The Survivor | |
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Directed by | Barry Levinson |
Written by | Justine Juel Gillmer |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | George Steel |
Edited by | Douglas Crise |
Music by | Hans Zimmer |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | HBO Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 129 minutes [1] |
Countries |
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Language | English |
The Survivor is a 2021 biographical drama film, directed by Barry Levinson, from a screenplay by Justine Juel Gillmer. Ben Foster stars as Harry Haft, a real-life survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he boxed fellow inmates to survive. Vicky Krieps, Billy Magnussen, Peter Sarsgaard, John Leguizamo, and Danny DeVito co-star. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2021, and was released on HBO on April 27, 2022. The film received positive reviews from critics, particularly for Foster's lead performance.
In November 2018, it was announced that Ben Foster had joined the cast of the film, along with Barry Levinson, who was supposed to direct the film from a screenplay by Justine Juel Gillmer, with Matti Leshem, Aaron L. Gilbert, Jason Sosnoff, Levinson and Scott Pardo producing under their New Mandate, Bron Studios and Creative Wealth Media banners, respectively. [2] In March 2019, Billy Magnussen, Danny DeVito, Vicky Krieps, Peter Sarsgaard, Dar Zuzovsky and John Leguizamo joined the cast of the film. [3] Hans Zimmer composed the film's score. [4] The film was re-titled The Survivor from the working title, Harry Haft. [5] Principal photography began in February 2019. [6]
The Survivor had its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2021. [7] In October 2021, HBO Films acquired distribution rights to the film. [8] The film debuted on HBO and HBO Max on April 27, 2022.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 85% of 67 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "Ben Foster's gripping work in the central role further elevates The Survivor's affectingly character-driven approach to its weighty themes." [9] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [10]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2022 | Hollywood Critics Association Awards | Best Broadcast Network or Cable Live-Action Television Movie | The Survivor | Won | [11] |
Best Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology Series | Ben Foster | Nominated | |||
Best Directing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Limited or Anthology Series | Barry Levinson | Nominated | |||
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Television Movie | Ben Foster, Matti Leshem, Aaron L. Gilbert, Barry Levinson, Jason Sosnoff, and Scott Pardo | Nominated | [12] | |
2023 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Movie Made for Television | The Survivor | Nominated | [13] |
Satellite Awards | Best Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated | [14] |
Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series Taxi (1978–1983), which won him a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award. He plays Frank Reynolds on the FX and FXX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2006–present).
Barry Lee Levinson is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. His best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as Diner (1982), The Natural (1984), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Bugsy (1991), and Wag the Dog (1997). Levinson won the Academy Award for Best Director for Rain Man (1988). In 2021, he co-executive produced the Hulu miniseries Dopesick and directed the first two episodes.
Samuel Levinson is an American filmmaker and actor. He is the son of Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson. In 2010, he received his first writing credit as a co-writer for the action comedy film Operation: Endgame. The following year, he made his directorial film debut with Another Happy Day (2011), which premiered at Sundance Film Festival. He then received a writing credit on his father's HBO television film The Wizard of Lies (2017). He continued writing and directing for the feature films Assassination Nation (2018) and Malcolm & Marie (2021).
Danny DeVito is an American actor and filmmaker, who has been active in film since the 1970s. One of his early notable roles was as Martini in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975 alongside Jack Nicholson. In the 70s and 80s, he appeared in Car Wash (1976), Terms of Endearment (1983), Romancing the Stone (1984) and its sequel The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Ruthless People (1986), Throw Momma from the Train (1987), Twins (1988), and The War of the Roses (1989). In 1992, he was cast in the role of the villain Penguin opposite Michael Keaton's Batman in Batman Returns. In the 90's, he starred in Renaissance Man (1994), and co-starred in the films Get Shorty with Gene Hackman (1995), Matilda with wife Rhea Perlman, which he also directed and produced. He played George Shapiro in 1999's Man on the Moon opposite Jim Carrey, who played Andy Kaufman, a real-life friend of DeVito's.
Harry Haft was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp where he boxed fellow inmates to survive. He was briefly a professional boxer in post-war Germany, and boxed as a light heavyweight in the United States from 1948–1949.
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