Andie Derrick	....	foley artist
Valéry Dufort-Boucher	....	assistant dialogue editor
Maxime Ferland	....	boom operator
Gavin Fernandes	....	sound re-recording mixer
Susan French	....	assistant sound editor
Claude Hazanavicius	....	sound recordist
Jacques Leroide	....	foley editor
Diane Linn	....	adr recordist
Gerard Loret	....	first assistant sound editor
Colin Miller	....	supervising sound designer
Bruno Ruffolo	....	adr recordist
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Jean Christophe Verbert	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Jean-Christophe Verbert)
Alice Wright	....	supervising dialogue editor

Special Effects by
Louis Craig	....	special effects supervisor
Martin Williams	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Mario Rachiele	....	visual effects producer

Stunts
Mike Chute	....	stunt double: William Hurt
Marc Désourdy	....	stunt coordinator
Patrick Kerton	....	stunts
David McKeown	....	stunts (as Dave McKeown)
Louis Pharand	....	stunts
Mireille Samson	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
François Allard	....	electrician
Francois Archambault	....	steadicam operator (as François Archambault)
Jocelyne Beaulac	....	best boy grip (as Jocelyn Beauloc)
Patrice Dagenais	....	key grip
Jean Desmarteau	....	electrician
Sylvaine Dufaux	....	additional camera operator
Bertrand Dupuis	....	grip
Massimo Gallizzi	....	electrician
Paul Gravel	....	focus puller: second camera
Terry Lacombe	....	grip
Judith Lagacé	....	first assistant camera
Martin Lamarche	....	gaffer
Pierre-Yves Larouche	....	electrician
Alfonso Maiorana	....	additional camera operator
Charles Proulx	....	generator operator
Geoffroy St-Hilaire	....	second assistant camera
Gaétan St-Onge	....	best boy electric

Casting Department
Lise Beauchamp	....	extras casting
Angela Carsley	....	extras casting
Jennifer Saxon	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Catherina Chamberland	....	assistant costume designer (as Caterina Chamberland)
Julie Chenard	....	assistant wardrobe supervisor
Jean-François Desjardins	....	assistant dresser
Maire-Josée Dumont	....	assistant wardrobe supervisor
Marie-Claude Emond	....	assistant dresser
Catherine Gélinas	....	key dresser
Catou Gelinas	....	key dresser
Marie-Maude Grenier	....	dresser
Anne-Marie Langevin	....	wardrobe supervisor
Danny Lavoie	....	assistant dresser
Véronique Massé	....	assistant dresser
Alice Mayeux	....	assistant dresser
Marie-Hélène Ménard	....	dresser
Madeleine Perras	....	assistant dresser
Eric Poirier	....	assistant dresser
André Valade	....	key dresser
Isabelle Vallé	....	assistant dresser

Editorial Department
Victor August	....	negative cutter
Ginette Blain	....	negative cutter
Claudette Champagne	....	negative cutter
Christian Gravel	....	assistant editor
Louis-Martin Paradis	....	assistant editor
Debs Richardson	....	post-production assistant
Louise Seymour	....	post-production coordinator
Marie-Eve Talbot	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jamie Hopkings	....	orchestrator
Sharon Smith	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Aleck Duncan	....	principal cast driver: Julia Ormond
Jean Simard	....	driver

Other crew
Maggie Belzile	....	assistant accountant
Jesabelle Boileau	....	assistant craft service
Sylvie Boily	....	production coordinator
Luc Bouthillier	....	extras production assistant
Pierre Brunet	....	location manager
Patrice Bujold	....	production assistant
Bertrand Calmeau	....	production assistant
Sam Coppola	....	legal services
Mélanie Côté	....	assistant location manager
Manon Cousin	....	production assistant
Harvey Drouelle	....	daily production assistant
Émilie Dussault	....	assistant: William Hurt
Paule Girardin	....	production secretary
France Lachapelle	....	script supervisor
Sylvie Laurin	....	production auditor
Dominique Leroutier	....	assistant location manager
Marjolaine Perron	....	assistant accountant
Amélie Ponette	....	script trainee
Charles Radford	....	stand-in: William Hurt (as Charlie Radford)
Andrée Roy	....	extras production assistant (as Andree Roy)
Howard Samuelsohn	....	dialect coach
Jean Simard	....	production assistant
Jose Uria	....	production assistant
Arthur Holden	....	additional voice (uncredited)
Harald Winter	....	additional voice (uncredited)
Ulrike Zoller	....	additional voice (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Ardent Productions
• Ardglasson Productions
• Barwood Films
• Gryphon Productions
• NewShowtime

Distributors

• Alliance Atlantis Communications
• America Video Film (2007) (Argentina) (all media)
• America Video (2007) (Argentina) (all media)
• Argentina Video Home (2007) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Bridge Entertainment Group (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Bridge Entertainment Group (2002) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• M.I.B. (Germany) (DVD)
• Showtime Networks
• Universal Pictures Nordic (Sweden)

Special Effects

• Intrigue (special effects)

Other Companies

• Elizabeth Bardsley & Associates  script annotation

Also Known As:

Varian Fry, un héros oublié (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

Argentina:121 min | Canada:121 min | Israel:115 min

Country:

UK | USA | Canada

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:7 | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Ardent Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the beginning of the movie, Varian is holding the "Foreign Affairs" book differently depending on the camera angle.

Great movie with outstanding acting

Varian was not known to me before this movie and I was disappointed that the movie didn't bring out more about him and his motivations. However, both Hurt and Ormond gave fabulous performances. He had that strange "Roosevelt" gait that you see so much in the 40's and was very understated. This had the look of pretty standard Made-for-TV fare. Usually Showtime kicks it up a notch, but not this time.