Fury (2014)
Fury is a 2014 American war film written and directed by David Ayer, and starring Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs and Scott Eastwood. The film portrays US tank crews fighting in Germany during the final weeks of the European theater of World War II. Ayer was influenced by the service of veterans in his family and by reading books such as Belton Y. Cooper’s Death Traps, about American armored units in World War II and the high casualty rates suffered by tank crews in Europe. Production began in early September 2013, in Hertfordshire, England, followed by principal photography on September 30, 2013, in Oxfordshire. Filming continued for a month and a half at different locations, which included the city of Oxford, and concluded on November 13. Fury was released on October 17, 2014, received positive reviews, and grossed $211 million worldwide.
Plot.
In Nazi Germany in early April 1945, the Allies meet fanatical Waffen-SS resistance. Don “Wardaddy” Collier, a battle-hardened US Army staff sergeant in the 2nd Armored Division, commands a surviving Sherman E8 tank nicknamed Fury and its veteran crew: gunner Boyd “Bible” Swan, loader Grady “Coon-Ass” Travis, driver Trini “Gordo” Garcia, and the late bow gunner “Red”, who was killed in the previous battle, all of whom have fought together since the North African campaign. The deceased Red is subsequently replaced when Fury returns to base by private Norman Ellison, a young clerk with no combat experience.
As Fury moves deeper into Germany, Norman’s inexperience becomes dangerous: He spots a team of concealed Hitler Youth but refuses to fire at the young combatants, who then ambush the platoon leader’s tank with a Panzerfaust, killing its entire crew. Later, Norman hesitates under fire during a skirmish and as a result, Collier finds a captured German soldier and gives Norman his M1917 Revolver, ordering him to execute the prisoner. When he refuses, Collier wrestles the revolver into his hand and forces him to pull the trigger, killing the prisoner and traumatizing Norman.
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After the platoon captures a small town, Collier and Norman search an apartment and encounter a frightened woman, Irma, and her younger cousin, Emma. Collier pays them for a meal and hot water while Norman and Emma begin to form a bond. Later, as the four sit down to eat, the rest of the crew drunkenly barges in. They harass the women and bully Norman until Collier angrily slams a table, enraged at their indecency. As the crew returns to the tank, German artillery hits the town, killing Irma and Emma, and angering Norman as a result.
Casting.
On April 3, 2013, Sony started assembling the cast for the film when Brad Pitt, who previously starred in the WWII-set Inglourious Basterds (2009), entered final talks to take the lead role of Wardaddy. On April 23, Shia LaBeouf joined the cast. On May 1, it was announced that Logan Lerman had also joined Fury’s cast, playing Pitt’s crew member Norman Ellison. On May 14, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Michael Peña was in negotiations to play a member of Pitt’s tank crew. With his addition to the cast, Fury became one of the few films to show Hispanic-Americans serving in WWII. On May 17, Jon Bernthal joined the cast as Grady Travis, a cunning, vicious, and world-wise Arkansas native. On August 26, Scott Eastwood also joined the cast, playing Sergeant Miles. On September 19, Brad William Henke joined as Sergeant Roy Davis, commander of another tank, Lucy Sue (the third Sherman destroyed by the Tiger). Jason Isaacs was cast on October 7, 2013. Other cast members include Xavier Samuel, Jim Parrack, Eugenia Kuzmina, Kevin Vance, and Branko Tomović.
Filming.
The film’s crews were rehearsing the film scenes in Hertfordshire in September 2013. The crew were also sighted filming in various locations in North West England. Brad Pitt was spotted in preparations for Fury driving a tank on September 3 in the English countryside. Principal photography began on September 30, 2013, in the Oxfordshire countryside. Pinewood Studios sent warning letters to the villagers of Shirburn, Pyrton, and Watlington that there would be sounds of gunfire and explosions during the filming of Fury. On October 15, 2013, a stuntman was accidentally stabbed in the shoulder with a bayonet while rehearsing at the set in Pyrton. He was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford by air ambulance. Police treated it as an accident. In November 2013, the film caused controversy by shooting a scene on Remembrance Day in which extras wore Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS uniforms. Ayer and Sony apologized.RELATED:
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Release.
Sony Pictures Releasing had previously set November 14, 2014 as the American release date for Fury. On August 12, 2014, the date was moved up from its original release date of November 14, 2014 to October 17, 2014. The film premiered in London on October 20, 2014 as a closing film of London Film Festival and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2014. Fury had its world premiere at Newseum in Washington, D.C. on October 15, 2014, followed by a wide release across 3,173 theaters in North America on October 17.