The Fourth Protocol (1987)

Director:

John Mackenzie

Writers:

George Axelrod (writer)
Richard Burridge (additional material)
(more)

Release Date:

28 August 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

If the Fourth Protocol is ever breached, there would be no warning, just a nuclear explosion from a bedsitter...The unthinkable has just begun...

Plot:

KGB agent, Major Valeri Petrofsky has been reassigned at the request of the KGB Chairman for a secret mission...

Plot Keywords:

Russian | Atomic Bomb | Spy | NATO | Military Base

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Michael Caine	...	John Preston
Pierce Brosnan	...	Valeri Petrofsky / James Edward Ross
Ned Beatty	...	Borisov / Pavel Petrovic
Joanna Cassidy	...	Irina Vassilievna
Julian Glover	...	Brian Harcourt-Smith
Michael Gough	...	Sir Bernard Hemmings
Ray McAnally	...	General Karpov
Ian Richardson	...	Sir Nigel Irvine
Anton Rodgers	...	George Berenson
Caroline Blakiston	...	Angela Berenson
Joseph Brady	...	Carmichael
Betsy Brantley	...	Eileen McWhirter
Sean Chapman	...	Captain Lyndhurst
Matt Frewer	...	Tom McWhirter
Jerry Harte	...	Professor Krilov
Michael J. Jackson	...	Major Pavlov
Matthew Marsh	...	Barry Banks
Alan North	...	Govershin
Ronald Pickup	...	Wynne-Evans
Aaron Swartz	...	Gregoriev
Julia Verdin	...	Jill Dunkley (as Octavia Verdin)
Johnny Allan	...	Night Porter
Roy Alon	...	Russian Seaman
Michael Bilton	...	Kim Philby
Sarah Bullen	...	Dorothy
Rebecca Burrill	...	Nurse
Peter Cartwright	...	Jan Marais
Rosy Clayton	...	Mrs. Adrian
David Conville	...	Bursham
Nancy Crane	...	Karpov's Secretary
Joanna Dickens	...	Woman Shopper
Sam Douglas	...	Russian Soldier
Mick Ford	...	Sergeant Bilbow
Ronnie Golden	...	The Busker
Steve Halliwell	...	Plastercast Courier
Gordon Honeycombe	...	Television Announcer
John Horsley	...	Sir Anthony Plumb
Boris Isarov	...	Dresser
Philip Jackson	...	Burkinshaw
Julian Jacobson	...	Conductor
Alexei Jawdokimov	...	Aeroflot Pilot
Clare Kelly	...	Landlady
Sally Kinghorn	...	Girlfriend
Ronnie Laughlin	...	Driver at Scene
Renos Liondaris	...	Greek Cafe Owner
Peter Manning	...	Violinist
Kenneth Midwood	...	Chaplain
John Murtagh	...	Scottish Policeman
James Older	...	Timmy Preston
William Parker	...	Cruiser
Stephen Persaud	...	Black Kid
George Phillips	...	Mr. Adrian
Neville Phillips	...	Man in Overcoat
Richard Ridings	...	Skinhead
Mark Rolston	...	Russian Decoder
Michael Seezen	...	Joey
Patsy Smart	...	Preston's Housekeeper
Phil Smeeton	...	Boyfriend
Jirí Stanislav	...	Winkler
Chris Walker	...	Skinhead (as Christopher Walker)
Juanita Waterman	...	Black Girl on Underground Train
Tariq Yunus	...	Immigration Officer
George Zenios	...	Greek Cafe Owner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frederick Forsyth	...	Radio Newsreader (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
John Mackenzie

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
George Axelrod		writer
Richard Burridge		additional material
Frederick Forsyth		novel
Frederick Forsyth		screenplay

Produced by
Timothy Burrill	....	producer
Michael Caine	....	executive producer
Frederick Forsyth	....	executive producer
Wafic Said	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Lalo Schifrin

Cinematography by
Phil Meheux

Film Editing by
Graham Walker

Casting by
Priscilla John
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Allan Cameron

Art Direction by
Tim Hutchinson

Set Decoration by
Peter Howitt

Costume Design by
Tiny Nicholls

Makeup Department
Lois Burwell	....	makeup department head
Peter Robb-King	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Juhani Jotuni	....	production manager: Finland

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christopher Hall	....	third assistant director
Åke Lindman	....	assistant director: Finland

Art Department
John Wells	....	stand-by props

Sound Department
Ian Fuller	....	dubbing editor
Graham V. Hartstone	....	sound re-recording mixer
Daryl Jordan	....	assistant foley editor
Nicolas Le Messurier	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chris Munro	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Peter Fern	....	special effects technician
Peter Hutchinson	....	special effects

Stunts
Eddie Stacey	....	stunt coordinator
Marc Wolff	....	stunt pilot

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Mcleod	....	best boy
Bob Penn	....	still photographer
Terry Potter	....	gaffer

Music Department
Julian Jacobson	....	music consultant
Lalo Schifrin	....	conductor
Francis Shaw	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
Brian Weske	....	driver: Michael Caine

Other crew
Gilly Case	....	location manager
Diana Dill	....	script supervisor
Martin Forde	....	helicopter pilot
Geoff Freeman	....	unit publicist
Mark Layton	....	production assistant
Simon McNair Scott	....	assistant location manager
Gail Samuelson	....	production coordinator
Nick Slinger	....	helicopter crew
Alan Sutton	....	fire safety
Brian Weske	....	personal assistant: Michael Caine
Marc Wolff	....	helicopter pilot

Production Companies

• Fourth Protocol

Distributors

• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1987) (UK) (theatrical)
• Lorimar (1987) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lorimar Home Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Rank Video Library (1987) (UK) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1992) (UK) (VHS)
• Video Collection International (1993) (UK) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Film Express (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Carlton International (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Kurt Media (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• VTI Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Joe Dunton & Company  camera equipment provided by
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 (2002) | Netherlands:16 (VHS/DVD rating) (2001) | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (theatrical rating) | Finland:K-16 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Birmingham International Arena, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK

Company:

Fourth Protocol

Trivia:

The Fourth Protocol is an unwritten agreement between nuclear powers that nuclear weapons will only be delivered to their target by conventional means, e.g. dropped from aircraft or on missiles. It effectively prevents them being left in luggage lockers or delivered by postal companies (and in the case of this film, being assembled and left in a house close to the target)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The armorer only loaded one blank into Ross's pistol before he shoots Irina in bed after their tryst, as the slide is seen to lock back on firing, indicating a now empty magazine.

Quotes:

Sir Nigel Irvine: Hello, George. Had a good holiday? Not missing anything, are you?
[lays out George's stolen diamonds]
Sir Nigel Irvine: These are yours, I believe. But these, beyond a doubt...
[lays out the stolen NATO documents]
Sir Nigel Irvine: Never were.
George Berenson: I don't suppose there's very much I can say, is there?
Sir Nigel Irvine: I don't know. Try me.
George Berenson: All right. Well, for years now I have adopted the attitude that there was only one struggle on the planet worth a damn: the fight against world communism. And, it has long seemed to me ridiculous that the most committed anti-Communists in the Southern Hemisphere, the South Africans, should be excluded from NATO planning merely because of some... unfashionable domestic attitudes.

Movie Connections:

References "The Muppet Show" (1976)

absorbing thriller

I was quite surprised to see that this movie got a 5.9 rating. I think that it's a lot better than that. Brosnan is good, the plot is sufficiently tricky to be interesting, and Caine delivers the kind of reliable, excellent performance that you can count on (at least when the movie isn't total junk -- he only seems to phone it in when the movie is entirely hopeless). The ending is a little abrupt, but I can't find any fault with it other than that. (The cast is uniformly strong, too.) Maybe people underrate the movie because the movie is low-budget. It looks like a British TV-movie, and maybe it was, but I find it easy to get past the production values when the acting is good.

I've seen it twice, and it holds up to a second viewing.