Wrong Is Right (1982)

A satire of American news reporting, Covert Agencies, and political system. The theft of two suitcase sized nuclear weapons, and their sale to a terrorist group, leads TV Newsman Patrick ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Charles McCarry (novel), Richard Brooks (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Sean Connery, George Grizzard, Robert Conrad

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	Patrick Hale
George Grizzard	...	President Lockwood
Robert Conrad	...	Gen. Wombat
Katharine Ross	...	Sally Blake
G.D. Spradlin	...	Philindros
John Saxon	...	Homer Hubbard
Henry Silva	...	Rafeeq
Leslie Nielsen	...	Mallory
Robert Webber	...	Harvey
Rosalind Cash	...	Mrs. Ford
Hardy Krüger	...	Helmut Unger (as Hardy Kruger)
Dean Stockwell	...	Hacker
Ron Moody	...	King Awad
Cherie Michan	...	Erika
Tony March	...	Abu

Storyline

A satire of American news reporting, Covert Agencies, and political system. The theft of two suitcase sized nuclear weapons, and their sale to a terrorist group, leads TV Newsman Patrick Hale on an international chase to track them down, and uncover the twisting maze of apparent involvement of US Government agencies.

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Plot Keywords:

nuclear weapon | terrorist | terrorist group | satire | politics | 

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Taglines:

Patrick Hale was invented for television. He's a superstar TV reporter whose special news broadcasts reach a billion people every day. And in the past ten hours, he has uncovered the most incredible story of his career. The bad news is: it involves the President, Vice-President, Director of the CIA, a trigger-happy general, an Arab terrorist, a European arms dealer, religious fanatics, and the result may be World War III. The good news is: his ratings are going through the roof.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Man with the Deadly Lens

Filming Locations:

Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,412,646 (USA) (14 May 1982)

Gross:

$3,289,545 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rastar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some movie posters for the picture featured a long text preamble that read: "In a moment World War III . . . but first a word from our sponsor. Patrick Hale was invented for television. He's a superstar TV reporter whose special news broadcasts reach a billion people every day. And in the past ten hours, he has uncovered the most incredible story of his career. THE BAD NEW IS: it involves the President, Vice-President, Director of the CIA, a trigger-happy general, an Arab terrorist, a European arms dealer, religious fanatics, and the result may be World War III. THE GOOD NEWS IS: his ratings are going through the roof. WRONG IS RIGHT. A very funny look at the world."

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Goofs

The lighting changes between the live and the obvious studio shots of Hale parachuting from the plane in the opening sequence. For example, there are 3 light sources in the studio shot reflected on his helmet (including one from in front of him as he looks out from the plane), rather than just the sunlight from above.

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Quotes

Young Girl: I'd rather live with the guilt than with my parents.

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Crazy Credits

Filmed in New York, Washington, D.C., Texas, New Mexico, France, Italy and Hagreb. [Hagreb is a fictional country featured in the movie, and France and Italy appear only in archive footage.]

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Connections

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

User Reviews

A Satire For Today From Nearly Three Decades

Some films are truly ahead of their time. The 1982 satire Wrong Is Right is such a film. Though deemed unbelievable when first released nearly three decades ago its satire of TV news being driven more by entertainment then facts, Islamic terrorists seeks nuclear weapons and international intrigue makes it even more relevant today. In short it's a satire for today from yesterday.

The film features a fine cast. Sean Connery stars as Patrick Hale, a globe trotting TV reporter who uncovers the story of a life time. Connery shows off a considerable talent for doing black comedy throughout and comes across well as a cynical reporter who ends up virtually being the voice of reason towards the films end. George Grizzard (as the President), Rosalind Cash (as the Vice-Pesident), Robert Webber (as the CIA director) and Dean Stockwell (as the President's chief of staff) come across well as various government officials caught up in the crisis while in the midst of a presidential election. There's also Robert Conrad as the trigger happy General Wombat in charge of the counter terrorism task force in a performance perhaps a bit too reminiscent of George C. Scott in Doctor Strangelove. Facing off against them are the terrorists lead by Rafeeq (Henry Silva) and Leslie Nielsen as a proto-George W. Bush presidential candidate twenty years before the fact. That's not forgetting either Kathrine Ross as Sally Black or Hardy Kruger as a European arms dealer as both have small but important roles in the films. All together they make for a fine cast for this satire.

It's the satire and script that really makes this film stand out. Inspired by or loosely based on. depending on your choice of phrase, Charles McCarry's 1979 novel The Better Angels which like the film was deemed unbelievable at the time it originally came out. But the film would prove to be eerily prophetic of the world more then two decades later. Terrorists blow up airplanes without warning, a wealthy Middle-Eastern nation seeks to buy nuclear weapons for terrorists and suicide bombers blow themselves up with no warning may have been unbelievable thirty years ago but are practically ripped from the headlines of today. Plus things such as Leslie Nielsen's presidential candidate Mallory who, as not just played by Nielsen but written as well, could easily be mistaken for a satire of George W. Bush if the film hadn't been made in the 1980's but sometime in the last ten years. Yet all the while the film plays not so much as a satire but as a thriller as Hale explores the worlds of his own TV companies bias, government conspiracies, election year politics and Islamic terrorism. But the film works because of its heavy topics rather then despite them because it exposes the sheer absurdities that lies at the heart of it all. While the technology and fashions are those of the early 1980's the film could easily have been released, as the opening of the film states, in the time between now and later.

Armed with a fine cast and an excellent satire/thriller script, Wrong Is Right stands out nearly three decades after its original release. With its plot of TV news being driven more by entertainment then facts, Islamic terrorists seeks nuclear weapons and international intrigue it's hard to believe that a film from thirty years ago could speak so much more about the decades after it was originally released. But this film does and it would appear to have much more effect now then it has ever had. Wrong Is Right is a satire for today from nearly three decades.