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IMDbPro

The Amateur

  • 19811981
  • RR
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
856
YOUR RATING
The Amateur (1981)
Home Video Trailer from Anchor Bay Entertainment
Play trailer2:01
2 Videos
30 Photos
CrimeThriller
A CIA operative takes justice in his own hands, as his girlfriend is brutally murdered by terrorists. He carefully designs a plan to hunt down the terrorists, after the crime, and executes t... Read allA CIA operative takes justice in his own hands, as his girlfriend is brutally murdered by terrorists. He carefully designs a plan to hunt down the terrorists, after the crime, and executes them one by one.A CIA operative takes justice in his own hands, as his girlfriend is brutally murdered by terrorists. He carefully designs a plan to hunt down the terrorists, after the crime, and executes them one by one.
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
856
YOUR RATING
    • Charles Jarrott
    • Robert Littell(novel)
    • Diana Maddox
  • Stars
    • John Savage
    • Christopher Plummer
    • Marthe Keller
    • Charles Jarrott
    • Robert Littell(novel)
    • Diana Maddox
  • Stars
    • John Savage
    • Christopher Plummer
    • Marthe Keller
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 25User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    The Amateur
    Trailer 2:01
    Watch The Amateur
    Sneak Previews Season 4 Episode 21
    Video 28:32
    Watch Sneak Previews Season 4 Episode 21

    Photos30

    The Amateur (1981)
    The Amateur (1981)
    Ed Lauter in The Amateur (1981)
    The Amateur (1981)
    Marthe Keller in The Amateur (1981)
    The Amateur (1981)
    Nicholas Campbell, Miguel Fernandes, and Chapelle Jaffe in The Amateur (1981)
    The Amateur (1981)
    The Amateur (1981)
    The Amateur (1981)
    The Amateur (1981)
    John Savage and Marthe Keller in The Amateur (1981)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Savage
    John Savage
    • Charles Heller
    Christopher Plummer
    Christopher Plummer
    • Professor Lakos
    Marthe Keller
    Marthe Keller
    • Elisabeth
    Arthur Hill
    Arthur Hill
    • Brewer
    Nicholas Campbell
    Nicholas Campbell
    • Schraeger
    George Coe
    George Coe
    • Rutledge
    John Marley
    John Marley
    • Molton
    Jan Rubes
    Jan Rubes
    • Kaplan
    Ed Lauter
    Ed Lauter
    • Anderson
    Miguel Fernandes
    Miguel Fernandes
    • Botaro
    Jan Tríska
    Jan Tríska
    • Rodzenko
    Graham Jarvis
    Graham Jarvis
    • Porter
    Jacques Godin
    Jacques Godin
    • Argus
    Chapelle Jaffe
    Chapelle Jaffe
    • Gretchen
    Lynne Griffin
    Lynne Griffin
    • Sarah
    Vladimír Valenta
    • Uncle Ludwig
    Vlasta Vrana
    Vlasta Vrana
    • Guide
    Neil Dainard
    • Slater
      • Charles Jarrott
      • Robert Littell(novel) (screenplay)
      • Diana Maddox
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film's storyline is similar to Three Days of the Condor (1975).
    • Goofs
      All entries contain spoilers
    • Quotes

      Kaplan: I lost my first wife, my first family. Two beautiful little girls. In the war, in the camps. I thought for a long time the loss would kill me but, I survived.

      Charles Heller: How?

      Kaplan: By creating a ritual to keep me alive. To survive the death of people close to you, you need a ritual. A ritual for revenge is what I made. I thought about it and planned it every waking moment. When I got out I spent three years tracking down the doctor who sent them to the camps.

      Charles Heller: Did you find him?

      Kaplan: I found him, yes.

      Charles Heller: What did... what did you do?

      Kaplan: I created one last ritual. With these hands I strangled him.

      Charles Heller: It didn't bring them back from the dead.

      Kaplan: No, it brought me back from the dead!

    • Connections
      Featured in Sneak Previews: Quest for Fire/Union City/The Amateur/Evil Under the Sun (1982)

    User reviews25

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Spy story about a vendetta behind the Iron Curtain full of plot twists and thrills
    This spy/action/thriller concerns about a CIA computer analyst named Heller(John Savage) , when his girlfriend encounters traveling across Europe, she's suddenly kidnapped in an Embassy by a terrorist group , a Baader Mainhoff-alike, and is shot by the leader named Brewer (Nicholas Campbell). Then Heller seeks vengeance, and contacts to girlfriend's father(Jan Rubes). Later obligates his CIA superiors(Arthur Hill,George Coe), under threat blackmail(to publish it a journalist played by John Marley) , for becoming CIA camp agent trained by a veteran(Ed Lauter) and to send him to the Communist Bloc countries . In Czechoslovakia he unites forces to Cia agent(Marthe Keller) and is pursued by a contra-espionage chief(Christopher Plummer) in Praga. Meanwhile Heller investigates and aware a cobweb of lies underneath the company.

    This exciting film gets tension, suspense, action ,mystery and a bit of violence, however sometimes in a little confused and embarrassing . Mediocre screenplay with some gaps by Robert Littell and based on his novel. The movie belongs to ¨Cold war genre¨ , whose maxim height were the John Le Carre novels and his various cinematic adaptations such as ¨The spy who came in freeze, The Kremlin letter and Russia House¨.Suspenseful musical score and colorful cinematography filmed in streets of Vienna(lookalike Praga) and interior scenarios shot in Canadian studios. The movie was a flop though is today better considered, in fact Leonard Matlin rated it as 'Bomb'. The motion picture is professionally directed by Charles Jarrot. He has an eclectic career as TV as cinema with a plethora of success(Anne of the thousands days, Mary of Scots) and failures at the box office(Condorman, Last flight of Noah's Ark, Amateur). Rating : Passable and acceptable.
    helpful•5
    0
    • ma-cortes
    • May 22, 2009

    Details

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    • Release date
      • February 12, 1982 (United States)
      • Canada
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Vienna, Austria
    • Production companies
      • Balkan Productions
      • Tiberius Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 52 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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