This film started its life titled ULTIMATE SEVEN, a take-off on the classic film MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, and the “SEVEN” portion of the title was the count of the 7 ‘Ultimate Fighter’ fight sequences called for in the script.
Of course, budget cuts during shooting scaled back the number of fights from seven to five, and to re-title the film ULTIMATE FIVE would be ridiculous...hence “ULTIMATE FORCE”.
This action film was shot in Croatia, which in itself is a really wild and cool country. Fresh from the Soviet government, it was a cool mix of cultures. The studio we used was Jadran Studios in Croatia’s capital city: Zagreb [what great names!]. This studio has so many props and authentic WW-2 uniforms, planes, tanks, etc, that you could easily stage a very realistic BATTLE OF THE BULDGE!
Mirko “Cro-Cop” was the star of this action picture; his character was a super-spy/hit-man like a real badass James Bond. Mirko is a world champion Ultimate Fighter as well as a member of the Croatian Parliament! This allowed us access to some incredible locations: castles, Roman ruins, off-limits military bases, etc…any place that would be a visual feast to stage a fight between Mirko and some bad dude…or a place where he could rescue his babe from the clutches of the evil torture guys!
From a production standpoint, these were really really cool locations to shoot in, the crew was incredible! I was not permitted to bring any of my regulars, but the local crew had so much great experience and enthusiasm, that it was a wild experience. Most of the crew spoke fluent English; my gaffer was the rigging gaffer on several Ridley Scott films. Whereas my 1st AC really couldn’t speak a lick of English, his resume was incredible, and over lunch on our 3rd week he told me stories of Richard Burton...through the interpreter!
I did get a horrible case of the flu during this winter shoot. One location in the Mediterranean snowed on us…the first time it had ever snowed there in recorded history! Businesses and schools shut down. Being sick sucked and I had the hardest time trying to get some real antibiotics over some holistic herbs…I finally did and recovered just before wrap.
Shot on Fuji stock with my old Moviecam SuperAmerica and Arri 35-3, Cooke primes and zooms.
By the way, I also never got paid for my last 2 weeks for my time and my cameras!
| Producer: | Rafael Primorac |
| Director: | Mark Burson |
| 1st AC: | Ranko Mitic |
| Gaffer: | Dan Brkic |
| Key Grip: | Neno Sokac |