Raw Deal (1986 film)

Last updated

Raw Deal
Raw deal.jpg
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
Directed by John Irvin
Screenplay by
Story by
Produced by Martha Schumacher
Starring
Cinematography Alex Thomson
Edited by Anne V. Coates
Music byChris Boardman
Production
company
International Film Corporation [1]
Distributed by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group [1]
Release date
  • June 6, 1986 (1986-06-06)
Running time
101 minutes [2]
CountryUnited States [1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8–10 million [3] [4]
Box office$36.3 million [5]

Raw Deal is a 1986 American action film directed by John Irvin and written by Gary DeVore & Norman Wexler, from a story by Luciano Vincenzoni & Sergio Donati. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold, Darren McGavin and Sam Wanamaker. In the film, Harry Shanon, an elderly FBI agent, recruits Mark Kaminski, an ex-FBI agent, to destroy a mafia organization.

Contents

Raw Deal was released in North America on June 6, 1986 and grossed $16.2 million in the US against its $8–10 million budget. [3] [4] [5]

Plot

A mob informant is under protection by the FBI in a remote wooded cabin, but they are soon ambushed by a hit squad, who brutally slaughter the bodyguards and the informant. One of the agents killed is Blair Shannon, the son of FBI agent Harry Shannon, who vows to exact revenge.

Mark Kaminski, a small-town sheriff, lives with his alcoholic wife Amy, who resents their way of living. Kaminski was also an FBI agent, who had brutally thrashed a suspect for sexually assaulting and murdering a young girl. Kaminski was given an option to "resign or be prosecuted" by Marvin Baxter, an ambitious prosecutor, and Kaminski gets suspended from the FBI. Baxter, the present Special Federal Prosecutor, sets up a committee to investigate the dealings of Luigi Patrovita, the strongest of the Chicago Outfit crime bosses.

Due to a leak within the FBI ranks causing their agents to be killed, Shannon recruits Kaminski for an unsanctioned assignment to infiltrate and dismantle Patrovita's organization. Kaminski fakes his own death in a chemical plant explosion and poses as Joseph P. Brenner, a convicted felon. Kaminski manages to get an audience with Patrovita's right-hand man Paulo Rocca and convinces them of his worth by harassing Martin Lamanski, a rival mob boss, who is trying to move in the territory of Patrovita. While at Patrovita's casino, hidden in a basement level of a high class hotel, Kaminski makes the acquaintance of Monique, who works for Rocca's top lieutenant Max Keller.

Kaminski continues to work his way into the good graces of the Patrovita family, including devising a plan that recovers $100 million of heroin and cash seized by the feds from one of Patrovita's hideouts and simultaneously assisting in Lamanski's assassination. Keller is not convinced that 'Brenner' is who he says and manages to find proof of the deception, showing Kaminski's photo to a police informant who previously arrested the real Brenner. The leak, which the FBI has been looking for, is revealed to be Baxter, who is forced to stay close to Patrovita. Kaminski accompanies Keller to a cemetery for a hit job, but discovers that the target is Shannon, forcing Kaminski to blow his cover and kill Keller. In the ensuing shootout, Shannon is severely wounded and crippled.

Kaminski escapes with Monique's assistance and tells her to go to the airport and wait for him. After gathering an arsenal of firearms, Kaminski raids one of Patrovita's gravel pits, killing everyone and stealing a large amount of drug money. Kaminski sets off for Patrovita's casino, where he embarks on a killing spree, single-handedly wiping out all his soldiers, including the men directly responsible for the murder of Blair and his fellow FBI agents. Rocca and Patrovita retreat to a back room, but Rocca is cut down in a barrage of gunfire. Patrovita flees into an office pleading for his life, but Kaminski mercilessly guns him down. On his way out, Kaminski encounters a whimpering Baxter, who tries to talk his way out by apologizing for the suspension. Kaminski responds to Baxter by saying that because of him a lot of people are dead and now it is his turn and offers him a gun with the same line Baxter told him earlier: "Resign, or be prosecuted. Any way you want it." When Baxter attempts to shoot him, Kaminski turns and shoots Baxter dead in self-defense.

After driving to the airport, Kaminski hands a duffel bag containing $250,000 in cash to Monique, telling her that she can start a new life with no obligations to anyone. Kaminski is reinstated with the FBI and is reunited with a pregnant Amy. Kaminski visits Shannon, who refuses to undergo physical therapy. In order to thank Shannon for helping him, Kaminski asks him to be his child's godfather in exchange for completing his therapy, which Shannon accepts.

Cast

Production

Shooting took place in October 1985 in Chicago, Illinois, and Wilmington, North Carolina. [1]

Reception

Box office

Raw Deal released in the United States on June 6, 1986, and made $5.4 million in its opening weekend. [6] It went on to gross a total of $16.2 million in the United States and $20.1 million Overseas. [5] Despite turning a box office profit and becoming a hit, its earnings were still considered a disappointment. [7]

Critical response

Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 stars out of four and wrote, "This plot is so simple (and has been told so many times before), that perhaps the most amazing achievement of 'Raw Deal' is its ability to screw it up. This movie didn't just happen to be a mess; the filmmakers had to work to make it so confusing." [8] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the film "isn't exactly Oscar material. It does nothing for the cause of nonviolence. It will warm the hearts of gun lobbyists everywhere, and its final body count may be even higher than that in Mr. Stallone's 'Cobra.' Yet 'Raw Deal' somehow manages to be measurably less offensive. At times, it's almost funny — intentionally." [9] Todd McCarthy of Variety reported, "Comic book crime meller suffers from an irredeemably awful script, and even director John Irvin's engaging sense of how absurd the proceedings are can't work an alchemist's magic." [10] Writing in the Los Angeles Times , Sheila Benson began, "Has it come to this? That we can feel vaguely cheered that Raw Deal (citywide), where the bodies again pile up like cordwood, is a better made movie than Cobra?" However, she praised Schwarzenegger, saying that his strength as an actor is "not that he can toss grown men over ceiling beams, but that he has a vein of sweetness and self-deprecation that no amount of mayhem can obliterate ... it has shone from him since Pumping Iron , it has allowed him to surmount silly and unwise pieces of action (such as the drunk scenes in one of the Conans and here), and even his own awkwardness as an actor." [11] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1 star out of 4 and noted that it had "essentially the same story" as Cobra, "but it is told with so many superfluous characters that we're never really sure whose side a few key people are on. Needless to say, in a film filled with punch-outs, we very quickly don't care." [12] Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post dismissed the film as "a mostly tedious, cheaply made shoot-em-up" that "recycles the clichés that have long been the cud of television cop dramas." [13] Pauline Kael of The New Yorker called it "reprehensible and enjoyable, the kind of movie that makes you feel brain dead after two minutes—after which point you're ready to laugh at its mixture of trashiness, violence, and startlingly silly crude humor." [14]

Raw Deal holds a score of 31% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 16 reviews with an average rating of 4.6/10. [15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100 based on 12 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [16] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Schwarzenegger</span> Austrian and American actor and politician (born 1947)

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and retired professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. He served as the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Whitacre</span> American businessperson and money launderer

Mark Edward Whitacre is an American business executive who came to public attention in 1995 when, as president of the Decatur, Illinois-based BioProducts Division at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), he became the highest-level corporate executive in U.S. history to become a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) whistleblower. For three years (1992–95), Whitacre acted as a cooperating witness for the FBI, which was investigating ADM for price fixing. In the late 1990s, Whitacre was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for embezzling $9.5 million from ADM at the same time he was assisting the federal price-fixing investigation.

<i>The Rock</i> (film) 1996 American action thriller film by Michael Bay

The Rock is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and written by David Weisberg, Douglas S. Cook and Mark Rosner. It stars Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris, with supporting roles played by Michael Biehn, William Forsythe, David Morse, and John Spencer. Connery plays a former SAS captain and Cage an FBI chemist, who must rescue hostages from a rogue group of Force Recon Marines on Alcatraz Island.

<i>The Terminator</i> 1984 science fiction film

The Terminator is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction by Skynet, a hostile artificial intelligence in a post-apocalyptic future. Kyle Reese is a soldier sent back in time to protect Sarah. The screenplay is credited to Cameron and Hurd, while co-writer William Wisher Jr. received an "additional dialogue" credit.

<i>Total Recall</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Paul Verhoeven

Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven, with a screenplay by Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, and Gary Goldman. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, and Michael Ironside. Based on the 1966 short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick, Total Recall tells the story of Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger), a construction worker who receives an implanted memory of a fantastical adventure on Mars. He subsequently finds his adventure occurring in reality as agents of a shadow organization try to prevent him from recovering memories of his past as a Martian secret agent aiming to stop the tyrannical regime of Martian dictator Vilos Cohaagen (Cox).

<i>Pumping Iron</i> 1977 docudrama about the world of bodybuilding directed by George Butler

Pumping Iron is a 1977 American docudrama about the world of professional bodybuilding, with a focus on the 1975 IFBB Mr. Universe and 1975 Mr. Olympia competitions. Directed by George Butler and Robert Fiore and edited by Geof Bartz and Larry Silk, it is inspired by the 1974 book of the same name by photographer Butler and writer Charles Gaines and nominally centers on the competition between Arnold Schwarzenegger and one of his primary competitors for the title of Mr. Olympia, Lou Ferrigno. The film also features segments on bodybuilders Franco Columbu and Mike Katz, in addition to appearances by Ken Waller, Ed Corney, Serge Nubret, and other famous bodybuilders of the era.

<i>Red Heat</i> (1988 film) 1988 film directed by Walter Hill

Red Heat is a 1988 American buddy cop action comedy film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Walter Hill and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Soviet policeman Ivan Danko, and Jim Belushi as Chicago police detective Art Ridzik. Finding themselves on the same case, Danko and Ridzik work as partners to catch a cunning and deadly Georgian drug kingpin, Viktor Rostavili, who killed Danko's previous partner. Most of the scenes set in the Soviet Union were actually shot in Hungary. Schwarzenegger was paid a salary of $8 million for his role in the film.

<i>Eraser</i> (film) 1996 action film by Chuck Russell

Eraser is a 1996 American action film directed by Chuck Russell and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan, James Coburn, and Robert Pastorelli. The film tells the story of a U.S. Marshal of WITSEC who protects a senior operative testifying about an illegal arms deal and is forced to fight his former allies when one of the players is revealed to be a mole inside WITSEC.

<i>Last Action Hero</i> 1993 film directed by John McTiernan

Last Action Hero is a 1993 American fantasy action comedy film directed and produced by John McTiernan and co-written by Shane Black and David Arnott. It is a satire of the action genre and associated clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Jack Slater, a Los Angeles police detective within the Jack Slater action film franchise, while Austin O'Brien co-stars as Danny Madigan, a boy magically transported into the Slater universe, and Charles Dance as Mr. Benedict, a ruthless assassin from the Slater universe who escapes to the real world. Schwarzenegger also served as the film's executive producer and plays himself as the actor portraying Jack Slater. The film also marked Art Carney and Tina Turner's last feature film before their deaths in 2003 and 2023, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolco Pictures</span> Defunct US independent film production company

Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, with blockbuster successes including the first three films of the Rambo franchise, Field of Dreams, Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Basic Instinct, Universal Soldier, Cliffhanger and Stargate. Nevertheless, the company was losing money overall, and it required a corporate restructuring in 1992. The 1995 film Cutthroat Island was produced as a comeback for the studio, but it instead lost them $147 million, and the company was quickly brought to an end.

<i>Kindergarten Cop</i> 1990 action comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman

Kindergarten Cop is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and distributed by Universal Pictures. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough police detective working undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate the wife and child of drug dealer Cullen Crisp, who are living under assumed identities. Pamela Reed, Penelope Ann Miller, and Linda Hunt co-star. The original music score was composed by Randy Edelman.

<i>Conan the Destroyer</i> 1984 film by Richard Fleischer

Conan the Destroyer is a 1984 American epic sword and sorcery film directed by Richard Fleischer from a screenplay by Stanley Mann and a story by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway. Based on the character Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard, it is the sequel to Conan the Barbarian (1982). The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mako reprising their roles as Conan and Akiro, the Wizard of the Mounds, respectively. The cast also includes Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Tracey Walter, and Olivia d'Abo.

<i>Maximum Overdrive</i> 1986 film by Stephen King

Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 American horror film written and directed by Stephen King. The film stars Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, and Yeardley Smith. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story "Trucks", which was included in the author's first collection of short stories, Night Shift, and follows the events after all machines become sentient when Earth crosses the tail of a comet, initiating a world-wide killing spree.

<i>Nazi Agent</i> 1942 film by Jules Dassin

Nazi Agent is a 1942 American spy film directed by Jules Dassin, in his first feature-length film for MGM. It stars Conrad Veidt playing identical twins, one loyal to the United States (U.S.), the other a dedicated German Nazi.

<i>The Informant!</i> 2009 film by Steven Soderbergh

The Informant! is a 2009 American biographical black comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Written by Scott Z. Burns, the film stars Matt Damon as the titular informant named Mark Whitacre, as well as Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie Lynskey. It depicts Whitacre's involvement as a whistleblower in the lysine price-fixing conspiracy of the mid-1990s, and his embezzlement of millions of dollars from his employer. The film is based on the 2000 nonfiction book The Informant, by journalist Kurt Eichenwald.

<i>The Last Stand</i> (2013 film) 2013 American action thriller film

The Last Stand is a 2013 American action thriller film directed by Kim Jee-woon. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role, alongside Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzmán, Eduardo Noriega, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford and Genesis Rodriguez. This was Arnold Schwarzenegger's first lead acting role since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in 2003. In the film, a tough small town sheriff and his deputies must stop a dangerous drug lord from escaping to Mexico in a modified sports car.

<i>Collateral Damage</i> (2002 film) 2002 film by Andrew Davis

Collateral Damage is a 2002 American vigilante action-thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elias Koteas, Francesca Neri, Cliff Curtis, John Leguizamo, and John Turturro. The film tells the story of Los Angeles firefighter Gordon Brewer (Schwarzenegger), who seeks to avenge his son's and wife's deaths at the hands of a guerrilla commando, by traveling to Colombia and facing his family's killers.

<i>Escape Plan</i> (film) 2013 American prison action thriller film by Mikael Håfström

Escape Plan is a 2013 American prison action thriller film starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and co-starring Jim Caviezel, 50 Cent, Vinnie Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio and Amy Ryan. It was directed by Swedish filmmaker Mikael Håfström, and written by Miles Chapman and Jason Keller. The first film to pair up Stallone and Schwarzenegger as co-leads, it follows Stallone's character Ray Breslin, a lawyer turned prison security tester who is incarcerated in the world's most secret and secure prison, and recruits fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer, portrayed by Schwarzenegger, to stage a breakout. The film is the first installment of the Escape Plan film series.

<i>Sabotage</i> (2014 film) 2014 film by David Ayer

Sabotage is a 2014 American action thriller film directed by David Ayer and written by Ayer and Skip Woods. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Worthington, Olivia Williams, Terrence Howard, Joe Manganiello, Josh Holloway, and Mireille Enos. Schwarzenegger portrays the leader of a DEA team whose members find themselves being hunted down after they steal money seized during a cartel raid.

<i>Kindergarten Cop 2</i> 2016 American film

Kindergarten Cop 2 is a 2016 American comedy film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Don Michael Paul. It is a standalone sequel to the 1990 film Kindergarten Cop, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Principal photography in Maple Ridge, Langley, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada took place for 28 days, from July 27 to August 24, 2015. The school at which the film was produced is Kanaka Elementary. The film was released by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on DVD in the United States on May 17, 2016.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Raw Deal (1986)". American Film Institute . Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Raw Deal". British Board of Film Classification . July 31, 1986. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Friendly, David T. (November 16, 1985). "De Laurentiis Rejoins the Ranks--at Embassy: De Laurentiis: Embassy". Los Angeles Times . p. e1.
  4. 1 2 Knoedelseder, William K. Jr. (August 30, 1987). "De Laurentiis Producer's Picture Darkens". Los Angeles Times. p. 1.
  5. 1 2 3 "Raw Deal (1986) – Financial Information". The Numbers . Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  6. ↑ Russell, Candice (June 15, 1986). "Schwarzenegger: Action Star Flexes More Than Muscle In Effort To Overcome He-man Image". Sun Sentinel . Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  7. ↑ Hunt, Dennis (October 3, 1986). "Schwarzenegger Vs. Stallone: 'Deal' Strikes First". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  8. ↑ Ebert, Roger (June 6, 1986). "Raw Deal movie review". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  9. ↑ Canby, Vincent (June 6, 1986). "Film: Schwarzenegger's 'Raw Deal'". The New York Times . p. C5.
  10. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (June 11, 1986). "Film Reviews: Raw Deal". Variety . p. 14.
  11. ↑ Benson, Sheila (June 6, 1986). "Movie Review : A 'Raw Deal' For Audience, Cast And Crew" . Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  12. ↑ Siskel, Gene (June 6, 1986). "'Raw Deal': The title says a lot about confusing plot". Section 7. Chicago Tribune . p. K.
  13. ↑ Attanasio, Paul (June 7, 1986). "'Raw Deal' Arnold as Rambuffo". The Washington Post . p. D5.
  14. ↑ Kael, Pauline (June 30, 198). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker . p. 51.
  15. ↑ "Raw Deal (1986)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Raw Deal Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  17. ↑ "CinemaScore". Archived from the original on February 6, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.