15 Minutes

"America likes to watch."

2001 2h 0m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 842

ActionCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When Eastern European criminals Oleg and Emil come to New York City to pick up their share of a heist score, Oleg steals a video camera and starts filming their activities, both legal and illegal. When they learn how the American media circus can make a remorseless killer look like the victim and make them rich, they target media-savvy NYPD Homicide Detective Eddie Flemming and media-naive FDNY Fire Marshal Jordy Warsaw, the cops investigating their murder and torching of their former criminal partner, filming everything to sell to the local tabloid TV show "Top Story."

“America likes to watch.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Robert De Niro
Eddie Flemming
Edward Burns
Jordy Warsaw
Kelsey Grammer
Robert Hawkins
Avery Brooks
Leon Jackson
Melina Kanakaredes
Nicolette Karas
Karel Roden
Emil Slovak
Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Razgul
Vera Farmiga
Daphne Handlova

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Herzfeld
Writers: David E. Duncan, John Herzfeld
Languages: Greek, English, Czech, Russian
Countries: Germany, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 94% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Greek, English, Czech, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

411+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Herzfeld, shot by Jean-Yves Escoffier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by J. Peter Robinson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Herzfeld directs. Jean-Yves Escoffier behind the camera. J. Peter Robinson scores. Steven Cohen cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in Greek, English, Czech, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 94% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
325 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Greek, English, Czech, Russian.
5International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.
6411+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by John Herzfeld, shot by Jean-Yves Escoffier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by J. Peter Robinson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Steven Cohen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Robert De Niro and Edward Burns and Kelsey Grammer carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "America likes to watch.".
12IMDB entry: tt0179626 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 14 themes, including "prison", "new york city", "prisoner", "airport".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jean-Yves Escoffier
Original score: J. Peter Robinson
Editing: Steven Cohen
Production design: Mayne Berke
Costume design: April Ferry
Makeup / hair: Steve Artmont
VFX supervisor: Richard Malzahn
Sound: Leslie Shatz
Stunt coordinator: Charlie Picerni
Runtime: 120 min · 2h 0m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $56,359,980
Return: 94% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: 15 Minutes (2001)

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John Herzfeld

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andre Gonzales2023-03-17
★ 6/10
Liked the movie. Lots of suspense and keeping you guessing.
kendallgibson2026-08-13
★ 7/10
There's a saying in billiards: "Stripes deflect harder than chips." Make sure no arson investigators know you're gonna watch this movie, because they might finagle some hitherto unknown bylaw which forces you to watch it with them (with a bottle of Merlot and six boxes of lotion-free tissues!). Basically Robert De Niro plays the good cop to Edward Burns' bad arson investigator, in a New York City obsessed by the pseudo-homoerotic love story between a wily Czech and a roided-out Russian -- think Natural Born Killers meets Rush Hour! I'd not go into this one blind, unless you still own a functioning CRT and BetaMAX, because it is sure to cause time dysphoria (see: film induced psychosis) when you remember or realize this story could not have actually existed pre-smartphon- THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN REDACTED