Defence of the Realm (1985)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

David Drury

Writer:

Martin Stellman (written by)

Release Date:

21 November 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

Just how far will a government go to hide the truth?

Plot:

After a newspaper reporter helps expose a Member of Parliament as a possible spy, he finds that there's much more to the story than that.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | KGB | Spy | Newspaper | London England

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Gabriel Byrne	...	Nicholas 'Nick' Mullen
Greta Scacchi	...	Nina Beckman
Denholm Elliott	...	Vernon Bayliss
Ian Bannen	...	Dennis Markham
Fulton Mackay	...	Victor Kingsbrook
Bill Paterson	...	Jack Macleod
David Calder	...	Harry Champion
Frederick Treves	...	Arnold Reece
Robbie Coltrane	...	Leo McAskey
Annabel Leventon	...	Trudy Markham
Graham Fletcher-Cook	...	Micky Parker
Steven Woodcock	...	Steven Dyce
Alexei Jawdokimov	...	Dietrich Kleist
Danny Webb	...	Danny Royce (as Daniel Webb)
Prentis Hancock	...	Frank Longman

Also Known As:

Defense of the Realm (USA)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Lee International Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Rank Organisation, The

Trivia:

The name of the airbase is never mentioned. However at one ponint Nick views a press clipping that states the (presumed) hit-and-run driving incident occurred in the village of Brandon. That's in Suffolk, adjacent to the US airbase at RAF Lakenheath. (However, the building Nick is seen parked outside when he asks, and is denied, permission to visit the base commander, is not at Lakenheath, it looks more like RAF Uxbridge which would have been easier to get permission to film at, and is also very close to the Shepperton studio where the film was made.)

Quotes:

[last lines]
Nicholas 'Nick' Mullen: [smiling at Nina Beckman] Well?
[Shortly followed by news commentators reporting on what Nick and Nina have found]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Howling III (1987)

So-so, bit hard to follow

It seemed quite promising, but was hard to follow in places, not helped by one or two outdoor scenes not transforming well onto a TV screen. I'd recorded it, so on several occasions was able to rewind to have another go at understanding it. It might help if I was to watch the entire film again from start to finish, but I can't be bothered. As I understand it, a youth fleeing from the police clambers over a very nasty looking fence onto the runway of an American air base and gets killed by an aircraft that's landing with a nuclear bomb on board. This precipitates an emergency exodus from the base. Cue cover-up, investigated by local MP who gets set up, leading to investigation by reporter.

Byrne does well as the reporter, but as is often the case Denholm Elliott impresses the most. Greta Scacchi is very bland.