Far too long and often it feels like a crappy 70s TV movie (the photography, music) but it has a strong cast and story – a 70s version of The Rock. Disgraced general Burt Lancaster takes over a nuclear missile silo with the help of some overacting thugs (Burt Young, Paul Winfield, William Smith) and threatens to set it off unless he gets some cash and the US reveal the truth abot the Vietnam War. The “truth” is basically a NSC ruling that the war was worth fighting to show the Russians they were willing to fight even though they knew they’d lose. Was this so shocking in 1977? For all this film’s purported cynicism in some ways it’s idealistic – particularly Lancaster’s faith in the president, and the fact that the president is a decent man (if very fat – charles Durning plays the role), who is ashamed of what his government has done, etc, etc.
There are some exciting sequences, particularly when the army try to break in, the final bit where Lancaster tries to escape with Durning as a hostge. The split screen technology works really well and the fact they are threatening to set off nuclear missiles is really scary. Would a top general like Richard Widmark really break out the scotch during a negotiation?
No comments:
Post a Comment