Sniper (1993)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Luis Llosa

Writers (WGA):

Michael Frost Beckner (written by) &
Crash Leyland (written by)

Release Date:

29 January 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

One Shot. One Kill. No Exceptions.

Plot:

Tough guy Thomas Beckett is a US Marine working in the Panamanian jungle. His job is to seek out rebels and remove them using his sniper skills...

Plot Keywords:

Sniper | Jungle | Sniper Rifle | Drug Lord | Helicopter

Cast

Tom Berenger	...	Thomas Beckett
Billy Zane	...	Richard Miller
J.T. Walsh	...	Chester Van Damme
Aden Young	...	Doug Papich
Ken Radley	...	El Cirujano
Reynaldo Arenas	...	Cacique (as Reinaldo Arenas)
Gary Swanson	...	NSC Officer in Washington
Hank Garrett	...	Admiral in Washington
Frederick Miragliotta	...	General Miguel Alavarez
Vanessa Steele	...	Mrs. Alvarez
Carlos Álvarez	...	Raul Ochoa
Tyler Coppin	...	Ripoly (as Tyler Copin)
Teo Gebert	...	Ripolys Friend
Edward Wiley	...	DeSilva
William Curtin	...	Mountain Top Pilot

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA | Peru

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #31859) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:18 (cut) | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Spain:18

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Baltimore Pictures

Trivia:

The weapon used by Billy Zane in this movie is not an H&K PSG-1, an expensive precision semi-automatic rifle commonly used by special forces snipers. It is an H&K SR-9 TC , a similar but cheaper version of the PSG-1 that was designed for civilian sales.

Goofs:

Continuity: The camouflage paint on Millers face changes continuously throughout the movie.

Quotes:

Thomas Beckett: What's that?
Richard Miller: Got it out of the catalogue when I was with D.C. SWAT. We called it "Gucciflage".
Thomas Beckett: [laughs] "Gucciflage"?
Richard Miller: [smirks] Yeah.
Thomas Beckett: You gonna wear that?
Richard Miller: Yeah.
Thomas Beckett: Let me see it.
[gets handed the "Gucciflage", inspects it, stretches it out, and then flings it out the train window]
Richard Miller: [frustrated] Nice shot!
Thomas Beckett: Ain't no room for Peter Pan on this hunt. You wear Corporal Papich's tree tux that I gave you.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Soundtrack:

Medicine Man

Good psychological drama

I've heard people who say this movie is dull dull dull. I don't think they were watching the right movie. This isn't the prototypical action movie, thank God.

This is a psychological drama about the rookie and his mentor that just happens to be about killing people. In this way it works extremely well, with terrific performances from Berenger and Zane (who doesn't sleepwalk through the movie like he has in other roles - he actually looks like he's acting).

I was disappointed with the action towards the end - a lot of it didn't make much sense and was unsatisfying given the buildup from the rest of the movie. But watch Zane's face as he panics, alone, while Berenger does the dirty work.