Cohen and Tate (1988)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Eric Red

Writer (WGA):

Eric Red (written by)

Release Date:

27 January 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

They were hired killers going up against the deadliest force of all. Each other.

Plot:

A boy kidnapped by two mismatched hitmen puts them at each other's throats while being driven to their employers...

Plot Keywords:

Witness Protection | Hitman | Road | Murder | Roadblock

Cast

Roy Scheider	...	Cohen
Adam Baldwin	...	Tate
Harley Cross	...	Travis Knight
Cooper Huckabee	...	Jeff Knight
Suzanne Savoy	...	Martha Knight
Marco Perella	...	FBI George
Tom Campitelli	...	FBI Fred
Andy Gill	...	FBI Roy (as Andrew R. Gill)
Frank Bates	...	Highway Patrolman
James Jeter	...	Trooper #1
Jeff Bennett	...	Trooper #2
Ron Jackson	...	Trooper #3
Ted Baader	...	Trooper #4
Kenneth McCabe	...	Gas Station Attendant
Ina B. Bott	...	Fat Woman

Also Known As:

Cohen & Tate (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

86 min | Argentina:88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18 | Argentina:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Norway:18

Filming Locations:

Houston, Texas, USA

Company:

Nelson Entertainment

Trivia:

The finale where Cohen rams a roadblock is actually the off-ramp from Interstate 45 to McKinney Street. The building in the foreground is the Houston City Hall Annex, located at 900 Bagby.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the final scene, Cohen stops his badly damaged car in a downtown area. It is immediately surrounded by the many police cruisers that were giving chase. Dozens of officers leave these vehicles, pull their weapons, and take aim at Cohen. But none of them gives him any kind of command. In a real situation, at least one officer would immediately order Cohen to drop his weapon and follow other necessary instructions.

Quotes:

Tate: Hey what's the last thing that goes through a bug's mind when it hits a windshield? IT'S ASS
[He and Cohen laugh]

Brutal Bloody & rather enjoyable

This is a little known thriller from the guy who wrote the screenplay for THE HITCHER. Like that film this one is a road movie.

Plot: 2 hit men(the title characters) rub out some mob witnesses but have to contend with a survivor, a plucky little kid.

Roy Scheider's performance as Cohen, the sleek professional hit-man is wonderful. When he slips on what looks like a pair of black rubbber gloves at the start of the film, it somehow says almost all you need to know about him.

Adam Baldwin is equally impressive as the slighty less slick( "You're a half ass!" Scheider tells him, " A cheapie!") and much less professional killer.

This film is extremely tense and violent in spots but not disgustingly so. And if you're a fan of films that end with a BANG, you should enjoy the climactic confrontation between the cops, the killers and that damned little kid! I will bet anyone dollars to dough-nuts that Quentin Tarantino used to recommend this to folks (along with the original version of Man On Fire) when he worked at a Videostore.