The Osterman Weekend (1983)

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Robert Ludlum (novel)
Ian Masters (adaptation)

Release Date:

14 October 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The one weekend of the year you won't want to miss.

Plot:

The host of an investigative news show is convinced by the CIA that the friends he has invited to a...

Plot Keywords:

Arrow | Naked Dead Woman | Loss Of Wife | Cruelty | Shot To Death

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Rutger Hauer	...	John Tanner
John Hurt	...	Lawrence Fassett
Craig T. Nelson	...	Bernard Osterman
Dennis Hopper	...	Richard Tremayne
Chris Sarandon	...	Joseph Cardone
Meg Foster	...	Ali Tanner
Helen Shaver	...	Virginia Tremayne
Cassie Yates	...	Betty Cardone
Sandy McPeak	...	Stennings
Christopher Starr	...	Steve Tanner
Burt Lancaster	...	Maxwell Danforth
Cheryl Carter	...	Marcia Heller
John Bryson	...	Honeymoon Groom
Anne Haney	...	Honeymoon Bride
Kristen Peckinpah	...	Tremayne's Secretary

Also Known As:

Mission CIA (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

103 min | USA:116 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-18 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2004) | UK:18 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | USA:R (certificate #27156) | West Germany:16 | Australia:M

Company:

Osterman Weekend Associates

Trivia:

Sam Peckinpah was fired when he refused to re-edit the film after it was screened for a test audience on 25 May 1983 and met with a confused and extremely mixed reaction. Producers Peter S. Davis and William N. Panzer took over the editing with the assistance of editor Edward M. Abroms, drastically altering opening and ending sequences.

Goofs:

Continuity: The handwriting on Tanner's sign changes between shots.

Quotes:

Fasset's Wife: And you will be showing me how to live.
Lawrence Fassett: How do you know so much?
Fasset's Wife: I don't know so much. But I know you will be leaving me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Bloodlust! (#7.7)" (1994)

A Good, But Complicated Plot of Revenge, in Times of Cold War

Near to the seventh annual meeting to celebrate their graduation and friendship, the successful anchor of a television network John Tanner (Rutger Hauer) is convinced by CIA director Maxwell Danforth (Burt Lancaster) and his agent Lawrence Fassett (John Hurt) that his best friends belong to a Soviet Union organization called Omega. The CIA installs cameras and microphones everywhere in his house to monitor Bernard Osterman (Craid T. Nelson), Richard Tremayne (Dennis Hopper) and Joseph Cardone (Chris Sarandon). A complicated and very evil plot is disclosed along the weekend. Yesterday I saw "The Osterman Weekend" maybe for the fourth time, but now on DVD, and I still like it. However, with the end of the Cold War and the present state-art of communication, this story has become dated, and lost a great part of its impact. However, in 1983, it was ahead of time, criticizing the media through television. The Double Commemorative Edition DVD features a second disc, with the documentary "From Alpha to Omega: The Making of 'The Osterman Weekend' (2004)". This documentary was released in 2004, and presents a complete dossier about this movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Casal Osterman" ("The Osterman Couple")