American Sniper

This article is about the 2014 film. For the 2012 book on which the film is based, see American Sniper (book).
American Sniper
Chris Kyle is seen wearing desert fatigues army BDU, while his wife Taya embraces him. They are standing in front of a tattered U.S. flag.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClint Eastwood
Screenplay byJason Hall
Based onAmerican Sniper
by Chris Kyle
Scott McEwen
Jim DeFelice
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTom Stern
Edited by
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • November 11, 2014 (2014-11-11) (AFI Fest)
  • December 25, 2014 (2014-12-25) (United States)
Running time
132 minutes[1][2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$59 million[3]
Box office$547.4 million[4]

American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical war drama film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood and written and executive-produced by Jason Hall, based on the memoir of the same name by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. The film follows the life of Kyle, who became the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War, 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense.[5] While Kyle was celebrated for his military successes, his tours of duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life. It stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife Taya, with Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict, Kevin Lacz, Navid Negahban, and Keir O'Donnell in supporting roles.

American Sniper premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11, 2014, and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25, 2014, followed by a wide release on January 16, 2015. It received generally positive reviews, with praise for Cooper's lead performance and Eastwood's direction, although it also attracted some controversy over its portrayal of both the Iraq War and Kyle himself. The film grossed over $547 million worldwide, making it the 13th highest-grossing film of 2014, the highest-grossing film with a wide release during the month of January, and Eastwood's highest-grossing film to date.[citation needed]

At the 87th Academy Awards, American Sniper received six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Cooper, ultimately winning one for Best Sound Editing.[6]

  1. ^ "American Sniper (15)". British Board of Film Classification. December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  2. ^ "American Sniper". Ontario Film Review Board. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  3. ^ "Feature Film Study" (PDF). Film L.A. Inc. 2014. p. 18.
  4. ^ "American Sniper (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  5. ^ "'American Sniper' Co-Author Defends Chris Kyle's Military Record Over New Controversy". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 June 2016. We submitted the book for vetting with the DOD ... and certain parts of the manuscript were, at their request, redacted. [C]ertain other figures ... for example the number of Chris' confirmed kills —were agreed upon as something that could be released to the public.
  6. ^ Chumley, Cheryl K. (February 23, 2015). "'American Sniper' wins Academy Award — for sound editing". The Washington Times. Washington, D.C. Retrieved February 23, 2015. Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman accepted the statue for their work on the Clint Eastwood-directed film. They're two-time Oscar winners and beat out several other top-tier candidates for the award.