Wild Geese II (1985)

Director:

Peter R. Hunt

Writers:

Daniel Carney (novel)
Reginald Rose (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 October 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Thriller | Action

Tagline:

They fly again . . .

Plot:

A group of mercenaries is hired to spring Rudolf Hess from Spandau Prison in Berlin. |

Plot Keywords:

Mercenary | Prison | Uzi | Tough Guy | M 16

Cast

Scott Glenn	...	John Haddad
Barbara Carrera	...	Kathy Lukas
Edward Fox	...	Alex Faulkner
Laurence Olivier	...	Rudolf Hess
Robert Webber	...	Robert McCann
Robert Freitag	...	Stroebling
Kenneth Haigh	...	Col. Reed-Henry
Stratford Johns	...	Mustapha El Ali
Derek Thompson	...	Hourigan
Paul Antrim	...	Murphy
John Terry	...	Michael
Ingrid Pitt	...	Hooker
Patrick Stewart	...	Russian General
Michael Harbour	...	KGB Man
David Lumsden	...	Joseph
Frederick Warder	...	Jamil
Malcolm Jamieson	...	Pierre
Billy Boyle	...	Devenish
David Sullivan	...	EBC Commentator
Dan van Husen	...	Stroebling's Driver
James Monaghan	...	Heavy No. 1
Michael Büttner	...	Heavy No. 2
Herbert Chwoika	...	Ali's Man
Carl Price	...	British Corporal
Ronald Nitschke	...	East German Soldier
Wilfried Gronau	...	Immigration Official
Shaun Lawton	...	Intelligence Man
Peter Kybart	...	Hunter
Amelie zur Mühlen	...	Russian Woman
Gabriele Kastner	...	East German Tour Guide
Tom Deininger	...	Nightclub Artist (as Tom Deiniger)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leslie Malton	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Gerrit Schmidt-Foß	...	Boy Playing Soccer (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter R. Hunt		(as Peter Hunt)

Writing credits
Daniel Carney		(novel "The Square Circle")
Reginald Rose		(screenplay)

Produced by
Chris Chrisafis	....	executive producer
Euan Lloyd	....	producer
A. Eric Scotoni	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Roy Budd

Cinematography by
Michael Reed

Film Editing by
Keith Palmer

Casting by
Allan Foenander

Production Design by
Syd Cain

Art Direction by
Peter Williams

Costume Design by
Diane Holmes

Makeup Department
Karin Bauer-Hurst	....	hairdresser
Karin Bauer-Hurst	....	makeup artist
Hasso von Hugo	....	hairdresser
Hasso von Hugo	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ralf Blankenburg	....	unit manager
Willy Egger	....	executive in charge of production
Jochen Feldhoff	....	unit production manager
Norman Foster	....	production supervisor
Rolf Wappenschmitt	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ken Baker	....	first assistant director
Peter Bennett	....	second assistant director
James Devis	....	second unit director
Stefan Diepenbrock	....	second second assistant director
Eva-Maria Schönecker	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Thomas Riccabona	....	assistant art director
Mario Stock	....	props

Sound Department
Graham Harris	....	sound editor
Gerry Humphreys	....	dubbing mixer
Chris Munro	....	sound recordist
Jim Roddan	....	dubbing editor
Don Brown	....	sound recordist: second unit (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Richard Richtsfeld	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Alan Church	....	optical cameraman (uncredited)

Stunts
Dickey Beer	....	action arranger (as Dickie Beer)
Frank Henson	....	stunts
Nick Hobbs	....	stunts
Billy Horrigan	....	stunts
Wayne Michaels	....	stunts
Gareth Milne	....	stunts
Valentino Musetti	....	stunts
Denise Ryan	....	stunts
Bill Weston	....	stunts
Jason White	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
James Bawden	....	camera operator
Bernd Huebner	....	gaffer (as Berndt Hubner)
Brian Osborn	....	grip
Laurie Ridley	....	still photographer
Herbie Smith	....	camera operator
Keith Thomas	....	focus puller
Tony Woodcock	....	focus puller (as Anthony Woodcock)
Tim Dodd	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Peer Menke	....	grip (uncredited)
Joachim Scholz	....	electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Philippe Pickford	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Joe Illing	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Dave Hunt	....	music recording mixer
Roy Budd	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Eugene K. Bird	....	technical advisor: Spandau prison (as Col. Eugene K. Bird U.S. Commandant 1964-'72)
Carolyn Hall	....	production controller
Jane Kearney-Collins	....	assistant accountant (as Jane Kearney)
Nikos Kourtis	....	personal assistant to director
Doreen Landry	....	publicist
Don McNabb	....	supplier: "Faulkner's 'Survivor' Rifle"
James Monaghan	....	technical advisor: weapons (as Capt. James P. Monaghan USA Special Forces {Rtd})
Tom Pullinger	....	titles
Günther Schaidt	....	armorer
Ursula Schlieper	....	production accountant (as Uschi Schlieper)
Elisabeth Schwärzer	....	production coordinator (as Elisabeth Schwartzer)
Doreen Soan	....	script supervisor
Brook Williams	....	dialogue coach
Wolfgang Bajorat	....	location manager: pre-production (uncredited)

Thanks
Richard Burton	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Frontier Films
• Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment

Distributors

• Metropol-Filmverleih (1986) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Home Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (DVD) (special edition)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• MTC Video (1986) (Greece) (VHS)
• Thorn EMI Video Australia
• Universal Pictures
• VPS Video (1986) (West Germany) (video)

Other Companies

• La Vie En Rose Ensemble  nightclub artists
• London Symphony Orchestra, The (LSO)  music performers
• National Screen  titles
• Cartier  jewellery: Barbara Carrera
• CBS Records and Tapes  theme song
• Berlin Police and Civil Forces  thanks
• Chronos-Film  thanks
• Stern Magazine  thanks
• ABC Video-Berlin  thanks
• Hotel Bristol-Kempinski  thanks
• Pan American Airlines  thanks
• Members of the Allied Governments (Berlin)  thanks

Also Known As:

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

UK | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:16 (1985) | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1988) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1985) | Iceland:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Germany:16 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Frontier Films

Trivia:

According to Donald Spoto's "Laurence Olivier: A Biography" (1991), Rudolph Hess' son Wolfgang Rüdiger Hess (aka Wolf Rudiger Hess) thought that the likeness of Laurence Olivier compared to his father was "uncannily accurate".

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Last of the Gentleman Producers (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Berliner Luft

Plain and simply lousy

When I bought the original The Wild Geese (mostly for nostalgic reasons) on Blu-ray I got The Wild Geese II on DVD included. I would probably not have bought it otherwise. This movie is typical example of the "follow ups" that where done in the 80's. Base it loosely on the title of the original, none of the original actors are present, give it zero budget. In short this movie is lousy. Why it was made, apart from being a cheap attempt to squeeze some more money from the success of the original, is beyond me. It is claimed that Richard Burton was going to reprise his role in this one but that he died before he could do it. I would be surprised if Richard Burton would have accepted to play in this movie. At least not without some major rewrites.

The story is dubious to say the least. Sure the story in the original was not very ground breaking either but in the original The Wild Geese the actors had charisma. Richard Burton was the infallible (almost) though guy that knew what he was doing. In this one Scott Glenn runs around looking like a wimp and generally do not really seem to know what he is doing. He gets captured by the oldest of tricks. He is too stupid to realize the most obvious of things, like that the girl might need protection.

There is little of the actual mercenary action that was present in the original one. The good guys mostly walk around scouting, planning or screwing up. The little enjoyment that can be found is in the performance of Edward Fox who is also the only guy who remotely seems to know what he is doing.

The end is just silly. All that effort, not the least by the viewer having watched this crap to the end, is simply wasted.