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"The Bourne Identity" More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 39 reviews in total |
30 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
Bourne to TV......., 29 May 2006
Author:
alfo
This is one of the best espionage/thriller ever produced on television.
It's a shame that this production ended on television and not in the
big screen during its released in 1988.
Although, it's understandable because during those times television was
definitely much "bigger" than the movies....plus the stars Richard
Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith were the sort of royalties of U.S.
television -- dubbed King & Queen of Miniseries.
Excellent performances which was awarded with nominations from the
Golden Globe and Emmy Awards.
This is true to the book. If you're going to watch the movie version
with Matt Damon make sure you see this one first...
33 out of 38 people found the following review useful:
Faithful Adaptation, 8 October 2004
Author:
Ephraim Gadsby from USA
"The Bourne Identity" (1988) is a faithful recreation of Robert
Ludlum's book about an amnesiac slowly (in a very long book)
discovering who he is. The supporting cast is dotted with veterans that
make the movie come to life during their brief parts: Denholm Elliott,
Anthony Quayle, Peter Vaughan, James Faulkner.
The stars strain to carry the movie. Jaclyn Smith is immensely
watchable, though her range is limited. Richard Chamberlain is a fine
actor, but, perhaps because of insufficient rehearsal time or because
he was never able to find a character who didn't know who he was, he
comes off with the range of Bill Bixby, though that keeps him from
burying Smith. In the end, Chamberlain may be much too nice for the
character, but he's a likable actor and she's a likable actress and
they make a pretty pair.
Because it was originally a two-part television drama, the 1988
"Bourne" has sufficient time to let the story unfold, as well as to
build the unlikely relationship between Chamberlain's character and
Smith's. It also gives the supporting characters flesh out their meager
parts. After a slam-bang first hour, the movie settles into a more
leisurely pace (that occasionally drags), that builds again into an
exciting final hour.
The possible overplotting, as well as the outright absurdities (such as
the truth of Treadstone 21) are squarely to be laid at Ludlum's door.
And though it's quite faithful to Ludlum, the setting of the climax
makes this movie version far more poignant than Ludlum himself was
capable of.
"The Bourne Identity" has the technology of '80s television, so
newcomers shouldn't expect contemporary sensibilities. It may not be as
exciting as the remake, but it has a solid storyline.
17 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Another Ludlum Thriller, 12 August 2000
Author:
Ron-181 (rhall96319@aol.com) from Lake Butler Florida
Filmed in Europe, the story is based on a classic Robert Ludlum novel. This made for TV movie is better than the average TV fare. Originally a two part mini-series, it tends to have some periods where it drags with too much interplay between the stars but it still contains the usual amount of Ludlum action, suspense and his keen senss of scenery. Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith are supported by a fine European cast which includes Anthony Quayle and Denholm Elliott. Well worth your time. A collectors movie.
16 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Storywise much better than the new movies, 4 February 2007
Author:
Paladin Steelbreaker from Stord, Norway
Well, finally I saw the old Bourne movie/miniseries with Richard
Chamberlain as Bourne. And I have to say i pretty much LOVED it.
Chamberlain's Bourne was much closer to the one in the books than Matt
Dammon ever was. Okay, Dammon is a better fighter, and he plays much
better than I had thought before seeing his Bourne movies. But these
movies are just about totally ignoring the plot of the books, which
annoyed me greatly.
In Chamberlains Bourne movie they mostly stuck to the book, with few
variations. I thoroughly enjoyed myself as I could follow the plot from
the books from point to point. Especially I liked the way Marie St.
Jaques were portrayed by Jaclyn Smith. Okay it got a bit overly mushy
on both her and Chamberlines side, but all in all they both did a fair
job. Franka Potente were a LOUSY Marie in the new movies. Partly also
because of the infuriating way her character were written in the
script.
The only complains I have, the before mentioned overly romantic air
over the movie, and that I always had the feeling I was watching a
seventies movie instead of one made in 1988. The col ours, the clipping
and the way the movie progressed, it was so incredibly seventies spy
movie.So therefore i give this one a 7. Otherwise it would have been a
sure 8maybe more.
16 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Fantastic!, 26 October 2002
Author:
jmcb from England
I have just finished watching this Movie and felt very complelled to come
and write a review on here.
Where to start??! A good compliament of "The Bourne Identity" is simply
that
the 3 hours went by very quickly, never dragged on. It would have been
perfect I imagine when first screened, over two evenings and the end of
the
first part is an excellent cliff hanger!
I loved the way clues, plot pieces unraveled as the Movie went along. The
micro chip... finding out Bourne's name?... various clues forced out of
people...
Richard Chamberlain, was good, likeable. He tackled the role very well and
was, in the most part, very sucessful. Jaclyn Smith, I suppose, was the
reason I watched this Movie. I am a fan of hers, initially from Charlie's
Angels of course, and this was the 8th Movie featuring her I have
collected.
Because it's the most recent one I have seen I would be inclined to say it
is my favourite but I honestly think it is! Far too often her Movies are
family dramas and this is a Spy Thriller!! Yay! Marie (Jaclyn's character)
develops a great deal through the Movie, her preconceptions alter, she
falls
in love, she becomes stronger.
I get the impression the 2002 version won't spend as much time focussing
on
the relationship between Bourne and Marie but I think that is just as
important as the action. I certainly imagine the action scenes are better.
There are no major complaints I can make about the action in this 1988
version except perhaps the "fat villain" may not have been very good at
it,
not too convincing. To mention one other slight down side to the film
(there
must be + and -) the opening scene didn't look great, of the ship, looked
a
bit model-ly.
But that is simply because there was no huge budget, afterall it is a TV
Movie, and an excellent one at that! A good cast, Paris was an inspired
choice for the main location of the movie and overall this is a Movie with
a
fantastic plot and main cast.
15 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Entertaining, 5 September 2002
Author:
centralbeerangi from Saskatoon
In light of its recent availability on tape and DVD (circa Sept 2002) and
this year's film version there is likely to be some curiosity among movie
fans about the merits of this tv movie. Here is my opinion on whether you
should spend 3hours on this movie.
If you can get past Chamberlain as the hero of Ludlum's complex thriller,
you will certainly enjoy the movie. The script adaptation by Carol
Sobieski
is very faithful to the book and it takes time to develop the romantic
relationship between Bourne and Marie (a relationship that is key to the
plot and to the book's sequels). Although this might discourage action
fans,
the complexity of the plot and the manner by which the script unfolds it,
is
in my opinion, very well done. The music score by Laurence Rosenthal is
especially good and is not the usual tv film drek. The score is
alternately
eerie, menacing and moody and suitably atmospheric. The European locations
are well shot by camera ace Tony Pierce-Roberts. The film looks good. The
acting by a great team of seasoned pros is uniformly good (not a ham in
sight!)
Some might find the key plot device---the chase for carlos---anachronistic
but i think it resonates well even today when there is no shortage of
villains to chase on the global stage. So savor the 188 minutes of
exciting
complex talespinning by an A-Team of technical crew and seasoned
actors.
Incidentally the romance is largely thrown away in the 2002 film. In that
version, the female lead does not figure in the development of the plot
beyond acting as a device to get the hero from point A to point B. I found
the intimacy depicted in the 2002 film to be rather shallow. And the film
itself despite some substantial thrills and modern violence is largely
unsatisfying as a result in comparison to this tv film. For a good example
of excellent balance of romance and action watch how Peter Jackson (of
Lord
of the rings movie fame) develops the romance between Michael Fox and
Trini
Alvarado in the Frighteners.
12 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
A very good TV movie, 7 June 2001
Author:
berkel from Munich, Germany
I saw this movie for the first time when I was about 12 years old. I've seen it several times afterwards and I still think there's something very thrilling about this movie. Only little is revealed to the audience in the first half of the movie and it's easy to imagine how hard it must be for Bourne to know so little about himself. During the whole movie but especially in the beginning he's the one being chased by the others and everyone else seem to have more information about him than himself. I think that "The Bourne Identity" is well worth watching although it might seem a bit outdated now. Even if the historical facts (Carlos wasn't really killed by Bourne, on the other hand, the link to the real terrorist is pretty weak anyway) might not be true it's still a very good and exciting movie.
18 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
More faithful to the book than the Matt Damon version., 9 July 2003
Author:
tipplerunkus
Since the release of the 2003 theatrical version starring Matt Damon, this mini series version of "The Bourne Identity" has been much maligned, primarily by people who have never seen it. While it is a little dumbed down from Ludlum's book, and has some soap opera elements inherent to being a Richard Chamberlain mini series, it's also infinitely more faithful to the book than the Damon version, and considerably less dumbed down. If you want to see some great action scenes, check out the movie. If you want a good story, try the mini series (or even better, read the book).
15 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
I liked it!, 31 May 2004
Author:
tin2019 from Sarajevo, Bosnia
I agree that the movie is a bit old, and I haven't read the book so I
can't say if it's better. But I like it more than a newer, Matt Damon,
version because it has a more interesting plot, and an intriguing
ending.
The acting is good and the characters are well developed. The only
thing I liked better in the new Bourne Identity is that the martial
arts are phenomenal and the action scenes very intense, but everything
else is better in the older one.
All in all it is a very good thriller with some corny scenes here and
there, but it'll provide you with much suspense and an interesting
ending that you would never expect.
13 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
A Wonderful Film, 25 July 2006
Author:
Jesse Dunaway (brimleg) from Sasebo, Japan
I have no intention of spoiling this film for anyone. Sorry, you will
have to view it for yourself.
The film is outstanding for 1988 and even more so for a "made for TV"
film. My favourite thing is the fact that it is a better adaptation
than the 2002 remake starring Matt Damon.
While the newer version has all the cinematographic advantages, this
film is just more faithful to Robert Ludlum's book and I am excited
every time I watch.
Treat yourself to a great movie night. Get a bucket of Popcorn, chips,
Pizza and Soda. Keep the remote handy for those intermissions you
require (the pause button) and just get ready to enjoy.
10 stars **********
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