The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, also promoted as LXG, is a 2003 steampunk ^[5] /dieselpunk superhero film based on some of the characters in the first volume of the comic book series of the same name by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill, although the plot bears very little similarity to that of the comic book. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it was released on 11 July 2003 in the United States, and on 17 October in the United Kingdom. It was directed by Stephen Norrington and stars Sean Connery, Peta Wilson, Naseeruddin Shah, Tony Curran, Stuart Townsend, Shane West, Jason Flemyng, and Richard Roxburgh. It was Connery's final role in a theatrically released live-action film before his retirement in 2006 and death in 2020.

As with the comic book source material, the film features prominent pastiche and crossover themes^[6] set in the late 19th century. It features an assortment of fictional literary characters appropriate to the period who act as Victorian era superheroes. It draws on the works of Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, Ian Fleming, Herman Melville, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, Gaston Leroux, and Mark Twain.

It received generally unfavorable reviews but was financially successful, grossing over 179ドル million worldwide in theaters, and earning rental revenue of 48ドル.6 million and DVD sales (as of 2003) of 36ドル.4 million, against its 78ドル million budget.^[7]

In 1899, a terrorist group led by the "Fantom" robs the Bank of England for Leonardo da Vinci's blueprints of Venice's foundations, kidnaps German scientists, and destroys a Zeppelin factory in Berlin. With the British and German Empires threatening to start a world war, a British emissary named Sanderson Reed travels to Kenya Colony to recruit retired adventurer and hunter Allan Quatermain. He initially refuses until assassins attempt to kill him. After defeating them, he agrees. In London, Quatermain meets Reed's boss "M", who explains that the Fantom intends to profit from the world war and is going to attack the world's leaders at a conference in Venice in three days. To prevent this, M forms the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and recruits Quatermain, Captain Nemo, vampire chemist Mina Harker, and invisible thief Rodney Skinner.

The League travels to the London Docklands to recruit Dorian Gray, Mina's former lover, who is immortal due to a missing cursed portrait. The Fantom and his assassins attack the League, but U.S. Secret Service Agent Tom Sawyer intervenes and helps them fend off the attack, forcing the Fantom and his men to retreat. Sawyer then reveals he was sent by the U.S. to join the effort to stop the Fantom. After he and Gray join the League, they capture Edward Hyde in Paris, who transforms back into his alter ego Dr. Henry Jekyll, who also joins the League after being offered amnesty for his crimes. While traveling to Venice in Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus , Jekyll experiences trouble controlling Hyde while the other Leaguers deduce a mole is on board after discovering a camera's flash powder residue in the wheelhouse and someone stole a vial of Jekyll's transformation formula. Suspicion falls on Skinner, but he is nowhere to be found.

The Nautilus arrives in Venice as several hidden bombs detonate, causing the city to collapse. Sawyer uses one of Nemo's automobiles to signal him to launch a missile at a key building to stop the destruction, while Quatermain confronts the Fantom, who is unmasked as M before escaping again. Dorian shoots Nemo's first mate Ishmael and steals the Nautilus's exploration pod, but Ishmael successfully warns the League of his treachery before dying. While pursuing Dorian, the League uncover a phonograph recording that Dorian left revealing M stole Dorian's painting to enlist his aid in manipulating the League to gain Quatermain's help in capturing Hyde, a skin sample from Skinner, Mina's blood, Jekyll's formula, and photos of Nemo's science while an inaudible audio frequency activates several bombs hidden aboard the Nautilus. Jekyll and Hyde join forces to drain the flooded sections while Skinner secretly messages the League, informing them he snuck aboard the exploration pod.

Using Skinner's directions, the League reaches northern Mongolia and locates M's mountain fortress. They soon regroup with Skinner, who reveals M took the kidnapped scientists' families hostage to force them to mass-produce M's work, and he intends to sell a sample case to competing nations. The League split up, with Nemo and Hyde rescuing the scientists and their families, Skinner planting bombs to destroy the fortress, Mina fighting and killing Dorian with his painting, and Quatermain and Sawyer working to capture M, who Quatermain deduces is Professor James Moriarty. Nemo and Hyde complete their task, but are overwhelmed by M's henchman, Dante, after he overdoses on Hyde formula until Skinner's bombs detonate, killing Dante in the collapsing fortress while the pair escape. Quatermain corners M, but an invisible Reed takes Sawyer hostage. Quatermain kills Reed, but M fatally stabs Quatermain before Sawyer kills him in turn. Quatermain dies, wishing Sawyer luck in the new century.

As the League ensures Quatermain is buried in Kenya, they recall how a witch doctor promised that Africa would never let him die. Nemo offers The League a home on the Nautilus; they agree continue fighting anyone who threatens war in the new century. As the five survivors leave, The witch doctor performs a fiery ritual that summons an unnatural thunderstorm over Quatermain's grave, until lightning strikes the rifle Sawyer left with him.

• Sean Connery as Allan Quatermain, a legendary adventurer and hunter skilled in tracking, marksmanship, and hand-to-hand combat.
• Shane West as Tom Sawyer, an American Secret Service agent recruited by Quatermain to assist the League.
• Stuart Townsend as Dorian Gray, Mina's former lover and an experienced duelist, rendered immortal by a cursed painting.
• Richard Roxburgh as The Fantom / "M" / Prof. James Moriarty, an old enemy of Sherlock Holmes who uses his penchant for disguises and powerful intellect to manipulate the League.
• Peta Wilson as Dr. Mina Harker, a chemist and martial artist who retains the immortality and vampiric abilities given to her by Count Dracula.
• Tony Curran as Rodney Skinner, a gentleman thief who got his hands on Griffin's invisibility serum.
• Jason Flemyng as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde, a scientist who developed a dual personality after experimenting on himself. In his Hyde form, he has immense strength, endurance, and a love of violence.
• Naseeruddin Shah as Nemo, captain of the Nautilus and a gifted swordsman and scientist.
• David Hemmings as Nigel, an old friend of Allan Quatermain's who poses as him to drive off "story-seekers". He is murdered by Moriarty's agents.
• Max Ryan as Dante, one of Moriarty's henchmen who is transformed into a deranged monster using vast quantities of Jekyll's transformation serum.
• Tom Goodman-Hill as Sanderson Reed, a representative of the British government who recruits Quatermain into the League.
• Terry O'Neill as Ishmael, first mate of the Nautilus.

In 2003, Larry Cohen and Martin Poll sued 20th Century Fox for intentionally plagiarizing their script Cast of Characters, which they had pitched to the studio between 1993 and 1996. Noting that the scripts shared public-domain characters that had not appeared in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel series,^[16] the suit accused Fox of soliciting the series as a smokescreen.^{[17] [18] [19]} Fox denied the allegations as "absurd nonsense"^[19] but settled out of court, a decision Alan Moore believed "denied [him] the chance to exonerate" himself.^[20]

The film was nominated for three Saturn Awards for Best Fantasy Film, Peta Wilson for Best Supporting Actress and Best Costume Design but lost to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl respectively.^[32]

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen earned a total of 48,640,000ドル in rentals, including 14,810,000ドル from video rentals and 33,830,000ドル from DVD rentals.^[33] DVD sales garnered 36,400,000ドル.^[33]

The movie was rereleased on Blu-ray in October 2018 by Fabulous Films.^[34]

A novelization of the movie, written by Kevin J. Anderson, was published shortly before the film's release.

The soundtrack album, the score was composed by Trevor Jones and was released by Varèse Sarabande on iTunes, and later online. It was not sold in stores in the United States.

In the season 10 Family Guy episode "Amish Guy", Peter Griffin wants to ride a roller coaster based on the film called The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Ride.

The Tracking Board reported in May 2015 that 20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment had agreed to develop a reboot, in the hope of launching a franchise, and that a search was underway for a director.^[35] John Davis told Collider in an interview that the film would be "female-centric".^[36] These plans were reportedly scrapped after the 2019 Disney–Fox merger.^[37] However, The Hollywood Reporter revealed in May 2022 that the reboot was back on track as a Hulu release, with Justin Haythe writing, and producer Don Murphy returning, alongside Susan Montford and Erwin Stoff of 3 Arts Entertainment.^[38]

• Mashup novel

• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen at IMDb
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen at Box Office Mojo
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen at Rotten Tomatoes
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Article at FilmForce about the film
• "Early review of the "LXG" script". Archived from the original on December 14, 2000.
• Stax's review at IGN of a revised version of the script
• Zone Troopers: Website about the different Allan Quatermain and King Solomon's Mine films