Olympus Has Fallen 4k Blu Ray
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Olympus Has Fallen is a 2013 American political action thriller film directed and co-produced by Antoine Fuqua from a screenplay written by Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt, and is the first installment in the Has Fallen film series. The film stars Gerard Butler (who also co-produced), Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman with Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Cole Hauser, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, and Rick Yune in supporting roles. The plot depicts a North Korean-led guerrilla assault on the White House, and focuses on disgraced Secret Service agent Mike Banning's efforts to rescue U.S. President Benjamin Asher.
The film was released in the United States on March 22, 2013, by FilmDistrict, and grossed $170 million against a $70 million production budget. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Fuqua's direction and Butler's performance, but criticized the overt violence and screenplay. Olympus Has Fallen was one of two films released in 2013 that depicted a terrorist attack against the White House; the other was White House Down.
Former U.S. Army Ranger, Mike Banning, is a Secret Service agent and detail leader in the Presidential Protection Division, maintaining a personal, friendly relationship with President Benjamin Asher, First Lady Margaret, and their son Connor. On a snowy Christmas drive from Camp David, the Presidential Limo transporting the First Family spins out of control on an icy bridge after a tree branch hits the leading vehicle. Banning pulls Asher from the vehicle, but the limo plummets to the frozen river, killing Margaret.
Eighteen months later, Banning works at the Treasury Department, having been removed from the presidential detail. During Asher's meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Tae-Woo at the White House, the Koreans for United Freedom (KUF), a North Korean terrorist group led by Kang Yeonsak, mounts a full-scale assault to capture the building and kill all the White House security force. Aided by ex-Secret Service agent-turned-private security contractor Dave Forbes, they hold Asher and several top officials hostage in the PEOC, executing Lee on live video. Before being killed, Agent Roma alerts the Pentagon that "Olympus has fallen".
Banning joins the White House's defenders during KUF's initial assault. He falls back into the White House, disabling internal surveillance, and using Asher's satellite earphone to contact Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs and Speaker of the House Allan Trumbull, now acting president, in the Pentagon's emergency briefing room.
Kang uses Asher's hostage status to demand Trumbull to withdraw U.S. Forces from the Korean Peninsula. He also seeks to detonate the American nuclear arsenal to turn North America into an irradiated wasteland as revenge for his mother's death. To do this, he needs the access codes to the Cerberus nuclear arsenal system, held only by Asher, Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Joseph Hoenig, all of whom are inside the PEOC. Asher orders McMillan and Hoenig to reveal their codes to save their lives, certain that he will not give up his own code.
After finding Connor hiding in the building's walls and sneaking him to safety, preventing Kang from using him to force Asher to reveal his Cerberus code, Banning kills many commandos, including Forbes. Army Chief of Staff General Edward Clegg convinces Trumbull to order an aerial assault on the White House. The KUF discovers and destroys the assault force using the advanced Hydra 6 anti-aircraft system. Kang retaliates by executing Vice President Charlie Rodriguez.
Banning disables Kang's communications and forces him into bringing his operatives into the open when they attempt to execute McMillan in front of the media, killing more of them before Kang retreats to the bunker. With their numbers dwindling rapidly, Kang fakes his and Asher's death by sacrificing several of his commandos and the remaining hostages in a helicopter explosion.
Banning sees through the ruse and heads to the bunker. With two codes already in hand, Kang eventually cracks Asher's code and activates Cerberus. Banning ambushes and kills all the remaining terrorists when they attempt to escape with Asher, and Banning kills Kang by stabbing him in the head. Asher informs Banning about Cerberus, and Banning deactivates it just in time with the assistance of Trumbull and his staff. Banning escorts Asher out after retaking the White House. Afterward, Banning is reinstated as head of the presidential security detail while Asher speaks about the aftermath of the attack, assuring the public that America will rebuild stronger than before.
Olympus Has Fallen was directed by Antoine Fuqua, based on a script by Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt in their first screenwriting effort. The production company Millennium Films acquired the spec script in March 2012, and Gerard Butler was cast later in the month as the star of the film.[4] The rest of the characters were cast throughout June and July.
Filming began in Shreveport, Louisiana, in mid-July 2012.[9] Because Olympus Has Fallen was filmed so far from its actual setting of Washington, D.C., the entire production relied heavily upon visual effects, particularly computer-generated imagery. For example, computers were used to create nearly all of the opening sequence in which the First Lady is killed in a car accident, with chroma key greenscreen technology used to composite the actors into the computer-generated snowy scenery. For scenes where actors walked in or out of the White House, a first-floor faade and entrance were built; computers added the second floor, roof, and downtown D.C. cityscape. Action scenes with the White House in the background were filmed in open fields and the White House and D.C. were added in post-production.[17]
The score was composed by Trevor Morris whose past projects included The Tudors and The Borgias.[18] The score was recorded at Trevor Morris Studios in Santa Monica with the Bratislava Slovak National Orchestra.
Olympus Has Fallen was released in the United States on March 22, 2013.[6] It was initially scheduled for an April 5, 2013 release, but moved to avoid competition with The Heat, which was to open at the same time (its release was later pushed back to June 28). FilmDistrict distributed the film.[19]
A lawsuit was filed in 2013 by Creighton Rothenberger seeking a declaration that John S Green was not the source of the film's characters and material. Green countersued, seeking a declaration that he was the sole author.[22] The case was eventually settled for $175,000, with Rothenberger retaining the rights to the film.[23]
In July 2021, star/producer Gerard Butler sued Nu Image/Millennium Films for $10 million, claiming that the company had understated the film's domestic gross by $17.5 million, as well as failed to report $8 million that went to its own executives. Butler's contract had entitled him to 10% of net profits.[24]
Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett and Radha Mitchell returned for a sequel titled London Has Fallen revolving around a major terrorist strike on London during the funeral of the British Prime Minister.[33] Production was scheduled to begin in May 2014 in London, with Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt returning to write the script. Director Antoine Fuqua did not return, due to his commitments to The Equalizer.[34]
On May 1, 2014, it was announced that Focus Features had acquired distribution rights to the sequel and would release it on October 2, 2015, though this was later pushed back to January 22, 2016.[35] However, the film's release was delayed to March 4, 2016. On August 18, 2014, it was announced that Fredrik Bond would direct,[36] but he left the film on September 18, just six weeks before shooting was set to begin.[37] On September 28, it was announced that Babak Najafi would direct.[38]
Some time ago I made the switch from APS-C sized Fujifilm cameras to Olympuss mFT System. Dont get me wrong. Fujifilm cameras and lenses are really good, but for me the system is developing into a direction which is not for me. I am an ambitious amateur/hobbyist photographer and not a pro.
Size and weight does matter to me as you might have read in one of my previous posts. Then again I do rely on weather resistant kit while being on travels. The mFT gear from Olympus just fits my needs better.
1. Size
The Olympus cameras and lenses are really small compared to most of the DSLR cameras out there. But it is not only the camera body itself. Check the lenses. Be that the amazing 12-40mm f/2.8 lens as a standard zoom lens or if you want a smaller packed camera bag then go for the really tiny f/1.8 primes in Olympuss lens lineup. I also own the fabulous M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 lens which is pretty well glued to the Pen-F I own. (Yes, Stockografie has got a Pen-F again and I will talk about that in a later post)
2. Weather sealing
Have you ever seen the videos on YouTube where for instance Blunty washes the OM-D E-M1 with the 12-40mm lens on it? Or the one where a guy freezes the camera and it still works? I could go on and on and on. I once had a camera which I used in ice cold Sweden. Yes it did work, but I was so careful with it. I kept snugging it under my warm winter coat as soon as I had taken the shot. Would I do the same with the Olympus gear? Probably not as I do trust it to withstand such harsh conditions! Provided of course that I use the WR lenses as well as a WR stated body!
3. Image quality
Really? Image quality on a micro Four Thirds camera with only 16MPx on its so small sensor? Yes image quality. Just take a look at these two photographs. The first on is the unedited file which I exported from raw out of Lightroom without any corrections and the second is the same raw file but this time with some editing done to it. The editing is to my liking and might not be your taste at all. It does however show you what is possible with a more or less modern camera. Yes I know, the sensor tech inside is from 2013.