The Monuments Men is a 2014 American war drama film directed by George Clooney and produced by George Clooney and Grant Helsov. The screenplay was written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov and is based on the book ‘The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History‘ by Robert M. Edsel andh Bret Witter.
Rated: PG-13 (movie contains some images of war violence and historical smoking)
Run Time: 1h 58min
Release Date: February 7, 2014 (USA)
Genre: Action, Drama, War, Comedy, History
Director: George Clooney
Studio: 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures
The Monuments Men stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, Bob Balaban, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville, Dimitri Leonidas and Sam Hazeldine.
The Monuments Men is the story of Frank Stokes (George Clooney) who during World War II in 1943, persuades President Roosevelt that victory over Germany will have little meaning if the artistic treasures of Western civilization are lost. The Allies are making good progress driving back the Axis powers in Italy and Stokes is directed to assemble an Army unit nicknamed the ‘Monuments Men’, comprised of museum directors, curators, art historians and an architect, to both guide Allied units and search for stolen art to return to its rightful owners. The Fine Arts and Archives program is given the task of finding and saving pieces of art and other culturally important items before Nazis destroy or steal them during the war.
In July 1944, Claire Simone (Cate Blanchett), a curator in occupied France, is forced to assist Nazi officer Viktor Stahl in overseeing the theft of art for either Adolf Hitler’s Führermuseum or as personal property of senior commanders such as Hermann Göring. All seems lost when she discovers that Stahl is taking all of her gallery’s contents to Germany as the Allies approach Paris. Simone runs to the rail-yard to confront him, but can only watch as he departs aboard the train carrying the cargo.
Movie Quotes
“If you destroy an entire generation of people’s culture, it’s as if they never existed. That’s what Hitler wants and it’s the one thing we can’t allow.” – Frank Stokes
“If Germany falls, they are to destroy everything.” – James Granger
“Hitler wants everything. He really wanted it all.” – James Granger
“Then we better get it back.” – Frank Stokes
“What have you got?” – Frank Stokes
“I seem to have stepped on a land mine.” – James Granger
“Why did you do something like that?” – Frank Stokes
“It was a slow day.” – James Granger
Official Movie Trailer
Movie Stars
George Clooney as Frank Stokes
Matt Damon as James Granger
Bill Murray as Richard Campbell
John Goodman as Walter Garfield
Cate Blanchett as Claire Simone
Bob Balaban as Preston Savitz
Jean Dujardin as Jean Claude Clermont
Hugh Bonneville as Donald Jeffries
Dimitri Leonidas as Sam Epstein
Sam Hazeldine as Colonel Langton