Frantic (1988)

In a hotel room in Paris, a doctor comes out of the shower and finds that his wife has disappeared. He soon finds himself caught up in a world of intrigue, espionage, gangsters, drugs and murder.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Roman Polanski, Gérard Brach,

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Betty Buckley, Emmanuelle Seigner

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford	...	Dr. Richard Walker
Betty Buckley	...	Sondra Walker
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Michelle
Djiby Soumare	...	Taxi Driver
Dominique Virton	...	Desk Clerk
Gérard Klein	...	Gaillard
Stéphane D'Audeville	...	Bellboy
Laurent Spielvogel	...	Hall Porter
Alain Doutey	...	Hall Porter
Jacques Ciron	...	Le Grand Hotel Manager
Roch Leibovici	...	Bellboy 2
Louise Vincent	...	Tourist
Patrice Melennec	...	Hotel Detective Le Grand Hotel
Ella Jaroszewicz	...	Restroom Attendant
Joëlle Lagneau	...	Florist

Storyline

A doctor and his wife go to Paris for a medical conference. While showering, his wife disappears. His lack of language, and the odd way she disappeared makes it nearly impossible for him to find any official help in his search as he enters the punk/drug culture to find out what has happened to her.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | police | shower | drugs | espionage | 

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Taglines:

Danger. Desire. Desperation.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English French

Release Date:

26 February 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Búsqueda frenética

Filming Locations:

Lady Liberty Statue, Allée des Cygnes, Paris 16, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$17,637,950 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Mount Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to studio pressure, 15 minutes were trimmed from the original running time and a new ending was shot.

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Goofs

The level of beer in Walkers bottle in the scene in the bar with the drug dealer changes from nearly full to half between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sondra Walker: Do you know where you are?
Richard Walker: No, it's changed too much.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits roll up.

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Connections

References Mississippi Mermaid (1969)

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Soundtracks

"Jah Rastafari"
Performed by Culture
Written by Joseph Hill
Courtesy of Virgin Records

User Reviews

Amazingly Unfrantic

Frantic, a film by Roman Polanski is largely unnoticed. He is credited for pictures such as Chinatown and The Pianist, but certainly his best action-adventure flick is this one.

The film stars Harrison Ford, who plays a idiotic doctor who cannot figure out his way through Paris, where he has lost his wife to a conspiracy. The film is entirely shot in France, and the scenery, use of backgrounds is phenomenal. Polanski has a way with the camera that mimics Hitchcock in some sense, but it is entirely his own style.

The film is wrought with the oddest of humor, almost slapstick at times, but at its core it is a solid action film surrounding a kidnapping, terrorist threats and formulaic Hollywood-esquire twists. It rises above the normal thriller that is plagued with senseless violence, characters we could care less about, and bald-faced innuendo. Frantic is the kind of movie that shouldn't be missed.

An interesting thing about Frantic is that it combines European and American sensibilities and humor all at once – this is certainly not an easy task, but Polanski pulls it off very effectively.

RATING: 9/10

Man on Phone: What number are you calling from? Richard Walker: How should I know? I... I'm in a café, the Paris Midi. Man on Phone: How do you spell that? Richard Walker: How do you... with an "S" for shithead!