Brotherhood of the Rose (1989) (TV)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Marvin J. Chomsky

Writers (WGA):

David Morrell (novel)
Gy Waldron (teleplay)

Release Date:

22 January 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

Romulus and Remus are two CIA agents, their direct instructor is John Elliott. They both were picked...

Plot Keywords:

Secret Service | Two Part TV Movie | Based On Novel

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	John Eliot
Peter Strauss	...	Romulus
Connie Sellecca	...	Erika Bernstein
David Morse	...	Remus
James Sikking	...	Felix
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ken Blackburn	...	Forbes
David Cole
Stig Eldred
Nick Enright
Alan Farquhar
Norman Forsey
Phillip Gordon
Bob Gould
Veronica Hamel
Ian Harrop	...	Malenov
James Hong	...	Col. Chan
Bill Johnson
Peadar Lamb	...	Doctor
Chic Littlewood
Rhys McConnochie	...	Orlik
Peter Morgan
Martyn Sanderson
Sasi Smillie
Ernie Stanley
Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor	...	Pollux
Michael M. Vendrell
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Hardy
Frank Whitten
Brett Williams

Runtime:

240 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

County Cork, Ireland

Company:

NBC Productions

Goofs:

Errors in geography: New Zealand landmarks such as the Auckland Harbour Bridge are visible in many scenes that are not set in New Zealand.

One of the best B-grades out there

This is a intriguing spy movie, mainly because it doesn't follow the formula of most other spy-films.

This is not another one of those films where the goody spies on the baddie, the baddie captures the goody, reveals his devious plans to annihilate the world, the goody escapes, kills the baddie and saves the girl. The strengths of those sorts of films are found in their special effects, stunts and a drawn-out battle at the end of the film.

By contrast, the strength of the Brotherhood of the Rose is its intelligent and engaging plot. A spy is double crossed and aims to find out why before they find him. The answers turns out to be a rather complex and very well-conceived conspiracy.

It's only downfall is its crappy production level. The sound quality, editing, directing and screenplay are noted areas requiring improvement. The acting is also inconsistent, but the brilliant Robert Mitchum, David Morse, Rhys McConnochie and M. Emmet Walsh offer fairly solid performances to ensure that the acting does not stand out as a major downfall.

Some cheesy lines and awkward acting moments could have been left on the cutting room floor. There also appears to be an editing error here and there (where a scene cuts before it appears to be finished). Furthermore, whoever chose the cheap and tacky music should have been sacked.

Aside from that, a very good watch. However, it is fairly long - 3 hours or so. Yet, I like a film that isn't impatient if the story is worth unfolding gradually.