Gorky Park (1983)

A Moscow police officer investigates a triple homicide and stumbles upon a high-level political conspiracy in the local government.

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

Martin Cruz Smith (novel), Dennis Potter (screenplay)

Stars:

William Hurt, Lee Marvin, Brian Dennehy

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Hurt	...	Arkady Renko
Lee Marvin	...	Jack Osborne
Brian Dennehy	...	William Kirwill
Ian Bannen	...	Iamskoy
Joanna Pacula	...	Irina Asanova
Michael Elphick	...	Pasha
Richard Griffiths	...	Anton
Rikki Fulton	...	Maj. Pribluda
Alexander Knox	...	General
Alexei Sayle	...	Golodkin
Ian McDiarmid	...	Prof. Andreev
Niall O'Brien	...	KGB Agent Rurik
Henry Woolf	...	Levin
Tusse Silberg	...	Natasha
Patrick Field	...	Fet

Storyline

An investigator on the Moscow police force relentlessly pursues the solution to a triple homicide which occurred in Moscow's Gorky Park. He finds that no one really wants him to solve the crime because it is just the tip of a complex conspiracy which involves the highest levels of the Moscow city government.

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Plot Keywords:

conspiracy | moscow russia | female nudity | soviet union | nudity | 

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Taglines:

Doing Business In Moscow Can Be Murder.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gorkij parken

Filming Locations:

Bulevardi, Helsinki, Finland

Box Office

Gross:

$15,900,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eagle Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gorky Park aka Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure is an amusement park in Moscow, Russia and is named after Maxim Gorky. The park was opened in 1928 and is situated at Krymsky Val just near the Moskva River not far from the Park Kultury Metro Station.

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Goofs

During the final scene pine martens were used for sables, clearly identifiable by the yellow fur at their chests.

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Quotes

Levin: [conducting an autopsy] I'm used to dealing with the dead. The only emotion I feel about one of these is a faint hope it may be a Party official.

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Connections

Featured in Chuck Norris vs. Communism (2015)

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Soundtracks

Twist & Shout
Written by Bert Berns and Phil Medley
Published by Screen Gems-Emi Music, Inc. and Unichappell Music, Inc.
Performed by Bad Sign (uncredited)
[performed at the carnival]

User Reviews

Well Made, Bittersweet Police Procedural

It's winter and three corpses are found in Moscow's Gorky Park. They've had their faces and finger tips carved off. Arkady Renko, an honest, slightly obsessive Russian cop, is assigned to the case. He sets out to identify the bodies by reconstructing their faces, and as he gets closer he finds obstructions in his path. He finds a girl (Joanna Pacula) who was friends of the trio, a wealthy and ruthless American (Lee Marvin), an American cop (Brian Dennehy) out for blood, and more than he probably wants to know about sable coats and the animals they're made from. It becomes clear that corrupt higher-ups are involved in something with greater stakes than solving a triple murder. Hurt and Marvin do great jobs and are well matched.

This is a tight, very well constructed police procedural that is a little exotic, with the cops and functionaries being Russians. It's also a bit gloomy with a bitter sweet ending, but it still works as a very watchable film. A lot of the outdoor shots were filmed in Helsinki, and the movie takes place in the winter. The atmosphere looks cold and oppressive. The contrast is striking with the scenes set in a pre-revolutionary bath and an expensive restaurant, both reserved for the use of privileged Soviet officials.

The book, by Martin Cruz Smith, is even better. Apted also directed Enigma, and I like both movies a lot.