Two-Minute Warning (1976)

A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a major championship game. The police, led by Captain Peter Holly (Charlton Heston) and SWAT ... See full summary »

Director:

Larry Peerce

Writers:

George LaFountaine (novel), Edward Hume (screenplay)

Stars:

Charlton Heston, John Cassavetes, Martin Balsam

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	Capt. Peter Holly
John Cassavetes	...	Sgt. Button
Martin Balsam	...	Sam McKeever
Beau Bridges	...	Mike Ramsay
Marilyn Hassett	...	Lucy
David Janssen	...	Steve
Jack Klugman	...	Sandman
Gena Rowlands	...	Janet
Walter Pidgeon	...	The Pickpocket
Brock Peters	...	Paul
David Groh	...	Al
Mitch Ryan	...	The Priest (as Mitchell Ryan)
Joe Kapp	...	Charlie Tyler
Pamela Bellwood	...	Peggy Ramsay
Jon Korkes	...	Jeffrey

Storyline

A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a major championship game. The police, led by Captain Peter Holly (Charlton Heston) and SWAT commander Sergeant Button (John Cassavetes), learn of the plot and rush to the scene. Still, they may be too late, as an all-star cast finds itself lined up in the sights of a gun-toting madman.

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Plot Keywords:

swat | police | stadium | sniper | sniper rifle | 

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Taglines:

For some...too much time to wait. For the rest...too little time to run.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pánico en el estadio

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - 3911 S. Figueroa Street, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmways Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 180 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A marketing gimmick devised by studio Universal Pictures to promote the film stated that patrons were not allowed to enter theaters showing the picture once the film's football game's "two-minute warning" had started.

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Goofs

Near the end of the movie, Sgt Button and Capt Holly are stalking the sniper in the tower where he is hiding. Visibility is almost nil because of darkness and the smoke from a smoke grenade, yet the two officers are wearing sunglasses. All this would have made it near impossible for them to see the sniper, yet Holly spots him immediately and shoots him.

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Quotes

Lucy: Are you a doctor?
Al: Yeah, how'd you know?
Lucy: Dirty shoes and clean white hands.
Al: A lot of guys have clean hands.
Lucy: But not that clean. It must have taken you ten years at least to get them that clean.
Al: What are you, a commercial or what?

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Connections

Featured in Sneak Previews: The Best of 1976 (1977)

User Reviews

A faceless gunman shoots innocent bystanders in a tower overlooking a Los Angeles football stadium

Thrilling and entertaining disaster movie but full clichés and stereotypes with enjoyable performances from Charlton Heston and John Cassavetes . This catastrophe movie blends action , intrigue , disaster spectacle, suspense and emotional byplay . ¨Two-minute warning¨ was a successful film that grossed at box office . A psychotic sniper wielding a rifle with telescopic sight plans a massacre during a major championship game . The two protagonists , the police Captain Peter Holly (Charlton Heston) and SWAT commander Sergeant Button (John Cassavetes), learn of the plot and spend most of their time devising various ways for avoid to psychopath sniper carries out his aims : a massive killing spree in Los Angeles football stadium filled to capacity . As our heroes get stuck in the stadium before it blows up and when slaughter takes place they go into action ; as they pay tribute to policemen . There takes place a struggle between two forces , the cops and the sinister assassin and ultimately erupts when the crowd turns almost effortlessly and devours itself in a climax of panic .

Exciting film that contains noisy action , unsettling scenes , thrills , emotion and turns out to be pretty entertaining . This formula suspense movie belongs to catastrophe genre of the 70s , being the undisputed king , ¨The towering inferno¨ along with ¨Earthquake¨ , ¨Roller coaster¨ and many others ; this formula disaster movie was widely developed by Irwin Allen , previously winner of numerous Oscars for ¨Poseidon¨ until the failures as ¨Beyond Poseidon¨, ¨Swarm¨ and ¨When the time ran out¨ . ¨Two-minute warning¨ results to be an intriguing and suspenseful film , there was a later version released that had footage not shown in theaters , in the original theatrical version, the sniper's motives were not known. In the later television version, it was revealed that the attack was done to cover an art robbery next door . Filmed at the height of the disaster genre from the 7os , this entry in the spectacular series profits of a strong acting by starring trio Charlton Heston , John Cassavetes and Martin Balsam . Succeeds in combining various talented actors , an all star cast came together that tie for film's top casting honors ; furthermore a top-notch secondary casting such as Gina Rowlands, Beau Bridges , Jack Klugman , Marilyn Hasset , Pamela Bellwood , Mitch Ryan , Brock Peters, David Janssen and Walter Pidgeon as a pickpocket who formerly co-starred in 'Harry in Your Pocket' , a film about pickpocket s. This edgy , paranoid film was deemed too violent to show intact on broadcast television, so they re-wrote the story and added a heist element , the re-written material minimized both the main storyline and the subplots . Colorful and gripping photography in Panavision by Gerard Hirschfeld , including persistent high-angle shots , subjective camera-work and use of long lenses . Intriguing and atmospheric score by Charles Fox . This big-budgeted disaster movie was professionally though coldly directed by Larry Peerce , an usual TV movies director . Rating : Good and entertaining , it's a fairly watchable disaster movie.