10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Bourne Ultimatum
Matt Damon as Jason Bourne has become one of the best modern action spy characters thanks to well written and action packed movies. The initial trilogy of films each work on their own but also do an outstanding job of telling an overall compelling story through three different films. While the first two films, The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy, are filled with tons of action, they are also filled with lots of unanswered questions. That is where The Bourne Ultimatum shines. Not only is the action on par or better than the first two, it also manages to answer all the mysteries from the first two. I recently re-watched The Bourne Ultimatum with commentary from director Paul Greengrass to hopefully answer any of your mysteries and hopefully provide you with 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Bourne Ultimatum…
1. Director Paul Greengrass wanted the tempo high for The Bourne Ultimatum which is why the movie opens with a chase in the streets of Moscow.
2. The opening chase is supposed to happen right after The Bourne Supremacy, but the production wasn’t about to go back to film in frigid Moscow because The Bourne Ultimatum was filmed during winter. Luckily they were already in Germany and East Berlin along with some fake snow doubled perfectly for Moscow.
3. Greengrass wanted the Waterloo station scene because it excitingly shows the cat and mouse action, with Bourne being the mouse and the CIA being the technology enhanced cat. Greengrass specifically wanted to use London because selfishly it is home city and the only major northern European city not visited by Bourne.
4. The chase after the Waterloo scene that includes the London Underground has more than a wink to The French Connection, one of Greengrass’ favorite movies. In fact, the wink becomes downright heavy when Bourne becomes face to face with his nemesis, but Greengrass thinks it is good for the movie, and I agree.
5. Greengrass really wanted the action in The Bourne Ultimatum to be longer, richer, and denser and the chase and fight in Tangiers is a perfect example thanks in large part to the stunt work and sound design.
6. Tangiers was a wonderful place to shoot for Greengrass, and it didn’t hurt that the city also has a The French Connection… connection, but he mainly liked it because it not only has a 1970s vibe but also a contemporary feel.
7. The Battle of Algiers was another favorite of Greengrass and influenced one of the explosive scenes in Tangiers. The director of The Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo sadly passed away during the filming of The Bourne Ultimatum and the production held a moment of silence for his passing.
8. Bourne chasing Desh in Tangiers was initially supposed to be a car chase but quickly changed to Vespas after the production arrived in Tangiers and it became obvious that Bourne would find motorbikes to be the most efficient way around town.
9. The iconic shot of Bourne jumping down across an alley from one window to another was filmed by having a cameraman do the same thing right behind Bourne. Of course, Bourne was played by one stuntman and the cameraman was another stuntman quickly taught how to use the camera.
10. The New York City filming was done from October to May, which explains why there is snow on the ground in lots of scenes, but not all. Greengrass felt that Bourne had to come back to New York City to not only get his answers, but… you guessed it because of The French Connection. It does set up one hell of a final car chase like its inspiration.
