The Fourth War (1990)

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers (WGA):

Stephen Peters (novel)
Stephen Peters (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 March 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Two proud heroes with no one left to fight... But each other.

Plot:

Cold War drama about two gung-ho border commanders (Roy Scheider, Jurgen Prochnow) who carry out their own private war against each other on the German - Czechoslovakia border.

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film | Based On Novel

Cast

Roy Scheider	...	Col. Jack Knowles
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Col. Valachev
Tim Reid	...	Lt. Col. Clark
Lara Harris	...	Elena
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Gen. Hackworth
Dale Dye	...	Sergeant Major
Bill MacDonald	...	MP Corporal
David Palffy	...	Gawky Soldier
Neil Grahn	...	Needle-Nose Soldier
Ernie Jackson	...	Knowles Driver
Ron Campbell	...	Young US Soldier
John Dodds	...	Defector
Richard Durven	...	Young Soldier
Harold Hecht Jr.	...	Dwayne
Alice Pesta	...	Hannelore

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-3 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:S (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Aurora Productions LLC

Trivia:

As its ending will verify, the film's title is taken from a quote by Albert Einstein: "I cannot predict what breed of weapons will be employed in the waging of the Third World War; what I CAN predict is that the Fourth World War shall be fought with sticks and stones."

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday To You

Definitely a "How will it end?" movie.

I would not call this a gripping suspense movie since there are some places that make you laugh when maybe you should not. But if you take the performances of the two colonels and the major general aside, the movie is redeemed two-fold and you end up with some enjoyable entertainment, thanks to Scheider, Prochnow, and Stanton. But, don't expect a realistic post-cold-war scenario. Would two colonels with so many years invested in their careers risk it all just to express personal dislikes of each other? And would the general pussyfoot around so long with an American colonel who's actions could at any time escalate them into a major confrontation? I think not!!! But just watch the movie and you might disagree with this, since all you think about at the time is "will World War III start over a snowball fight?".