The Hand (1981)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers:

Marc Brandell (novel)
Oliver Stone (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 April 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

It lives. It crawls. And suddenly, it kills.

Plot:

Jon Lansdale is a comic book artist who loses his right hand in a car accident. The hand was not found at the scene of the accident...

Plot Keywords:

Hand | Accident | Comic Book Artist | Comics | Murder

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Jonathan Lansdale
Andrea Marcovicci	...	Anne Lansdale
Annie McEnroe	...	Stella Roche
Bruce McGill	...	Brian Ferguson
Viveca Lindfors	...	Doctress
Rosemary Murphy	...	Karen Wagner
Mara Hobel	...	Lizzie Lansdale
Pat Corley	...	Sheriff
Nicholas Hormann	...	Bill Richamn
Ed Marshall	...	Doctor
Charles Fleischer	...	David Maddow
John Stinson	...	Therapist
Richard Altman	...	Hammond
Sparky Watt	...	Sergeant
Tracey Walter	...	Cop

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (1982 rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Norway:16 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Oliver Stone initially wanted Jon Voight to play the lead role, but was turned down by him. Christopher Walken and Dustin Hoffman also declined the role.

Quotes:

Stella: I'm kind of old-fashioned. I like to make it in bed, okay?

Movie Connections:

References All That Jazz (1979)

Soundtrack:

Union City Blue

Liked the psychological demons of Michael Caine

As a psychological thriller this actually works. In large part because of Michael Caine. As a B movie about a killer hand or a schizo cartoonist it features Olive Stone's tortured man, driven to ruin by a woman, whose lack of self-knowledge and unchecked rage propel him to violence. I kind of agree with another reviewer's disappointment at the ending not wrapping it up, but The Hand is enough of a thing that I feel neither way about the end. Stone's vitriol for women, a characterization many have stuck on throughout his career, is very apparent here. Caine as Johnathan Lansdale is comfortable in his beautiful country home, crafting a semi-popular syndicated cartoon. But his yogic wife Anne (Andrea Marcovicci) wants to do something with her life and demands a move to NYC. This ends up undoing him, but not before he struggles with having his writing/drawing hand severed. Without saying more, I'd recommend this for Caine's gradual unraveling, an engrossing trip into The Mind and even a good Oliver Stone cameo.