Wlamywacze (1992)

A security pro finds his past coming back to haunt him, when he and his unique team are tasked with retrieving a particularly important item.

Director:

Phil Alden Robinson

Writers:

Phil Alden Robinson, Lawrence Lasker

Stars:

Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Sidney Poitier

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jo Marr	...	College-Aged Cosmo (as Jojo Marr)
Gary Hershberger	...	College-Aged Bishop
Robert Redford	...	Martin 'Marty' Bishop
Sidney Poitier	...	Donald Crease
David Strathairn	...	Irwin 'Whistler' Emery
Dan Aykroyd	...	Darren 'Mother' Roskow
River Phoenix	...	Carl Arbogast
Bodhi Elfman	...	Centurion S&L Night Guard
Denise Dowse	...	Bank Teller
Hanyee	...	Bank Secretary
Timothy Busfield	...	Dick Gordon
Eddie Jones	...	Buddy Wallace
Time Winters	...	Homeless Man
Mary McDonnell	...	Liz
Jun Asai	...	Piano Prodigy

Storyline

Martin Bishop is the head of a group of experts who specialise in testing security systems. When he is blackmailed by Government agents into stealing a top secret black box, the team find themselves embroiled in a game of danger and intrigue. After they recover the box, they discover that it has the capability to decode all existing encryption systems around the world, and that the agents who hired them didn't work for the Government after all...

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Plot Keywords:

computer | cryptography | teamwork | heist movie | heist | 

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Taglines:

To trust can be murder.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief sexual references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Chinese

Release Date:

11 September 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wlamywacze

Filming Locations:

400 California Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$51,433,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min 118 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Liz goes to the Dim Sum bar with Werner Brandes under the assumed name of Doris, there is a group of singers singing the song "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" in Chinese. In the English version of the song, Leroy Brown gets in trouble over a girl named Doris.

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Goofs

Crease, explaining the "Man trap" security access booth, can clearly be seen saying, "Otherwise you'll be trapped in a steel-reinforced booth...," but is heard saying, "Otherwise you'll be caught..."

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Quotes

Martin Bishop: "Give him head"?
Whistler: "Be a beacon"?

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Crazy Credits

In the theatrical trailer, the case members' names were first presented as anagrams, then rearranged to spell correctly. They were: fort red border - Robert Redford a york dandy - Dan Aykroyd kneel by sing - Ben Kingsely carney mend moll - Mary McDonnell rionveih irnep - River Phoenix I edit spin yore - Sidney Poitier ad variant thirds - David Strathairn

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Connections

Featured in CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap (2015)

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Soundtracks

The Girl From Ipanema
Written by Antonio Carlos Jobim & Vinicius de Moraes
Performed by Charlie Byrd
Courtesy of Concord Picante

User Reviews

The last good hacking movie

I was saddened that this movie had such a low rating. I've watched it many, many times over the years, and it continues to entertain. It is, perhaps, the last good "hacker" film (well, 23 (1998) also comes to mind, but that isn't widely available in English).

The math is believable (Janek's lecture makes sense), as is the technology (except for the Hollywood-ish decryption displays -- but that's forgivable). The characters are among the most realistic in any of these movies (with the exception of Joey the lamer in Hackers (1995) -- most accurate character in a hacking movie I've seen yet). They're each composites of well-known people from the 80s security scene. The techniques they use are the techniques of the business, especially in that era.

Now that computers have become such a big thing, I don't think it would be possible for Hollywood to produce another movie like this. Anything made now would have to be far more glamorous and unrealistic.

What's this movie got, if you don't care about any of that stuff? It's tremendously funny, cleverly written (every scene works overtime to say and do more than one thing), and beautifully shot and scored. (The opening scene and transition is wonderful) The acting is priceless. I've never met someone who didn't love this film. See it.