Gorky Park (1983)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

Martin Cruz Smith (novel)
Dennis Potter (writer)

Release Date:

12 January 1984 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Crime

Tagline:

It all began with three faceless bodies in the snow ...

Plot:

An investigator on the Moscow police force relentlessly pursues the solution to a triple homicide which occurred in Moscow's Gorky Park...

Plot Keywords:

Moscow | Conspiracy | Face Peeled Off | Smuggling | Detective

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Netherlands:12 | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

Eagle Associates

Trivia:

Tusse Silberg has said in interviews that huge chunks of her part were deleted from the final print

Goofs:

Continuity: Renko's very obvious black eye almost completely disappears in a matter of several minutes.

Quotes:

Arkady Renko: I always wanted to meet an American. You are so, so different. Forgive me for staring. Only once before did I ever meet an American, in the flesh, so to speak. A young student, Kirwell I think he was called. James Kirwell.
Jack Osborne: Oh?
Arkady Renko: But he was dead.
Jack Osborne: That doesn't count then, does it?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Pod People (#4.3)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

Twist & Shout

Hugely underrated film

This is one of my favorite political thriller and a film I watch regularly. I have never understood why it is not better known and better rated.

So what if it is not like the book? You can not turn a book in to film with only two hours of screen time. You need at least 10 hours for that. A two hour film is always going to be a shortened version of the book, so it is unfair to criticize the film for not being as good as the book. That's apples and oranges!!! The button line is that this is one of the best political thrillers. Not perfect but not far from it. 3 1/2 stars (of 4).