Green Ice (1981)

A down on his luck engineer gets involved in an adventure with a mysterious woman and an emerald magnate.

Director:

Ernest Day

Writers:

Edward Anhalt (screenplay), Ray Hassett (screenplay)

Stars:

Ryan O'Neal, Anne Archer, Omar Sharif

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ryan O'Neal	...	Joseph Wiley
Anne Archer	...	Holbrook
Omar Sharif	...	Meno Argenti
Domingo Ambriz	...	Miguel
John Larroquette	...	Claude
Philip Stone	...	Jochim Kellerman
Michael Sheard	...	Jaap
Enrique Lucero	...	Lucho the Coffee Grower
Manuel Ojeda	...	Lt. Costas
Tara Fellner	...	Kerry, Holbrook's Sister
Sandra Kerns	...	Woman at Bar
Raúl Martínez	...	General Martinez
Enrique Novi	...	Naval Officer
Miguel Ángel Fuentes	...	Herado, Argenti's Bodyguard
Delroy White	...	Prentis

Storyline

A down on his luck engineer gets involved in an adventure with a mysterious woman and an emerald magnate.

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Plot Keywords:

emerald | jewel theft | heist | diamond | champagne | 

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Taglines:

He wanted adventure...She craved revenge...Emeralds held the answer.

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Genres:

Adventure | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The three balloons seen during this movie's signature set piece, the air raid journey to the penthouse bank building vault for a tower heist of precious emerald gems, are known as "Cloudhoppers". Also known as "Lindstrand Cloudhoppers", the one person balloons, fueled by burning gas, were invented in 1979 by Per Lindstrand. According to Lindstrand's website, almost as soon as the Cloudhoppers were certified for use in the U.K., they were used in this movie.

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Quotes

Holbrook: There's only one problem. Women are going for younger men these days.
Joseph Wiley: Well, nothing beats experience.
Holbrook: Except stamina.

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: High Voltage, Death Spa, and Space Mutiny (2014)

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Soundtracks

The Water Bottle
Composed by Bill Wyman

User Reviews

A Memory from a Bygone Era

I kid you not, the last time I saw this movie, I could not have been older than eight years old. It still sticks with me, probably because it was one of the first heist/thriller movies I ever saw.

Omar Sharif was all over the place in the movies of that era, most notably (in mind) in "Oh Heavenly Dog!" with Chevy Chase and Jane Seymour. He was a bad guy in that one, too, and I often think of the two movies with a similar nostalgia. This was certainly my first exposure to the beautiful Anne Archer and the underrated Ryan O'Neal. "Green Ice" also gave us a glimpse of John Larroquette before his face and name became widely known.

This is truly a movie which does not deserve to be forgotten. The music is memorably flaky, but not any cheesier than the "Tootsie" soundtrack or any others from that era. A precursor to "Romancing the Stone", "Green Ice" shows off lots of gems, has lots of suspense and thrills, and a truly despicable, yet dimensional villain. And then there's the action. It is not easy to land a hot air balloon on a high rise, let alone break into said high rise without setting off all kinds of alarms. Using a holographic imager to crack the vault was just the coolest of all techno-geek ideas.

To conclude, I have never seen any film made before or after this one (although "Rough Cut" was close) that brings the romance, action, tension, and characters to the audience like "Green Ice" did.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

21 May 1981 (UK)

Also Known As:

Das Condor-Komplott

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lord Grade, Jack Wiener Production, Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1