Slipstream (1989)

Director:

Steven Lisberger

Writer (WGA):

Tony Kayden (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 June 1989 (Australia)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

From the depths of the earth. To the edge of existence... The hunt is on!

Plot:

In the near future, where Earth has been devastated by man's pollution and giant winds rule the planet...

Plot Keywords:

Adventurer | Airplane | Android | Post Apocalyptic | Plane

Cast

Bob Peck	...	Byron
Mark Hamill	...	Will Tasker
Kitty Aldridge	...	Belitski
Bill Paxton	...	Matt Owens (at Cafe)
Susan Leong	...	Abigail (at Cafe)
Alkis Kritikos	...	Cook 'Petrois' (at Cafe)
Tony Alleff	...	Bartender (at Cafe)
Ricco Ross	...	1st man at table (at Cafe)
George Camiller	...	2nd man at table (at Cafe)
Diana Defries	...	Woman Construction Worker (at Cafe)
Gay Baynes	...	Rosie (at Village)
Robbie Coltrane	...	Montclaire (at Village)
Paul Reynolds	...	Travis (at Village)
Eris Akman	...	Blind Boy's Father (at Village)
Eleanor David	...	Ariel (at Village)

Also Known As:

Slipstream: Bounty Hunter 2000 (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:PG | Netherlands:12 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Cappadoccia, Turkey

Company:

Entertainment Film

Trivia:

Elmer Bernstein's score was recorded with The London Symphony Orchestra the very same orchestra in which all of John Williams' first three Star Wars trilogy scores were recorded with and also Trevor Jones' score to Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal (1982). 'Gary Kurtz' was the producer of Star Wars (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The Dark Crystal, which was his first independent production after Empire Strikes Back.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Will Tasker: It's over! It's finished! End of chase!

Soundtrack:

Barefootin

Flawed, but underrated British SCI-FI movie that deserves a look.

I remember the release of this movie way back in 1989, mainly as it saw the return of Mark Hamill to the big screen after an absence of 6 years (Jedi being his last movie). I also remember the poster proudly highlighting that it was produced by Gary Kurtz, producer of Star Wars episodes 4 and 5. Unfortunately, no one seemed to care about these "selling" points and mediocre reviews ensured that the film was ignored and was not even given a US release. It took almost 10 years before it got its British TV première, (tucked away well into the late night schedule) but I didn't hesitate to give the film a look. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed this movie and it's far from being one of the worst films ever, as some of the previous comments have made out.

The main players in the film put in some good performances, especially the late great Bob Peck for whose character I did manage to feel sympathy for and care about due to his acting skills. A bearded, peroxide blonde Mark Hamill gives a terrifically sinister bad guy performance as the unrelenting cop, even though it was a little OTT. You could sense Hamill clearly loved being on the "dark side" for once. Bill Paxton gets most of the action and does a reasonable job. Cameos, from Ben Kingsley and F.Murray Abraham adds some, if a little undeserved, class to the credits. Also look out for Robbie (Cracker) Coltrain.

Story wise (essentially a chase movie) it is highly unoriginal, borrowing heavily from Blade Runner and Midnight Run, all done in a Mad Max style. It does tend to meander and is irrelevant in places, leaving the viewer a little disorientated. However, my interest was sustained mainly due to the strange character played by Peck. Unfortunately, his character wasn't explored adequately, and I was left wanting to know more. Indeed, the story is underdeveloped and incomplete. The movie doesn't hide the fact that it is trying to convey some sort message about humanity and the future to its audience, with a religious undertone.

Special FX and action scenes left a lot to be desired; the shoot out in the forest was very shoddily done (one of the worst I've seen). The aircraft looked like large AirFix models and the flying shots looked unrealistic and rushed. To be fair, daylight SFX was very hard to achieve at that time and require the aid of computers. No computer FX were used in this movie I suspect. All this lends to a low budget, almost T.V feel to this movie. However, a mention must go to the kite scene, which is very well done, exciting and is probably the highlight of the film. The final action scene is good too, rounded off with an optimistic ending. The locations are used effectively and go some way to make up for the poor SFX.

Slipstream, is an all but virtually forgotten British Sci-Fi movie and it appears it going to stay that way. Pity really, as it's a decent effort, with an interesting, if unoriginal story and good acting. Refreshingly, the makers have avoided any wanton violence and gore. If you are in the least bit interested in Sci-Fi try and watch this film if you come across this inthe video store, or if comes on T.V., if only to see Hamill play a bad guy. You could do a lot worse than this.

6 out of 10.