The Osterman Weekend (1983)

The host of an investigative news show is convinced by the CIA that the friends he has invited to a weekend in the country are engaged in a conspiracy that threatens national security in ... See full summary »

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Robert Ludlum (novel), Ian Masters (adaptation),

Stars:

Rutger Hauer, John Hurt, Craig T. Nelson

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rutger Hauer	...	John Tanner
John Hurt	...	Lawrence Fassett
Craig T. Nelson	...	Bernard Osterman
Dennis Hopper	...	Richard Tremayne
Chris Sarandon	...	Joseph Cardone
Meg Foster	...	Ali Tanner
Helen Shaver	...	Virginia Tremayne
Cassie Yates	...	Betty Cardone
Sandy McPeak	...	Walter Stennings
Christopher Starr	...	Steve Tanner
Burt Lancaster	...	Maxwell Danforth
Cheryl Carter	...	Marcia Heller
John Bryson	...	Honeymoon Groom
Anne Haney	...	Honeymoon Bride
Kristen Peckinpah	...	Tremayne's Secretary

Storyline

The host of an investigative news show is convinced by the CIA that the friends he has invited to a weekend in the country are engaged in a conspiracy that threatens national security in this adaptation of the Robert Ludlum novel.

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Plot Keywords:

weekend | friend | conspiracy | cia | secret | 

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Taglines:

It will be a weekend to remember...if they survive it!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Osterman-Weekend

Box Office

Gross:

$6,500,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Osterman Weekend Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 116 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Composer Lalo Schifrin had to sit by Sam Peckinpah's sick bed in order to spot the film and decide which scenes did or did not need music.

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Goofs

When Tanner is warning the others to get out of the camper, he writes "Get out now". Richard is reading it aloud as "Get out of the camper now".

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Quotes

Lawrence Fassett: John, time for a face to face.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Operation Double 007 (1993)

User Reviews

Dreadful swansong for a once-great director.

It was almost inevitable, given the up-and-down life of Sam Peckinpah, that his final film would be dreadful. Having put so much into classics like The Wild Bunch, Ride the High Country, Straw Dogs and Cross of Iron, his final few films were simple hack jobs made purely for money. He made the routine The Killer Elite; the weak Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia; but with The Osterman Weekend he finally hit rock bottom with the very worst movie of his illustrious career.

What's worst of all is that the plot sounds pretty good on paper. A TV presenter who has regular weekend parties with his friends learns that they may be Russian spies. A government agency persuades him to hold a party as usual, but with cameras planted everywhere to find out what they're up to. This being a Peckinpah film, needless to say the plan goes awry and all kinds of bloodthirsty mayhem ensues.

The cast is mouth watering. Rutger Hauer, Burt Lancaster, John Hurt, Dennis Hopper, Chris Sarandon and Craig T. Nelson all have big roles in the film. But what truly wrecks it is the terribly muddled and uninvolving script. What the hell is going on at the end of this movie? Who was up to what and why? Who was really spying on who? Were the good guys really the good guys, or not? The actors certainly don't seem able to tell and just amble by with a confused expression on their face; even Peckinpah the director seems unable to clarify it so he just sticks in one loud set piece after another in the hope that no-one will notice. In the end, The Osterman Weekend is a huge, disappointing mess and it marks a truly unworthy swansong for one of the finest directors of his time.