Who Dares Wins (1982)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Ian Sharp

Writers:

George Markstein (original story outline)
James Follett (book)

Release Date:

26 August 1982 (UK)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

Who Dares Wins. The Final Option.

Plot:

A trooper with the British Special Air Service (SAS) infiltrates a radical political group who are planning...

Plot Keywords:

SAS | John F Kennedy | Terrorist Plot | Reagan Era | Special Forces

Cast

Lewis Collins	...	Capt. Peter Skellen
Judy Davis	...	Frankie Leith
Richard Widmark	...	Secretary of State Arthur Currie
Edward Woodward	...	Commander Powell
Robert Webber	...	General Ira Potter
Tony Doyle	...	Colonel Hadley
John Duttine	...	Rod Walker
Kenneth Griffith	...	Bishop Crick
Rosalind Lloyd	...	Jenny Skellen
Ingrid Pitt	...	Helga
Norman Rodway	...	Ryan
Maurice Roëves	...	Maj. Steele (as Maurice Röeves)
Bob Sherman	...	Hagen
Albert Fortell	...	Freund
Mark Ryan	...	Mac

Also Known As:

The Final Option (USA)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

UK | Switzerland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Heatherden Hall, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Richmond Light Horse Productions

Trivia:

Producer Euan Lloyd lived near the Iranian Embassy in 1980. On 30 April, six terrorists took over the embassy holding several hostages. When he was at home watching a John Wayne film on the evening of 5 May, it suddenly switched to the live news coverage of the SAS storming the building to end the siege. Lloyd immediately ran outside round the corner to watch the action himself. As soon as it had ended, he ran back to his house and immediately phoned his lawyer to register several movie titles for a possible film on the SAS, one of which was "Who Dares Wins".

Goofs:

Factual errors: A hovercraft is shown arriving, cars are then shown passing through customs. However the hovercraft shown (an SRN-6) is a passenger-only model and is far too small to carry cars.

Quotes:

Capt. Peter Skellen: I know more about nuclear devastation than you ever will.

Soundtrack:

American Medley

Ten of the Most Exciting Minutes in Action Film History

Yes, there is some cheesy acting, but the payoff in this film is excellent! After reading other commentaries on this film, I won't spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't see the film when I say that it concludes with an accurate portrayal of special ops folks in action. But it is not only accurate, it is exciting, and well shot (love the view through the mask!). Combine accuracy and excitement and you have something that beats most of those other "special ops" films hands down. It makes Rambo et al seem downright nonsensical (which it is), and rightly so.

And as someone who studied in Europe for several years and saw the political far left in action on the streets of the major cities, I can tell you that many of them talked just like they do in the movie. And yes, the guerrilla theatre production lampooning the US is accurate, that type of theatre did take place.