Working for the Osterman Weekend
It would be nice to think that there was no way a poster like the above image could be used to advertise a dull movie like the 1983 film The Osterman Weekend, but alas, such a thought would be in vain. Indeed, that poster is most than a little misleading. After all, most of the film has little to do with any Soviet plot -- indeed, the film itself has little to do with anything mentioned in the Robert Ludlum novel which allegedly inspired it -- and though that female archer on the poster does eventually appear, she does so in such an anticlimactic way that all but the most desperate action movie buffs are bound to be disappointed by her appearance.
It is even more disappointing to realize that The Osterman Weekend was directed by the great Sam Peckinpah, the director of the Western classic The Wild Bunch. This was the last movie Peckinpah directed before his death and it would be nice to say that it was a classic for just that reason. But it is not. For that matter, it would be nice to blame the whole mess on studio interference since Peckinpah had a reputation for ticking off producers. However, that still does not change the fact that the final film is so tedious as to be almost unwatchable.
It is a shame, really. You do not exactly see actors like Burt Lancaster, Dennis Hopper, John Hurt and Rutger Hauer appear in the same movie every day. Then again, even the best actors need good material to work with, and the screenplay for this flick is not exactly a classic. Moreover, The Osterman Weekend aspired to be yet another movie about evil CIA agents despite its being made at a time when such movies were already a drug on the market.
Oh, well. At least the poster is nice to look at. Indeed, the poster is a lot more memorable than anything that happens in the movie. ¡Qué lástima!
It would be nice to think that there was no way a poster like the above image could be used to advertise a dull movie like the 1983 film The Osterman Weekend, but alas, such a thought would be in vain. Indeed, that poster is most than a little misleading. After all, most of the film has little to do with any Soviet plot -- indeed, the film itself has little to do with anything mentioned in the Robert Ludlum novel which allegedly inspired it -- and though that female archer on the poster does eventually appear, she does so in such an anticlimactic way that all but the most desperate action movie buffs are bound to be disappointed by her appearance.
It is even more disappointing to realize that The Osterman Weekend was directed by the great Sam Peckinpah, the director of the Western classic The Wild Bunch. This was the last movie Peckinpah directed before his death and it would be nice to say that it was a classic for just that reason. But it is not. For that matter, it would be nice to blame the whole mess on studio interference since Peckinpah had a reputation for ticking off producers. However, that still does not change the fact that the final film is so tedious as to be almost unwatchable.
It is a shame, really. You do not exactly see actors like Burt Lancaster, Dennis Hopper, John Hurt and Rutger Hauer appear in the same movie every day. Then again, even the best actors need good material to work with, and the screenplay for this flick is not exactly a classic. Moreover, The Osterman Weekend aspired to be yet another movie about evil CIA agents despite its being made at a time when such movies were already a drug on the market.
Oh, well. At least the poster is nice to look at. Indeed, the poster is a lot more memorable than anything that happens in the movie. ¡Qué lástima!
Labels: Burt Lancaster, Dennis Hopper, John Hurt, Omega el Último Encuentro, Películas Neoclásicas II, Robert Ludlum, Rutger Hauer, Sam Peckinpah
posted by Tonio Kruger at 12:10 PM
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