The Formula (1980)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writers:

Steve Shagan (novel)
Steve Shagan (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 December 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

In a world starved for energy, no secret is more valuable.

Plot:

A detective uncovers a formula that was devised by the Nazis in WW II to make gasoline from synthetic products...

Plot Keywords:

Oil Company | Oil | Gasoline | Library | Horse Track

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 nominations

Cast

George C. Scott	...	Lt. Barney Caine LAPD
Marlon Brando	...	Adam Steiffel, Chairman Titan Oil
Marthe Keller	...	Lisa Spangler
John Gielgud	...	Dr. Abraham Esau, Director Reich Energy
G.D. Spradlin	...	Arthur Clements
Beatrice Straight	...	Kay Neeley
Richard Lynch	...	General Helmut Kladen / Frank Tedesco
John Van Dreelen	...	Hans Lehman, Prefect of Police Berlin
Robin Clarke	...	Major Tom Neeley
Ike Eisenmann	...	Tony
Marshall Thompson	...	Geologist #1
Dieter Schidor	...	Assassin
Werner Kreindl	...	Schellenberg
Jan Niklas	...	Gestapo Captain
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Franz Tauber, Swiss businessman

Also Known As:

Die Formel (West Germany)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English | Spanish | German

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

CIP Filmproduktion GmbH

Trivia:

This is the only time that Marlon Brando and George C. Scott, the only two actors that refused to accept their Oscars, worked together.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: At the beginning of The Formula, a Nazi General is given the task of driving a truck to the Swiss border. In the next scene the truck has been captured by the US Army. The scene is shot in the snow. This is supposed to take place in the first week of May 1945. There is nowhere that would be covered in snow between Berlin and the Swiss border in May, even if he went the long way i.e. via Austria.

Quotes:

Arthur Clements: [proposing that Titan Oil can raise their gasoline prices] The people will accept the 12 cents now because we can blame it on the Arabs!
Adam Steiffel, Chairman Titan Oil: Ah, Arthur, you're missing the point: We *are* the Arabs.

Movie Connections:

References Little Caesar (1931)

THE FORMULA (DIDIER BECU)

I admit it, the sole reason I wanted to see this was because of Marlon Brando but once you see his appearance you can't imagine that this is the man from Elia Kazan-movies or Don Corleone...at contrary, he plays like an idiot... Okay, George C Scott is the kind of actor that never works on my nerves and he also was the only reason why I kept watching as this movie sucks... You can write thrillers and spionagescenarios but please don't forget that an average watcher cant follow thousand plots in 100 minutes, director John G Avildsen doesn't even give us the time to let us discover who is who as from the moment a new personage appears he ends up being shot three minutes later plus you are wondering what the hell it's all about.... There used to be a formula created during the Third Reichregime that creates synthetic oil and cos that's quite nasty for those who gain their money with oil, everyone must be eliminated who comes in touch with the formula...that's it...and the big problem is that after 10 minutes you know who did it (you probably already know it yourself, not?) but before all this you have to watch thousands useless plots... Bad cinema!