Deal of the Century (1983)

A small time arms dealer in South America to sell weapons to the revolutionaries, winds up negotiating the sale of an experimental plane to the nation's dictator.

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

Paul Brickman, Bernard Edelman (book)

Stars:

Chevy Chase, Sigourney Weaver, Gregory Hines

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chevy Chase	...	Eddie Muntz
Sigourney Weaver	...	Catherine DeVoto
Gregory Hines	...	Ray Kasternak
Vince Edwards	...	Frank Stryker
William Marquez	...	Gen. Cordosa
Eduardo Ricard	...	Col. Salgado
Richard Herd	...	Lyle
Graham Jarvis	...	Babers
Wallace Shawn	...	Harold DeVoto
Randi Brooks	...	Ms. Della Rosa
Ebbe Roe Smith	...	Bob
Richard Libertini	...	Masaggi
J.W. Smith	...	Will
Carmencristina Moreno	...	Woman Singer (as Carmen Moreno)
Charles Levin	...	Dr. Rechtin

Storyline

Arms dealers from several companies vie to sell the most expensive and highest tech weapons to a South American dictator. There are complications; understanding the exact nature of how 'gifts' are used to grease the wheels of a sale, a religious conversion from one of the salesman and a romance that begins to grow between two competitors, not to mention the imminient financial collapse of one of the companies if they don't make this sale.

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Plot Keywords:

dictator | arms dealer | helicopter | used car salesman | explosion | 

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Taglines:

Chevy Chase and his partners are arms dealers. They sell second-rate weapons to third world nations. But they're not out to stick it to anyone.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Bombengeschäft

Filming Locations:

Chet Holifield Federal Building - 24000 Avila Road, Laguna Niguel, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,520,605, 6 November 1983

Gross USA:

$10,369,581

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,369,581

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Dream Quest Images

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Second comedy about arms dealers and arms dealing. Others that would follow would include War, Inc. (2008), Lord of War (2005), and Charlie Wilson's War (2007). Wrong Is Right (1982) also was a comedy, and featured arms dealers and dealing.

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Goofs

The Cordosa guard falling into the lake (trying to retrieve the golf ball) appears out of sequence. Previously the guard has been seen retrieving the golf ball and throwing it back into play. A following scene shows the guard stepping/falling into the lake.

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Quotes

Dr. Rechtin: Well, because of the demo today, we washed it down last night. The water must've fogged the electronics.
Frank Stryker: Well, first it's the air conditioning; now it's the water. I mean: are you guys pulling my tit or what?
Bob: Washing it was sheer stupidity!
Luckup Computer Tech: Should do great tomorrow.
Frank Stryker: TOMORROW?
Luckup Computer Tech: After it dries.
Frank Stryker: There is no tomorrow, you assholes! Haven't ya ever heard of RAIN?

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Alternate Versions

CBS edited 5 minutes from this film for its 1988 network television premiere.

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Connections

References Deep Throat (1972)

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Soundtracks

Someone To Watch Over Me
Music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Sung by Nikka Costa
Courtesy of Renquet Records

User Reviews

brave satire

I loved this movie when it came out, and I still think it's one of Friedkin's most under- rated efforts. Where it lost a lot of the audience was in its requirement that they actually think about what was being presented to them. The jokes are not the usual Chevvy Chase, fall on his ass kind of thing, but for the most part have an actual point behind them. Where the film failed, I think, is culturally; audiences at the multiplex tend not to like to have to think about the entertainments they consume, so the movie got lukewarm reviews, and poor audiences. Look at the scene for example, where Gregory Hines' character is accosted by a mugger, and the way in which the scene escalates, for a perfect mini-allegory of the cold war, and the simplicity of its essential "strategies."

In truth, the movie falls between two stools, in terms of the audience it was aiming at. It's too much a Hollywood production to play on the art-house circuit; but its ethos is too "political" to play well in the major exhibition houses, ie, suburban multiplexes. It might be the case too, that because its satirical target is the military, some thought it as somehow "anti-American" and stayed away for that reason. But it's a fine film, well-structured and well scripted (in my opinion), having as its core the moral redemption of an immoral man. It also features – a rarity for American commercial movies – a black man in a major, well-thought out role who's not just a comedy sidekick for the hero. Give this one a chance, and it will reward multiple viewings.