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IMDb > Quintet (1979)
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Overview

User Rating:
4.8/10   984 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Robert Altman
Writers:
Robert Altman (story) &
Lionel Chetwynd (story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Quintet on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
24 August 1979 (West Germany) more
Genre:
Sci-Fi | Mystery more
Tagline:
One man against the world.
Plot:
During a future ice age, dying humanity occupies its remaining time by playing a board game called "Quintet." For one small group, this obsession is not enough; they play the game with living pieces ... and only the winner survives. | add synopsis
User Comments:
The only film that puts the cold war in true perspective. more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Paul Newman ... Essex
Vittorio Gassman ... Saint Christopher
Fernando Rey ... Grigor
Bibi Andersson ... Ambrosia
Brigitte Fossey ... Vivia, Essex's Wife
Nina Van Pallandt ... Deuca
David Langton ... Goldstar
Thomas Hill ... Francha (as Tom Hill)
Monique Mercure ... Redstone's Mate

Craig Richard Nelson ... Redstone
Maruska Stankova ... Jaspera
Anne Gerety ... Aeon
Michel Maillot ... Obelus
Max Fleck ... Wood Supplier
Françoise Berd ... Charity house woman
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Additional Details

Runtime:
118 min | Argentina:116 min | Portugal:110 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Stereo

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The majority of the movie was filmed in the empty Man and His World Pavillion on St. Helen's Island.(The Island is connected to Montreal by Bridges and the subway.) It was originally built for Expo 67 and remained standing for several more years. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Developing the World of 'Quintet' (2006) (V) more

FAQ

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21 out of 28 people found the following comment useful:-
The only film that puts the cold war in true perspective., 19 August 2001
5/10
Author: Michael Udel from Guangzhou, China

This film seems almost universally despised, but even its harshest critics note how effective Altman was in creating mood. Despite the fact that the mood is terribly gloomy and unappealing to most, it makes perfect sense to me because this movie is about the cold war.

Many, many films deal with the cold war, but they jazz it up and accentuate the "glamour" of the spy game and ignore the futility of the paranoia that raged for 50 years (34 when the film was released), and that is still one of the dominant forces in international politics.

Some of the best cold war films such as Michael Caine's three roles as Harry Palmer, or Fred Schepisi's "Russia House" bring parts of the cold war home while showing us the ways of international espionage, but what other film besides "Quintet" shows how it affects an average family man, "Little Nikita"? Perhaps some others do, but none provide the gloomy, desperate, futile feel of "Quintet", which I appreciate because for me that's what the cold war is all about.

I believe those who see "Quintet" simply as a film about the next ice age and its favorite board game missed the point that Altman made so convincingly, and with such ability that even those who don't care for "Quintet" can't forget it.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Quintet (1979)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Rules of Quintet game? mpoconnor7
One of the very worst... kjcowzlan
HUGE logical problem in the movie haggar
The trailer... kjcowzlan
Did Not Understand! fantasmic17-2
Quintet jumper_31
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