Brotherhood of the Rose (1989– )

Romulus and Remus are two CIA agents, their direct instructor is John Elliott. They both were picked up at an orphanage by Elliott at the age of about eight, raised together as brothers and... See full summary »

Stars:

Peter Strauss, Robert Mitchum, Connie Sellecca

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Strauss	...	Romulus
Robert Mitchum	...	John Eliot
Connie Sellecca	...	Erika Bernstein
David Morse	...	Remus
James Sikking	...	Felix (as James B. Sikking)
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Hardy
James Hong	...	Col. Chan
Rhys McConnochie	...	Orlik
Nick Enright
Martyn Sanderson
Frank Whitten
Robert Taylor	...	Pollux
Brett Williams
Michael M. Vendrell	...	(as Michael Vendrell)
Ken Blackburn	...	Forbes

Storyline

Romulus and Remus are two CIA agents, their direct instructor is John Elliott. They both were picked up at an orphanage by Elliott at the age of about eight, raised together as brothers and specially trained to supersede every other agent in the service. This is what they know. What they do not know is that they are part of a system Elliott had invented to build up his own private army of pros which can be assigned to any job he wishes. One day Romulus takes over a job in the course of which he and his team blow up a house and about half a dozen civilians with it. After that Romulus feels he is being chased by both men of the CIA and the Mossad. He has to find out that Elliott betrayed both him and Remus from the start. Elliott used them and others, which were recruited and raised the same way Romulus and Remus were, to support a secret agreement that was constituted between top secret service leaders of England, France, Russia, Germany and the USA after the second world war. To its ...

---

Plot Keywords:

spy | secret service | two part tv movie | tv mini series | based on novel

---

Genres:

Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Irmandade da Rosa

Filming Locations:

County Cork, Ireland

Company Credits

Production Co:

NBC Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

240 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

New Zealand landmarks such as the Auckland Harbour Bridge are visible in many scenes that are not set in New Zealand.

User Reviews

One of the best B-grades out there

This is a intriguing spy movie, mainly because it doesn't follow the formula of most other spy-films.

This is not another one of those films where the goody spies on the baddie, the baddie captures the goody, reveals his devious plans to annihilate the world, the goody escapes, kills the baddie and saves the girl. The strengths of those sorts of films are found in their special effects, stunts and a drawn-out battle at the end of the film.

By contrast, the strength of the Brotherhood of the Rose is its intelligent and engaging plot. A spy is double crossed and aims to find out why before they find him. The answers turns out to be a rather complex and very well-conceived conspiracy.

It's only downfall is its crappy production level. The sound quality, editing, directing and screenplay are noted areas requiring improvement. The acting is also inconsistent, but the brilliant Robert Mitchum, David Morse, Rhys McConnochie and M. Emmet Walsh offer fairly solid performances to ensure that the acting does not stand out as a major downfall.

Some cheesy lines and awkward acting moments could have been left on the cutting room floor. There also appears to be an editing error here and there (where a scene cuts before it appears to be finished). Furthermore, whoever chose the cheap and tacky music should have been sacked.

Aside from that, a very good watch. However, it is fairly long - 3 hours or so. Yet, I like a film that isn't impatient if the story is worth unfolding gradually.