Firepower (1979)

A merc is hired by the FBI to track down a powerful recluse criminal. A woman is also trying to track him down for her own personal vendetta.

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Gerald Wilson (screenplay), Bill Kerby (story)

Stars:

Sophia Loren, James Coburn, O.J. Simpson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sophia Loren	...	Adele Tasca
James Coburn	...	Jerry Fanon / Eddie
O.J. Simpson	...	Catlett
Eli Wallach	...	Sal Hyman
Anthony Franciosa	...	Dr. Charles Félix
George Grizzard	...	Leo Gelhorn
Vincent Gardenia	...	Frank Hull
Fred Stuthman	...	Paul Halpin
Richard Caldicot	...	Harry Calman
Frank Singuineau	...	Manley Reckford
George Touliatos	...	Karl Stegner
Hank Garrett	...	Oscar Bailey
Conrad Roberts	...	Lestor Wallace
Billy Barty	...	Dominic Carbone
Jake LaMotta	...	Nickel Sam

Storyline

A merc is hired by the FBI to track down a powerful recluse criminal. A woman is also trying to track him down for her own personal vendetta.

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Plot Keywords:

time bomb | boeing 747 | building explosion | street shooting | fuse | 

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Taglines:

. . . when crime and passion mix!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fire Power

Filming Locations:

Key Largo, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ITC Films, Scimitar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sophia Loren once called Michael Winner because there was a paparazzi harassing her with pictures that could have been sold in Italian magazines, where her husband Carlo Ponti lived. So Michael Winner went to see the Prime Minister of the Caribbean Island where the shooting took place, and the local police eventually put the paparazzi behind bars for illegal entry on the Island. Sophia Loren then asked a little later that the man to be released.

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Alternate Versions

The film was originally released theatrically in the UK with an uncut 'AA' (15) certificate and later reissued as an 'A' (PG) with cuts to some of the bloodier shootings, shots of men on fire, a wire strangling and a brief shot of a topless woman. The 1986 video was upgraded to a 15 certificate and restored the later cinema edits though 15 secs were cut from a cockfighting scene.

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Connections

Featured in Sneak Previews: A Little Romance, Love on the Run, Dawn of the Dead, Manhattan, Hanover Street, Firepower, Cannibal Girls (1979)

User Reviews

Ridiculously twisted Winner movie

Michael Winner's films aren't complete without a lot of blood, and this one has enough to fill a bucket or two.

James Coburn is the retired hitman who comes back in to kidnap a certain Karl Stegner, a mysterious and very wealthy man wanted by the IRS and various other federal agencies.

Coburn teams up mainly with OJ Simpson, with some dubious assistance from Sophia Loren, and we have a 70s high-tech sort of caper. Lots of gadgetry, most of it explosive, large quantities of double-crossing and shooting, plenty of pretty shots of the Caribbean from floating gin palaces, and a plot of such ludicrous over-complexity that it's silly.

It was obviously immense fun to make: several very large houses get burned down, bulldozed and otherwise trashed. As do various means of transportation. With lots of explosions and shooting.

It's implausible and it's almost impossible to understand why anyone would do what these people do, but apparently this is what they do. Bullets fly and things blow up.

There is an awful lot of frenetic activity, constantly accompanied by the sound of gunfire with regular scenes of conflagration.

Did I mention that there's a lot of shooting and explosions in this? In case I didn't, there is, as well as a very confusing plot.

It's not a very good movie.