The Presidio (1988)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writer (WGA):

Larry Ferguson (written by)

Release Date:

10 June 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

THE PRESIDIO ARMY BASE, SAN FRANCISCO. When a landmark of historic tradition becomes the scene of a shocking murder, a military commander and a street-tough cop are forced into action... against the killer, the mysterious past, and each other.

Plot:

Jay Austin is now a civilian police detective. Colonel Caldwell was his commanding officer years before...

Plot Keywords:

Army | Detective | Presidio | Chase | Female Nudity

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell
Mark Harmon	...	Jay Austin
Meg Ryan	...	Donna Caldwell
Jack Warden	...	Sgt. Maj. Ross Maclure
Mark Blum	...	Arthur Peale
Dana Gladstone	...	Col. Paul Lawrence
Jenette Goldstein	...	Patti Jean Lynch
Marvin J. McIntyre	...	MP Zeke
Don Calfa	...	Howard Buckely
John DiSanti	...	Det. Marvin Powell
Robert Lesser	...	Sgt. Mueller
James Hooks Reynolds	...	George Spota
Curtis W. Sims	...	Sgt. Garfield
Rick Zumwalt	...	Bully in Bar
Rosalyn Marshall	...	Lawrence's Secretary

Also Known As:

The Presidio: The Scene of the Crime (UK)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:14+ (Ontario - 2006) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Peter Hyams]a character named Spota.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A water delivery truck driving past taxiing airplanes would not be possible on any U.S. Air Force base. Commercial deliveries are not permitted to be made on the flight-line side of buildings.

Quotes:

Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell: Now, are you sure you want to have a fight? Because I'm only gonna use my thumb.
Bully in Bar: Thumb?
Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell: My right thumb. Left one's much too powerful for you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Crap Shoot: The Documentary (2007)

Soundtrack:

Moon River

Brilliant

An amazing movie. All the elements come together to make a very entertaining movie that gets better the more you watch it.

From Bruce Broughton's masterful score (one of his very best in my view) to Peter Hyams' evocative photography, everything comes in focus around a first-class cast that include star-making performances by Mark Harmon and Meg Ryan and the wonderful turns we take all too easily for granted by Sean Connery and Jack Warden.

The chase sequences are among the most inventive and gripping of modern cinema and are edited with just the right touch (take note you commercial directors who think chase scenes consist of unwatchable snippets of film) and highlight a great story full of lively characters.

Overall, a very memorable movie, which helps explain why it keeps showing up again and again on our TVs.