Against All Odds (1984)

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writers:

Daniel Mainwaring (1947 screenplays)
Eric Hughes

Release Date:

2 March 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

She was a beautiful fugitive. Fleeing from corruption. From power. He was a professional athlete past his prime. Hired to find her, he grew to love her. Love turned to obsession. Obsession turned to murder. And now the price of freedom might be nothing less than their lives.

Plot:

A gangster hires an ex-football player to find his girlfriend. When he finds her, they fall in love, and the twists start to appear.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Car | Obsessive Love | Loot | Rescue

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Rachel Ward	...	Jessie Wyler
Jeff Bridges	...	Terry Brogan
James Woods	...	Jake Wise
Alex Karras	...	Hank Sully
Jane Greer	...	Mrs. Wyler
Richard Widmark	...	Ben Caxton
Dorian Harewood	...	Tommy
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Edie
Saul Rubinek	...	Steve Kirsch
Pat Corley	...	Ed Phillips
Bill McKinney	...	Head Coach
Allen Williams	...	Bob Soames
Sam Scarber	...	Assistant Coach
Jon St. Elwood	...	Ahmad Cooper
Tamara Stafford	...	Kirsch's Girlfriend
Jonathan Terry	...	Ryskind
Paul Valentine	...	Councilman Weinberg
Ted White	...	Security Guard with Dog
Stone Bower	...	Security Guard
Mel Scott-Thomas	...	Quarterback
Barnetta McCarthy	...	Receptionist #1
Ginger LaBrie	...	Receptionist #2
David Dayan	...	Car Valet
Tom Kelly	...	Football Announcer
Kid Creole	...	Kid Creole (as August Darnell)
Adriana Kaegi	...	Coconut
Cheryl Poirier	...	Coconut
Taryn Hagey	...	Coconut
Tundra the Wonder Dog	...	Jessie's Dog - Sam (as Tundra)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Coati Mundi	...	Kid Creole's Band (uncredited)

Directed by
Taylor Hackford

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Eric Hughes
Daniel Mainwaring		1947 screenplay

Produced by
Jerry Bick	....	executive producer
Bill Borden	....	associate producer
William S. Gilmore	....	producer
Taylor Hackford	....	producer
Gene Rudolf	....	consulting producer

Original Music by
Larry Carlton
Michel Colombier

Cinematography by
Donald E. Thorin

Film Editing by
Fredric Steinkamp
William Steinkamp

Casting by
Nancy Klopper

Production Design by
Richard Lawrence

Set Decoration by
Garrett Lewis

Costume Design by
Michael Kaplan

Makeup Department
Dorothy J. Pearl	....	makeup consultant
Marina Pedraza	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Jim Cranston	....	production manager
Tom Joyner	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William M. Elvin	....	second assistant director
Stephen J. Fisher	....	first assistant director: second unit
Thomas J. Mack	....	first assistant director
Nilo Otero	....	dga trainee

Art Department
Chris Butler	....	lead man
Emily Ferry	....	property master
Howard Hester	....	construction coordinator
Gregory Pickrell	....	set designer
William Ladd Skinner	....	set designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gary Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jim Bullock	....	sound editor
Don Coufal	....	boom operator
Chris Jenkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tom C. McCarthy	....	sound editor
Richard Oswald	....	adr editor
Larry Stensvold	....	sound re-recording mixer
Don S. Walden	....	sound editor
Jeff Wexler	....	sound mixer
Vanessa Theme Ament	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Joseph P. Mercurio	....	special effects

Stunts
Jophery C. Brown	....	stunt driver (as Jophery Brown)
David Burton	....	stunt driver
William H. Burton	....	stunt driver (as Bill Burton)
Carl Ciarfalio	....	stunt double: Sully
Bud Davis	....	stunt driver
Bud Davis	....	stunts
Gary Davis	....	stunt coordinator
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunt driver
Hubie Kerns Jr.	....	stunts
Carey Loftin	....	stunt driver: Ferrari
Charlie Picerni	....	stunt driver (as Charles Picerni)
Ronnie Rondell Jr.	....	stunt driver (as Ronnie Rondell)
Dennis Scott	....	stunt driver
Glenn R. Wilder	....	stunt driver (as Glenn Wilder)
Dick Ziker	....	stunt driver
Loyd Catlett	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James F. Boyle	....	gaffer
John Burnett	....	second assistant camera: additional photography
Pat Campea Jr.	....	key grip: second unit
Earl L. Clark	....	camera operator
Craig Denault	....	camera operator
Frank P. Flynn	....	photographer: second unit
Daniel C. Gold	....	second assistant camera
Rob Hahn	....	first assistant camera
Daniel R. Jordan	....	key grip
Nick Kurges	....	second grip
Dan Lerner	....	Steadicam operator
Elliott Marks	....	still photographer
Edward R. Nedin	....	best boy (as Ed Nedin)
Jeffrey W. Petersen	....	electrician
James M. Sheppherd	....	dolly grip (as Jim Sheppherd)
Ronald Vidor	....	Steadicam operator
Fred M. Waugh	....	camera operator: second unit

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Julie Starr Dresner	....	key costume supervisor
James Lapidus	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Don Brochu	....	assistant editor
Sheri Eisenberg	....	digital mastering colorist
Rick Meyer	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Curt Sobel	....	supervising music editor

Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver
Jim Kirby	....	driver: camera car, second unit (as James Kirby)
David Marder	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Richard Davis Jr.	....	location manager
Ron Lambert	....	supervising lab timer
Jerri Lauridsen	....	assistant: Mr Hackford
Gail Martin-Sheridan	....	production accountant
Booker McClay	....	publicist
Dan Perri	....	title designer
June Samson	....	script supervisor
Jill Vandermeer	....	production office coordinator

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• New Visions Pictures

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1986) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Prooptiki (1984) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (198?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Prooptiki Video (2001) (Greece) (DVD)
• Videosonic Arts (1987) (Greece) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Atlantic Records  soundtrack
• Movie Magic  titles
• Pacific Title  opticals
• The David Forbes Company  marketing and distribution services

Also Known As:

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | USA:R (Certificate #27136) | UK:15 (theatrical rating) | UK:18 (video rating) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1984) | Peru:18 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Jeff Bridges modeled the character of 'Terry Brogan' on Bob Chandler, a Hall of Fame wide-receiver for the L.A. Raiders.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Terry and Jess are arguing on the "ball field" in Chichen Itza, as the camera switches back and forth between the two, in the background behind Jess a group of kids playing ball can be seen at the other end of the arena; when the camera cuts back to her, they're gone, and the next time the camera returns to her, they are visible again, albeit in the very edge of the frame.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Terry Brogan:Señor! Have you, uh, seen this woman?
Taxi driver:Oh - no, sir.
Terry Brogan:Gracias.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Best of Film Noir (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

AGAINST ALL ODDS (TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW)

From Evil to Spoiled

Against All Odds is an less than effective remake of Out of the Past that RKO noir classic that starred Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas and Rhonda Fleming. Not that the players in this film are bad, far from it. But the whole basic structure of the story was completely changed.

What made Out of the Past the classic it is, is the moody tension and overwhelming sadness surrounding the leading characters. Most of all Jane Greer who is an evil temptress beyond description bringing death and destruction to all around her.

Jane Greer is in this film, but as the mother of Rachel Ward who plays the part Greer had in the original. Ward in this one is just a spoiled young woman who runs off with bookie James Woods to upset mom and then runs off with him.

Greer is the owner of a professional football team in Los Angeles which she runs with her high priced fixer of a lawyer Richard Widmark. I think they're characters are modeled on Joan Payson who was the original owner of the New York Mets and M. Donald Grant who was reputed to be the hard character Widmark portrays.

Anyway Jeff Bridges gets into the act when he's cut from Greer's team and goes to work for Woods trying to locate Ward. The rest of the film is pretty much following the plot of Out of the Past until the ending which is completely different. Remember how everyone ended up in the RKO film and the same doesn't happen to most of them.

Still it's not a bad film, but Against All Odds just won't be a classic.