Oxygen (1999)

A masochistic cop, who hides her predilection from her cop husband, gets involved in pursuing a kidnapper nicknamed Harry for Harry Houdini, who has kidnapped a rich woman and has buried ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Shepard

Writer:

Richard Shepard

Stars:

Maura Tierney, Adrien Brody, James Naughton

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maura Tierney	...	Det. Madeline Foster
Adrien Brody	...	Harry
James Naughton	...	Clark Hannon
Laila Robins	...	Frances Hannon
Terry Kinney	...	Capt. Tim Foster
Paul Calderon	...	Det. Jesse
Dylan Baker	...	FBI Agent Jackson Lantham
Olek Krupa	...	Madeline's Lover
Frankie Faison	...	FBI Agent Phil Kline
Slavko Stimac	...	Det. Jerome Jerzy
Michael Henderson	...	Greg 'Handsome' Evans
Robert Shepard	...	Sal the Bartender
Eddie Perez	...	Scary Guy
Gene Canfield	...	Joe the Cop
Christopher J. Quinn	...	Chris the Cop (as Christopher James Quinn)

Storyline

A masochistic cop, who hides her predilection from her cop husband, gets involved in pursuing a kidnapper nicknamed Harry for Harry Houdini, who has kidnapped a rich woman and has buried her somewhere in Manhattan while demanding a ransom from her tycoon husband. Failure to pay the ransom within 24 hours will lead the kidnapper to abandoning the woman. Dylan Baker also appears as the fed that is assigned to the case.

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Plot Keywords:

ransom | kidnapper | tunnel | dentist | police officer | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dying to Escape

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Abandon Pictures, Curb Entertainment, Paddy Wagon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Adrien Brody was asked to sign a document clearing director 'Richard Shepard' and producers from lawsuits if Brody's teeth were damaged from the braces he wore during filming. Brody refused to sign, claiming he didn't want to sue anyone, but if his teeth were ruined during filming, he would have to sue.

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Goofs

When Harry and Det. Foster are about to drive out of the tunnel two people can be seen in the crosswalk as well as a mail truck pulling into the street. In the next shot both the people and the truck are gone.

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Quotes

Harry: Madeline...
Madeline Foster: Yes?
Harry: You're... You're free now.

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Crazy Credits

Filmed between torrential rainstorms on location in New York City

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Connections

References The French Connection (1971)

User Reviews

An actor's thriller

Oxygen is a made for Cinemax thriller that does a one up on the thriller genre. This film is about the acting. It does what most other thrillers and films stay away from, the performances. A cop (Maura Tierney) with some very dark secrets is on the trail of a kidnapper (Adrien Brody) who buried a rich woman (Laila Robins) alive in the New York woods. This is a cat and mouse thriller from beginning to end. Adrien Brody is fantastic as a the sick, obsessed with Harry Houdini kidnapper. His acting is so real it's like he's not even trying. He's cunning, cleaver, smart and sick all at the same time. It's drama to the end. He really needs to be cast as the villain in more films. Put him in an action film and bring a whole new level to the word terrorist. Maura Tierney best know for her stint on Newsradio and Jim Carrey's ex-wife in Liar, Liar is just spectacular. She pulls off the cop with more than just problems. She beautiful, tough and confused. Throughout a lot of the film she's in tears. She can act and be tough. Get her some scripts, I wanna see this girl more often. The supporting cast is also great and each brings realism to their performances. Even though this film has dark characters and a dark subject matter, the film is very light looking. The brightness of the film will grab from the start. The colors stand out and are hardly missed. The film has a action flick look but it's a thriller. It's a different mix that works extremely well. Oxygen is an well acted thriller that will drain you. I highly recommend that all should run and check this one out. It's very high on the must see meter.