Over the Top (1987)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Menahem Golan

Writers:

Gary Conway (story) and
David Engelbach (story) ...

Release Date:

13 February 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

Driving headlong towards the biggest fight of his life.

Plot:

Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a struggling trucker who's trying to rebuild his life. After the death of his wife...

Plot Keywords:

Arm Wrestling | Competition | Cult Favorite | Kidnapping | Letter

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	Lincoln Hawk
Robert Loggia	...	Jason Cutler
Susan Blakely	...	Christina Cutler-Hawk
Rick Zumwalt	...	Bob 'Bull' Hurley
David Mendenhall	...	Michael Cutler / Michael Hawk
Chris McCarty	...	Tim Salanger
Terry Funk	...	Ruker
Bob Beattie	...	Announcer
Allan Graf	...	Collins (as Alan Graf)
Magic Schwarz	...	Smasher
Bruce Way	...	John Grizzly
Jimmy Keegan	...	Big Boy (Richie)
John Braden	...	Col. Davis
Tony Munafo	...	Tony
Randy Raney	...	Mad Dog Madison

Also Known As:

Meet Me Half Way (USA)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Norway:12 | Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-10 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Canada:G

Filming Locations:

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Company:

Cannon Group

Trivia:

John Wetton, lead singer of the rock group Asia, sang "Winner Takes It All" for the movie, but after performing the song, it was felt that his voice wasn't "mean" enough, so the song was offered to Sammy Hagar, whose version ended up being the one on the soundtrack.

Goofs:

Plot holes: The arm wrestling world championships are a double elimination tournament (Lincoln Hawk loses once on the way to the championship), but Bull Hurley is defeated only once when Lincoln Hawk is crowned champ

Quotes:

Harry Bosco: My whole body is an engine. This is a fireplug
[makes a fist]
Harry Bosco: ... and I'm gonna light him up.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Big Business (1988)

Soundtrack:

Gypsy Soul

I have watched this movie at least 25 times

Well... I will start by saying that I realize that every movie is not for everyone. That being said, I will say this movie is very much to my liking, I watched this movie in the theater when it was new with my family...we all liked it then & My brothers & I still do to this day. Some of this could be due to the fact that our father was a truck driver & my older brother is a truck driver now as well. Add to that the fact that this is a Stallone movie + having to do with the sport of arm wrestling & you have a winner in my book. Yes I will admit that you know ahead of time what is going to happen in the end, but to me that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of this film (atleast for myself) It also has very touching moments thru out the movie. When Mike's Mother/Stallones x wife in the movie is found to have passed away, wile Lincoln Hawk(Stallone) & his son Mike were on the way to see her still gives me moist eyes every time as well as other situations during the film. Plus the very cool classic Stallone lines that stick in my head to this day.... "The world meets nobody halfway Mike"...& "You've gotta do what's best for you"....& the "I'm thru talking" response to Mr. Cutler's body guard just to name a few. Yes the movie has the same concept as the Rocky films & the Rambo films with the underdog winning in the end, but come on now who want's to go to the movies & see the hero of the film come up just short in the end. The movie has a good soundtrack as well with Kenny Loggins doing a few of them...Over all it is a simple movie but a great movie, I am looking for it on DVD