The Border | |
---|---|
Directed by | Tony Richardson |
Written by | Deric Washburn Walon Green David Freeman |
Produced by | Edgar Bronfman Jr. |
Starring | Jack Nicholson Harvey Keitel Valerie Perrine Warren Oates Elpidia Carrillo Dirk Blocker |
Cinematography | Ric Waite |
Edited by | Robert K. Lambert |
Music by | Ry Cooder |
Production companies | Efer Productions RKO Pictures |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 108 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $22 million [1] |
Box office | $6,118,683 (US) [2] |
The Border is a 1982 American neo-noir [3] dramatic crime thriller film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Jack Nicholson alongside Harvey Keitel, Valerie Perrine, Elpidia Carrillo and Warren Oates.
Immigration enforcement agent Charlie Smith lives in California with his wife, Marcy, in a trailer. She persuades him to move to a duplex in El Paso, Texas shared by her friend and border agent Cat. Marcy longs for a life of luxury and sees a chance to do so with this move. She opens a charge account and starts to purchase expensive items (like a water bed) as she tries to build a dream home.
Cat gradually introduces Charlie to the human smuggling operation he runs with their supervisor Red. Though Charlie initially declines to participate, his wife's free-spending ways make him finally take part in the operation. Meanwhile, a young Mexican mother, Maria, that he has observed is detained, and while she is in their custody, one of Cat's drivers abducts her baby for an illegal adoption. Cat warns the driver not to do anything but transport people in trucks, and that if he runs drugs or babies, Cat will hurt him.
Charlie finally realizes that Cat and Red are killing drivers who make money off side ventures or anyone who gets in their way. Charlie makes it clear to Cat that he will not be a party to murder. In the film's climax, he is forced to kill Cat. He tracks down the kidnapped infant and returns it to Maria.
The opening earthquake scenes were filmed in Antigua, specifically in La Recoleccion ruins, [4] and Guatemala City.[ citation needed ]
Vincent Canby of The New York Times said the movie "has the sort of predictable outrage and shape of a made-for-television movie. It has suspense but little excitement. Once the people and the situation have been introduced, there's not a single surprise in the film, nothing of the uncharacteristic sort that differentiates the adequate melodrama from one that is special and memorable. Like so many films prompted by real-life social problems, The Border is a movie in which the characters appear to have been created to fit the events. Missing is any sense of particularity, as well as the excitement that comes when the members of the audience are allowed to discover some sort of truth for themselves." [5]
Gene Siskel, in his review for the Chicago Tribune, praised the way Nicholson served the film but criticised the ending. [6]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 65% from 26 reviews. The site's consensus states: "It makes frustratingly facile work of its thorny premise, but Jack Nicholson's gritty lead performance keeps The Border worth watching." [7] Among the positive reviews were Siskel & Ebert, who both gave the film a collective "Yes". [8]
Lenny is a 1974 American biographical drama film about the comedian Lenny Bruce, starring Dustin Hoffman and directed by Bob Fosse. The screenplay by Julian Barry is based on his play of the same name.
Salvador is a 1986 American war drama film co-written and directed by Oliver Stone. It stars James Woods as Richard Boyle, alongside Jim Belushi, Michael Murphy and Elpidia Carrillo, with John Savage and Cynthia Gibb in supporting roles. Stone co-wrote the screenplay with Boyle.
Valerie Ritchie Perrine is a retired American actress. For her role as Honey Bruce in the 1974 film Lenny, she won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film appearances include Superman (1978), The Electric Horseman (1979), and Superman II (1980).
Elpidia Carrillo is a Mexican actress and director. Her career includes roles in both film and television. Internationally she is best known for supporting roles in Predator, Bread and Roses,Nine Lives and Blue Beetle.
Can't Stop the Music is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by Nancy Walker in her only directed featured film. Written by Allan Carr and Bronté Woodard, the film is a pseudo-biography of the 1970s disco group the Village People loosely based on the actual story of how the group formed. The film also stars Valerie Perrine, Caitlyn Jenner in her film debut, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Sand, Tammy Grimes, June Havoc, Barbara Rush, Altovise Davis, Marilyn Sokol and The Ritchie Family in their only film.
Blood and Wine is a 1996 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Bob Rafelson and starring Jack Nicholson, Stephen Dorff, Jennifer Lopez, Judy Davis, and Michael Caine. The screenplay was written by Nick Villiers and Alison Cross. Rafelson has stated that the film forms the final part of his unofficial trilogy with Nicholson, with whom he made Five Easy Pieces and The King of Marvin Gardens in the 1970s.
Out to Sea is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge and written by Robert Nelson Jacobs. It is the final film role of Donald O'Connor, Gloria DeHaven and Edward Mulhare, and the penultimate film of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau as a film duo.
Speed Zone is a 1989 American action comedy film set around an illegal cross-country race. The film is the third and final installment of the Cannonball Run trilogy and a sequel to The Cannonball Run (1981) and Cannonball Run II (1984). The plot follows the race sponsors, who must line up new contestants after the previous racers are all arrested before the race begins.
Blue Collar is a 1978 American crime drama film directed by Paul Schrader in his directorial debut. Written by Schrader and his brother Leonard, the film stars Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto. The film is both a critique of union practices and an examination of life in a working-class Rust Belt enclave.
The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time! is a 1982 documentary film by Jim Brown.
Heartbeeps is a 1981 American romantic-comedy and science fiction film about two robots who fall in love and decide to strike out on their own. The film was directed by Allan Arkush, written by John Hill, and stars Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters as the robots alongside Randy Quaid, Kenneth McMillan, Melanie Mayron, Christopher Guest, and the voice of Jerry Garcia in a rare film appearance. It was Kaufman's final performance in a theatrical film. Universal Pictures released the film in the United States on December 18, 1981.
Under Fire is a 1983 American political thriller film set during the last days of the Nicaraguan Revolution that ended the Somoza regime in 1979. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, it stars Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman and Joanna Cassidy. The musical score by Jerry Goldsmith, which featured jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Score. The editing by Mark Conte and John Bloom was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Editing. The film was shot in the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca.
Nine Lives is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Rodrigo García. The screenplay, an example of hyperlink cinema, relates nine short, loosely intertwined tales with nine different women at their cores. Their themes include parent-child relationships, fractured love, adultery, illness, and death. Similar to García's previous work, Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, it is a series of overlapping vignettes, each one running about the same length and told in a single, unbroken take, featuring an ensemble cast.
Dear God is a 1996 American comedy film distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by Garry Marshall and starring Greg Kinnear and Laurie Metcalf.
Mrs. Soffel is a 1984 American drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong, starring Diane Keaton and Mel Gibson and based on the story of condemned brothers Jack and Ed Biddle, who escaped prison with the aid of Kate Soffel, the warden's wife.
Dangerous Game is a 1993 drama film directed by Abel Ferrara, written by Nicholas St. John, and starring Madonna, Harvey Keitel, and James Russo.
Monkey Trouble is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Franco Amurri and starring Thora Birch and Harvey Keitel. Amurri dedicated the film to his daughter Eva and named the film's protagonist after her.
What Happened Was... is a 1994 American independent film written for the screen, directed by and starring Tom Noonan. It is an adaptation of Noonan's original stage play of the same name.
The Late Show is a 1977 American neo-noir mystery film written and directed by Robert Benton and produced by Robert Altman. It stars Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy, Eugene Roche, and Joanna Cassidy.
Jack Nicholson is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter who made his film debut in The Cry Baby Killer (1958). Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation. He is also one of the most critically acclaimed: his 12 Academy Award nominations make him the most nominated male actor in the Academy's history. He is also a Kennedy Center Honoree and a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award.