The White Raven (1998)

A journalist gets pulled into an intrigue by his editor that involves a story that he received a Pulitzer for years before. It seems that the second largest diamond ever mined was used ... See full summary »

Directors:

Jakub Z. Rucinski, Andrew Stevens

Writers:

Michael Blodgett (novel), Michael Blodgett (screenplay)

Stars:

Ron Silver, Joanna Pacula, Roy Scheider

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ron Silver	...	Tully Windsor
Joanna Pacula	...	Julia Konneman
Roy Scheider	...	Tom Heath
Hannes Jaenicke	...	Dockmonish
Elizabeth Shepherd	...	Hannah Rothschild
Jan Rubes	...	Markus Strand
Jack Recknitz	...	Inspector Zielinski
Doug Lennox	...	General Dodd
Larry Poindexter	...	Lieutenant Kreister
Agnieszka Wagner	...	Zofia
Monika Switaj	...	Wanda
Jerzy Zydkiewicz	...	Uncle Boy
Joanna Kasperska	...	Mildred
Wladyslaw Byrdy	...	Lou
Jerry Flynn	...	Alain Levon

Storyline

A journalist gets pulled into an intrigue by his editor that involves a story that he received a Pulitzer for years before. It seems that the second largest diamond ever mined was used during World War II to buy a Jewish woman freedom from a prison camp. Only trouble is it disappeared after the war and now everyone is after it, including the Russians, former Nazis, gangsters, and the original owner. Somehow, the story that the journalist originally wrote about a camp survivor is believed to have leads to the diamond.

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Plot Keywords:

diamond | journalist | nazi | riddle | murder | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bialy kruk

Filming Locations:

Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cabin Fever Entertainment, Hermes Filmstudios, Neptune Visa Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Baby You Done Me Wrong"
Written and Performed by David Wurst
Courtesy of CSS Music

User Reviews

Learn to shoot straight, &%$#@?&!!!

I guess that when starting a movie like "The White Raven", a team has two basic choices. They can make a James Bond type of film in which the hero will keep falling into traps most terrible from which he will miraculously escape with his life and tie undisturbed - which is quite OK because we all know in advance that he is indestructible. Or they can make a realistic movie in which the hero is very much destructible and has to depend solely on his wits and on some more or less sympathetic people to survive - if he does survive at all; we can never be sure.

And then there is the third type which tries to combine the first two - which seems to be a sure formula for disaster. "The White Raven" is, of course, just one of many such movies which may start, as this one does, quite decently in the realistic direction and then suddenly turn around, becoming more and more laughable right to the last "deus ex machina" (in this case one of the most stupid I have ever seen).

As such, the movie could perhaps be enjoyed as an unintentional parody if it were not for repeatedly ghoulish scenes which make one think that its authors are fetishists of a rather unpleasant sort; and only to their kind can "The White Raven" be safely recommended.