Cohen and Tate (1988)

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]

The Road Movie Hitchcock might have made...

This was the film that first marked out for me the name Eric Red as one to watch.Not only a tense,character-driven thriller,but a wonderful ensemble piece to boot,with Alec Baldwin (not a name I knew,but one I've looked out for since) and Roy Scheider (working for that rarity:A filmmaker who understands his strengths and plays to them) providing perfect foils to one another-slipping from comedy to edgy tension and back again without breaking sweat. Don't bother with it if you're after cheap thrills n' spills-give it a try and think of the road movie Hitchcock might have made...