love peckinpah, but this truely is his worst.
i wanted to like this movie but it's an impossible movie to even tolerate.
be it the convaluted plot (which really is a stretch to begin with), or the garbage editing (not peckinpah's fault, i know) it didn't work for me.
Hauer and Hurt turn in good performances, but don't bother picking this one up it'll just frustrate you.
I wouldn't say don't pick it up, it's pretty good.
The plot isn't that bad, Hurt wanted to get back at his boss so he made up the Omega story so that either he would prove that Danforth was a nut and didn't know what he was doing or he'd use Tanner as a way to disprove his boss.
no, its really bad! This is Ludlum's/Peckinpah's Rocky V/Godfather III of wretched refuse. This movie deserves its own special level of hell
What the *beep* is a Chinese Downhill?!?
I always liked this movie, especially the last 30 minutes, and the slo-mo stuff...Burt rules and so does this movie.
sharestrumpeye, you're so wrong. Sure, at the time, it looked like crap, but the prevalence of reality TV and over-authoritarian government officials today and depicted in the film, "The Osterman Weekend" is an under-rated gem. Maybe Robert Ludlum had a crystal ball. So did Sam Peckinpah. It's a great film, especially the rapaport between Hauer and Nelson (wished they worked together again, but the ghost of Peckinpah won't let them).
"The truth is a lie when it's not found out." -Bernard Osterman
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I have to agree with the OP and coolman_35m on their reviews.
Actually just saw this movie last night for the first time, although I had heard the title before. So many great names attached to this project -- what a disappointment.
I kept trying to get into it, but it just wasn't that good and certainly was not up to par with the caliber of actors involved or Peckinpah. Was he taking drugs when he made this or what??
It's a real mess, unfortunately....
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois
I just watched this movie. I'm no expert on film making so I appreciated it as a decent mystery/thriller. But there were a number of things about it which were not realistic. The hiding in the pool scene was ridiculous. John Tanner would NOT have shown on regular TV a film clip of a bare breasted woman being murdered. And there were other stretches of reality. My first negative reaction came when Tanner went to meet Danforth early in the movie. Danforth had said he wanted to meet in person. If I had been Tanner and arrived to find someone else there I'd have simply turned around and left...no Danforth...no talk...PERIOD.
Nevertheless, I've always liked Hauer (for no particularly logical reason). And Nelson plays these kinds of roles well.
I'd say 4 or 5 on a scale of 10.
Ciao, e buon auguri
And what was the purpose of having Fassett's wife (who by the way is not even listed in IMDB credits) killed by injecting poison up her nose? Was this to hide the cause of death or make it seem to be of natural causes? With blood dripping down her lip? Doh!
shareNo, kidding, I thought the same thing about Tanner broadcasting the murder on TV. Sure, during a TV news talk show similar to Meet the Press they are going to show the close up murder of a top less woman! Hilarious.
shareAgree completely, although the basic story elements could become a great movie if remade today. Think about it: we are in a completely different political and economic world now, and with new actors, better writing and direction, this could become an interesting thriller. I'm glad I watched it, but it was a total waste of Rutger Hauer and Dennis Hopper. Craig T. Nelson was mis-casted in this movie, too.
shareIt's not nearly as bad as I thought I'd be; maybe because I was expecting the worst. Anyway, it is sort of a mess, but there are good qualities, such as the overall tone of the film...
shareJumbled in spots, maybe, but it has a great cast, and I still found it entertaining and topical.
"I've been turned down more times than the beds at the Holiday Inn; I still try"
My second viewing of this movie caused the quite convoluted plot to make a bit more sense, though there are still some unbelievable parts (the showing of a topless woman in a snuff film, basically, on a network show...really?), and the poor editing does not help comprehension. Its one of those thrillers in which you have to change your perceptions throughout. If anything, though, the premise is even more timely and apropos in our current atmosphere. Peckinpah's usual dark vision and mistrust of government was intact. Some 80's cheesiness in the outfits and musical score can be overlooked, and the cast does pretty well, with Lancaster having a good late part.
shareI'd take this over 'The Killer Elite' and (the pitiful) 'Convoy' any day.
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