The Osterman Weekend (1983)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

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:

Friend | Conspiracy | Weekend | CIA | Beaten 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-16 (2000) | Finland:K-18 (1983) | 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:

Burt Lancaster celebrated his 70th birthday while filming, and the cast and crew threw him a special honorary birthday party on set.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Lawrence Fassett: I know Maxwell Danforth very well; he killed my wife. Not with his bare hands, of course. The Danforths of the world don't murder that way. They use words like terminate, exterminate.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Operation Double 007 (#6.8)" (1993)

The films of Sam Peckinpah. The last hurrah.

The Osterman Weekend (1983) was Sam Peckinpah's last film. Years of drug abuse (alcohol, pills etc..) took a devastating toll on the legendary film maker. Desperate for work, he took an uncredited second unit directing job with his buddy Don Siegal's swan song JINXED. He finally got the chance to direct a movie when he was given the job to try and adapt the complex and layered espionage spy thriller The Osterman Weekend. Not pleased with trying to bring to life a novel he really didn't care for, he did the job (albiet with mixed results).

Tanner (Rutger Hauer) is a talking head newsman. He has an eclectic group of friends (Chris Sarandon, Dennis Hopper and Crag T. Nelson). One day, Tanner is approached by a rogue C.I.A. named Fassett (John Hurt) agent to "keep an eye" on Osterman (Craig T, Nelson) because of his ties with certain "red" double agents. But Tanner knows Osterman and doesn't believe that he would be a traitor to his country. After a couple of attempts on his life, Tanner doesn't know who to trust. Is Osterman the traitor that Fassett claims to be? Who's telling the truth?

Not the way I wanted to see Sam Peckinpah end his career but hey, you play with the hand life deals you. People have complained about how confusing the movie is (have you read the book?). Considering with what he had to work with, I say that he did a fairly decent job.

Recommended for Sam Peckinpah fans.