Condorman (1981)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Charles Jarrott

Writers:

Mickey Rose (writer)
Robert Sheckley (novel)

Release Date:

7 August 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family

Tagline:

He Spies! He Flies! He Death-Defies!

Plot:

Cartoonist Woody becomes the superhero he draws. Using his gadgets he helps a Soviet spy defect to the West.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Superhero | Comic Book | CIA | Goofy Holler

Cast

Michael Crawford	...	Woody Wilkins
Oliver Reed	...	Krokov
Barbara Carrera	...	Natalia
James Hampton	...	Harry Oslo
Jean-Pierre Kalfon	...	Morovich
Dana Elcar	...	Russ Devlin
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Russian Agent
Robert Arden	...	CIA Chief
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gérard Buhr
David Pontremoli

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:G | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

GOOFY HOLLER: In the opening titles, when the animated version falls off the building.

Quotes:

Harry Oslo: Woody, you're a great cartoonist, and you're a great comic book writer - but you're a lousy bird.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strongbad_email.exe (2004) (V)

Ready for a Re-make.............

I saw this on VHS rental in the early 80's and remember it with massive fondness. Over here in the UK the film has been deleted from VHS for over a decade so my chance to see this film again was nil.

So along came DVD, I had no player and this was only available in the US. I bought a player that could play all regions and imported me a copy, and when it bounced through the letterbox to the floor I was like a kid at Christmas.

This is the story of an American comic book artist drawing his books from Paris. His best friend, and flat mate, is a CIA office clerk. When a job comes up for a civilian to carry out, Woody is recruited. After the success of the first mission, all be it by pure luck, Woody is requested by a KGB agent to help her defect.

Now this film is still one of my favourites at the age of 30. And that's not seeing through rose tinted glasses anymore. This film is funny and you really wanna see the good guys win. The gadgets blow James Bond away and I dare anybody who doesn't wanna own a old wagon that converts to a car, or a massive condorman suit that helps you fly.

Now for the bad bits. The film doesn't relate to today's audience with the cold war long since dead and the Russians our friends and allies now. Michael Crawford will always be Condorman to me, but his American accent is very poor. The films print looks lifeless with no colour and the music still lives in 80's ville. Also the plot is very loose, why they went across the alps and through small villages when they could of got on a plane and been in the US in a few hours is never explained. But please do not let this put you off. This is a gem of a movie that still makes me wanna be Condorman. So Speilberg you ever make a remake of this count me in...........