The Osterman Weekend *** (1983, Rutger Hauer, John Hurt, Burt Lancaster, Craig T Nelson, Dennis Hopper, Chris Sarandon, Meg Foster, Helen Shaver) – Classic Movie Review 7244

Hopes were high with the idea of Sam Peckinpah filming a Robert Ludlum novel in 1983 – a great union of two masters of their craft seemed in the making.

But Sam Peckinpah’s final film The Osterman Weekend is a labyrinthine, none-too-credible, violent Cold War conspiracy thriller adapted from Robert Ludlum’s 1972 bestseller about CIA agent Lawrence Fassett (John Hurt) who, on the orders of his boss Maxwell Danforth (Burt Lancaster), tries to convince controversial television news man John Tanner (Rutger Hauer) that three of his friends (Craig T Nelson, Dennis Hopper and Chris Sarandon) are Soviet spies. The CIA want the TV journalist to persuade his acquaintances, Soviet agents of the Omega network, to defect.

Though it must count as a disappointment considering the assembly of all this top talent, the first-rate cast, Ludlum’s intriguing premise and the professional, sometimes sparky, work from Peckinpah all combine to keep you watching.

The Osterman Weekend also features Meg Foster, Helen Shaver, Cassie Yates, Sandy McPeak, Christopher Start, Cheryl Carter, John Bryson, Anne Henry and Kristen Peckinpah.

The Osterman Weekend is directed by Sam Peckinpah, runs 103 minutes or 116 minutes in the director’s cut, is made by Davis-Panzer Productions, is released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Alan Sharp (screenplay) and Ian Masters (adaptation), based on the novel by Robert Ludlum, is shot by John Coquillon, is produced by Peter S Davis and William N Panzer, is scored by Lalo Schifrin and is designed by Robb Wilson King.

Surprisingly, it was not much of a hit. Costing $6,500,000, it took back $6,486,797 in the US.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7244

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