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:

Santa Barbara, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,520,605, 6 November 1983, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$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

Eddie Muntz's (Chevy Chase's) company was Western Defense Consultants.

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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

Eddie Muntz: It's only my second day in San Miguel, and I'll tell ya', I'm ready to hitchhike to Jonestown for a few laughs and a cool drink. This place is hotter than Dolly Parton's minipad. My job takes me all over the world. Lebanon, Nicaragua... Newark. You name it, I'm in there. Always where the action is.

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Alternate Versions

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

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Stinkers of 1983 (1983)

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Soundtracks

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Written by Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots
Performed by The Chipmunks
Courtesy of RCA Records and Bagdasarian Productions

User Reviews

Who was the technical advisor

If you work in certain areas in the defense business, you will be sure that some one who worked in the business did the script. Some of the most outrageous incidents in the film are the most true to life. It may be that you have to have some professional insight to appreciate it fully. It's like a Dilbert cartoon.