Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: the highest-grossing war film in history.
Seven years after the immense success of Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood caused a sensation with a war biopic paying tribute to Chris Kyle, the most formidable sniper in American military history. You will probably have understood, it is about the film American Sniper.
Want another TV tip for tonight? We recommend this thriller with Jean Gabin, head to 36 Quai des Orfèvres…
Released in cinemas in 2015, this feature film is inspired by the life of this US naval non-commissioned officer, who killed more than 200 people during the Iraq War. A Navy SEAL sniper, his surgical precision saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his exploits multiply, he earns the nickname “The Legend”.
But very quickly, a price was put on his head and he became a favorite target of the insurgents. And upon returning home, Chris realizes that he cannot return to a normal life. To play this hero of the Iraq War on screen, Clint Eastwood chose Bradley Cooper.
Sienna Miller plays Chris Kyle's wife, Luke Grimes plays Private Marc Lee, the first Navy SEAL to lose his life during the Second Iraq War, while Jake McDorman (Limitless series) plays Biggles, another American soldier.
A resounding success
With a budget of $58.8 million, American Sniper recorded more than $547 million in international box office revenue, and attracted three million spectators in France, making it one of the most profitable war films in the history of cinema (ahead of It Must Be Saved Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg).
That's not all, this feature film by Clint Eastwood is also the greatest success of the career of Bradley Cooper (ahead of the 436 million for A Star Is Born and 333 million for Guardians of the Galaxy).
Finally, to this day, American Sniper also remains Clint Eastwood's biggest US box office success, ahead of Gran Torino (148 million), Merciless (101 million) and Million Dollar Baby (100 million). A total success for the great Clint and his sidekick, Bradley Cooperwho, three years later, reunited for the film The Mule.
Tonight on France 3 at 9:05 p.m.
