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IMDbPro

Twilight's Last Gleaming

  • 19771977
  • RR
  • 2h 26m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
High among idiosyncratic auteur Robert Aldrich's most powerful and intense dramas, Twilight's Last Gleaming is a thunderous political thriller and race-against-time doomsday classic.
 
Burt Lancaster stars as the Air Force general Lawrence Dell who seizes control of a stockpile of nuclear missiles to force the US President (Charles Durning) to tell the truth about the Vietnam war. As negotiations get ever more desperate, General MacKenzie (Richard Widmark) leads an elite fighting team into the complex to disable Dell and his team directly.
 
One of the most overlooked nail biters of the 1970s, Twilight's Last Gleaming is presented here on UK home video for the first time in a new Dual-Format edition as part of the Masters of Cinema Series.
Play trailer1:37
1 Video
52 Photos
  • Drama
  • Thriller
An imprisoned rogue USAF general with a secret personal agenda, escapes the brig and takes over an ICBM silo, threatening to start WW3.An imprisoned rogue USAF general with a secret personal agenda, escapes the brig and takes over an ICBM silo, threatening to start WW3.An imprisoned rogue USAF general with a secret personal agenda, escapes the brig and takes over an ICBM silo, threatening to start WW3.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Robert Aldrich
  • Writers
    • Ronald M. Cohen(screenplay)
    • Edward Huebsch(screenplay)
    • Walter Wager(novel "Viper Three")
  • Stars
    • Burt Lancaster
    • Richard Widmark
    • Roscoe Lee Browne
Top credits
  • Director
    • Robert Aldrich
  • Writers
    • Ronald M. Cohen(screenplay)
    • Edward Huebsch(screenplay)
    • Walter Wager(novel "Viper Three")
  • Stars
    • Burt Lancaster
    • Richard Widmark
    • Roscoe Lee Browne
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 61User reviews
    • 44Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Videos1

    TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING (New Masters of Cinema) Trailer
    Trailer 1:37
    TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING (New Masters of Cinema) Trailer

    Photos52

    Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Joseph Cotten in Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Paul Winfield in Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Gerald S. O'Loughlin in Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Burt Lancaster in Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
    Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Burt Lancaster
    Burt Lancaster
    • Gen. Lawrence Dell
    Richard Widmark
    Richard Widmark
    • Gen. Martin MacKenzie - Commanding General SA
    Roscoe Lee Browne
    Roscoe Lee Browne
    • James Forrest
    Joseph Cotten
    Joseph Cotten
    • Arthur Renfrew - Secretary of State
    Melvyn Douglas
    Melvyn Douglas
    • Zachariah Guthrie
    Charles Durning
    Charles Durning
    • President David T. Stevens
    Richard Jaeckel
    Richard Jaeckel
    • Capt. Stanford Towne
    William Marshall
    William Marshall
    • William Klinger - Attorney General
    Gerald S. O'Loughlin
    Gerald S. O'Loughlin
    • Brig. Gen. O'Rourke
    Paul Winfield
    Paul Winfield
    • Willis Powell
    Burt Young
    Burt Young
    • Augie Garvas
    Charles Aidman
    Charles Aidman
    • Bernstein
    Leif Erickson
    Leif Erickson
    • Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director
    Charles McGraw
    Charles McGraw
    • Air Force Gen. Peter Crane
    Morgan Paull
    Morgan Paull
    • First Lt. Louis Cannellis
    Simon Scott
    Simon Scott
    • Gen. Phil Spencer - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
    William Smith
    William Smith
    • Hoxey
    Bill Walker
    Bill Walker
    • Willard
    • Director
      • Robert Aldrich
    • Writers
      • Ronald M. Cohen(screenplay)
      • Edward Huebsch(screenplay)
      • Walter Wager(novel "Viper Three")
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Richard Widmark's scenes were shot separately from everyone else's. He insisted on doing everything in his scenes himself (where a stand-in might otherwise be used) such as reverse/over the shoulder shots or just picking up a telephone. Melvyn Douglas was the same.
    • Goofs
      The film is set to take place in 1981, then four years into the future. The Titan (I) missile was already retired in 1965. The Titan II missile was still in service in 1981, although even that had originally been scheduled to be retired beginning in 1971. This is relevant not the least because the Titan II was fired from its silos while its less advanced predecessor Titan I needed to be fueled up first and raised from the silo on a giant elevator system (as shown in the movie).
    • Quotes

      Lawrence Dell: There are no midgets in the United States Air Force.

    • Alternate versions
      The original UK cinema release featured the 2 hour version. The 1998 Warner video featured the extended 138 minute print.
    • Connections
      Featured in Twilight's Last Gleaming: The Dynamics of Controversy (1977)
    • Soundtracks
      My Country Tis of Thee
      Music by Lowell Mason (uncredited) based on the music by Henry Carey from "God Save the King" (1744)

      Lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith (uncredited) (1832)

      Performed by Billy Preston

      from the album "I Wrote a Simple Song"

      on A & M Records and Tapes

    User reviews61

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    An excellent political satire
    Despite the thick-ear dialogue, lack-lustre performances from most of the cast, (Charles Durning being the notable exception), and the frankly ridiculous premiss of a renegade general taking over a nuclear missile silo and holding the US government to ransom, Aldrich's dip into the Cold War paranoia genre is surprisingly good, working both as a highly suspenseful thriller, (Aldrich makes great use of split screens), and as a reasonably serious picture on American foreign policy. It's also funny enough to work as political satire and I'm not sure that Aldrich took it all that seriously. It may not be in the same class as either "Seven Days in May" or "Fail Safe" and television dramas such as "The West Wing" and "House of Cards" are much closer to the mark on what goes on in the Oval Office than anything here but it's also far from negligible and if it's hardly Aldrich's best film it's still well worth seeing.
    helpful•5
    0
    • MOscarbradley
    • Jun 15, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 9, 1977 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • West Germany
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Nuclear Countdown
    • Filming locations
      • Munich, Bavaria, Germany
    • Production companies
      • Bavaria Atelier
      • Bavaria Film
      • Geria Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $6,200,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 26 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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