Film 15/52: The Osterman Weekend (1983)


A great poster. A legendary director. An all-star cast. Based on Robert Ludlum's best-selling novel, Sam Peckinpah's The Osterman Weekend seemingly had all the ingredients to be a classic thriller. I've had a copy in the library since Anchor Bay released a deluxe Divimax Edition in 2004, featuring both the theatrical release and Peckinpah's original cut, so it was due a screening in The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema. 

As one might expect from the likes of Robert Ludlum, it's a tale full of intrigue and double-crosses, with surprise revelations throughout. John Hurt portrays a CIA operative working for Burt Lancaster to get to a group of three Americans (Chris Sarandon, Dennis Hopper and Craig T. Nelson) working with a Soviet spy network (Omega). His plan is to enlist a close friend of the three men, an investigative TV host (Rutger Hauer), to turn one of the men to work against the Russians. The basic storyline is interesting, and while enough of that comes through the screenplay, the film is at times a bit disjointed, cutting somewhat erratically between the different characters as they are introduced and developed. Also, the use of slow-motion and repeated shots is unwarranted, and can be distracting (I'm talking to you, car chase/crash scene). Fortunately, once the four main characters are brought together in the same location, things proceed a little more smoothly. It's not entirely successful, but again, the cast makes the film quite watchable. And Meg Foster does get her moment depicted on the movie poster!

Vonna felt the handful of nude scenes were gratuitous (each of the characters wives is topless at some point). I felt it was pretty tame for an 80s R-rated film. While the DVD quality (even the Divimax release) leaves a lot to be desired visually, the DTS-ES soundtrack on the disc was quite impressive. It also features a Lalo Schifrin score, albeit not one of his most memorable. After finishing the film, I was inspired to review the scenes deleted from Peckinpah's original cut. Fortunately, there was nothing missing that greatly changed my impression of the film. A feature length documentary on the making of the film certainly makes one appreciate the effort that went in to bringing Sam Peckinpah's last film to the screen. Once again, I'm glad to have finally screened it!


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