ArkaEvren

FILM · 2023

The Covenant

12 archived facts 3 topics

Cinematographer Ed Wild explains how Guy Ritchie's The Covenant was shot, from its stripped-back camera setup to the Spanish locations standing in for Afghanistan.

12 Interesting Facts About The Covenant

Interesting Facts (4)

  1. #001

    Guy Ritchie had long wanted to make a war film; the press notes quote him saying he had heard anecdotes about Afghanistan that were both horrifying and inspiring, and that a story of one man's selflessness toward another drew him to the premise.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  2. #002

    Annie Pforzheimer, a former US diplomat who served as deputy chief of mission in Kabul in 2017-18, said the closing text's figure of 300 Afghans killed for cooperating with the US would soon be out of date, but matched well-documented cases reported by the UN and human rights observers.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  3. #003

    Pforzheimer said the bond between Kinley and Ahmed mirrors what she saw firsthand, and that films like The Covenant capture soldiers' and diplomats' sense of helplessness along with a degree of wish fulfilment.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  4. #004

    Filming in the hills of Alicante in spring allowed the crew to catch the colours of the mountains and the bright reds of the soil.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport

Behind the Scenes (5)

  1. #005

    After cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in 2021 by a negligently discharged firearm on the set of Rust (2024), Guy Ritchie made sure the rule was strictly followed on this film: no real guns at all. Every firearm seen on screen is an airsoft gun (BB gun) or rubber.

    BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  2. #006

    Political conditions kept the crew from filming in Afghanistan, so nearly the entire movie was shot in Spain, largely in the southern Alicante region.

    BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  3. #007

    Cinematographer Ed Wild BSC said Guy Ritchie opted for a pared-down method on The Covenant: two cameras, handheld work, Steadicam and a few sliders, with no dollies or cranes.

    BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  4. #008

    Scenes set at Bagram Air Base in Parwan Province were shot at a military base in Zaragoza, while the climactic dam sequence was filmed at the Amadorio Reservoir near Villajoyosa.

    BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  5. #009

    Wild said Ritchie sometimes alters dialogue and even plot on set according to what interests him most, which Wild found empowering as a head of department.

    BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

    ShareReport

Deeper Meaning (3)

  1. #010

    In a 2023 interview, Guy Ritchie discussed the film's central theme: "You want to focus on authentic generosity. And we had to go for some lengths to not make this saccharine. I had to work very hard against that. It's almost like they don't like each other, and even after the journey, they still don't really like each other. And honestly, whether you like someone or not is not important. It's how much you respect someone that's important. And have they allowed you to exercise your altruism or your generous side? And this is the argument with children: Do you owe children or do they owe you? Because once you have children, they allow you to express your generosity... People are at their best when they are expressing their generous nature."

    DEEPER MEANING · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  2. #011

    Wild named war photographer Tim Hetherington's book Infidel and the documentary Restrepo as influences on The Covenant.

    DEEPER MEANING · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  3. #012

    Wild, production designer Martyn John and costume designer Loulou Bontemps steered clear of the brown or green cast common to war films, going instead for truthful colour and richness.

    DEEPER MEANING · SOURCED

    ShareReport

Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work