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The Ambassador

  • 19841984
  • RR
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
802
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
34,289
7,056
The Ambassador (1984)
An American ambassador to Israel tries to bring peace to the Middle East conflict through unconventional methods, but his efforts are hampered at every turn and his personal life threatened.
Play trailer2:42
1 Video
16 Photos
ActionDramaThriller
An American ambassador to Israel tries to bring peace to the Middle East conflict through unconventional methods, but his efforts are hampered at every turn and his personal life threatened.An American ambassador to Israel tries to bring peace to the Middle East conflict through unconventional methods, but his efforts are hampered at every turn and his personal life threatened.An American ambassador to Israel tries to bring peace to the Middle East conflict through unconventional methods, but his efforts are hampered at every turn and his personal life threatened.
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
802
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
34,289
7,056
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • J. Lee Thompson
    • Writers
      • Ronald M. Cohen(uncredited)
      • Max Jack
      • Elmore Leonard(novel "52 Pick-Up")
    • Stars
      • Robert Mitchum
      • Ellen Burstyn
      • Rock Hudson
    Top credits
    • Director
      • J. Lee Thompson
    • Writers
      • Ronald M. Cohen(uncredited)
      • Max Jack
      • Elmore Leonard(novel "52 Pick-Up")
    • Stars
      • Robert Mitchum
      • Ellen Burstyn
      • Rock Hudson
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 14User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:42
    Trailer

    Photos16

    Robert Mitchum and Rock Hudson in The Ambassador (1984)
    Robert Mitchum and Rock Hudson in The Ambassador (1984)
    Robert Mitchum in The Ambassador (1984)
    Robert Mitchum in The Ambassador (1984)
    Robert Mitchum and Donald Pleasence in The Ambassador (1984)
    Robert Mitchum, Donald Pleasence, and Ellen Burstyn in The Ambassador (1984)
    Robert Mitchum in The Ambassador (1984)
    Robert Mitchum and Ellen Burstyn in The Ambassador (1984)
    Rock Hudson in The Ambassador (1984)
    Ellen Burstyn and Fabio Testi in The Ambassador (1984)
    Robert Mitchum and Ellen Burstyn in The Ambassador (1984)
    The Ambassador (1984)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert Mitchum
    Robert Mitchum
    • Hacker
    Ellen Burstyn
    Ellen Burstyn
    • Alex
    Rock Hudson
    Rock Hudson
    • Stevenson
    Fabio Testi
    Fabio Testi
    • Hashimi
    Donald Pleasence
    Donald Pleasence
    • Eretz
    Chelli Goldenberg
    Chelli Goldenberg
    • Rachel
    • (as Heli Goldenberg)
    Michal Bat-Adam
    Michal Bat-Adam
    • Tova
    Ori Levy
    Ori Levy
    • Abe
    Uri Gavriel
    Uri Gavriel
    • Assad
    Zachi Noy
    Zachi Noy
    • Ze'ev
    Yosef Shiloach
    Yosef Shiloach
    • Shimon
    • (as Joseph Shiloach)
    Shmulik Kraus
    Shmulik Kraus
    • Stone
    Yossi Virginsky
    • Asher
    Yftach Katzur
    Yftach Katzur
    • Lenny
    Shai Schwartz
    • Gadi
    Ran Vered
    • Rafi
    Assi Abaiov
    • Reuven
    Avi Kleinberger
    • Abba
    • Director
      • J. Lee Thompson
    • Writers
      • Ronald M. Cohen(uncredited)
      • Max Jack
      • Elmore Leonard(novel "52 Pick-Up")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      During most of the filming in the winter of 1983-84 the two leading stars, Robert Mitchum and Rock Hudson, reportedly did not get along with each other. A life-long alcoholic, Mitchum was said to have been frequently drunk on and off camera, and often verbally clashed with Hudson who was in poor health which held up production for days.
    • Goofs
      The guy in shades who keeps stalking the ambassador's wife through the streets vanishes from the story after detonating a bomb that almost killed her. His fate is never revealed and he's never seen again.
    • Quotes

      Frank Stevenson: There are people out there who'll slash your throat for fifty bucks American.

    • Connections
      Featured in Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)

    User reviews14

    Review
    Top review
    Way Too Much is Going On Here
    The Ambassador (1984)

    ** (out of 4)

    Well-meaning but incredibly over-active thriller has Robert Mitchum playing the American ambassador to Israel who is trying to bring peace in the Middle East. While him and his security advisor (Rock Hudson) are getting shot at, his wife (Ellen Burstyn) is banging a man (Fabio Testi) but neither one realizes that some terrorists are video taping their love sessions to blackmail the ambassador. Pretty soon it is revealed that the wife's lover might have terrorist ties himself.

    Cannon was known for releasing countless action pictures that were usually rather mindless and just exploited the various subjects that they were covering. Film like DEATH WISH II, MISSING IN ACTION and AMERICAN NINJA were among the studios most popular pictures but THE AMBASSADOR is something completely different. It's clear that Cannon wanted to send a message to the Middle East that peace was possible but unfortuantly for them the movie just went off the rails so to speak. This picture simply tried to do way too much and in the end it's pretty much a complete mess.

    The film is really all over the place in regards to what it's trying to do and it almost seems as if no one could agree on what to do with the picture. It starts off with some incredibly wild and over-the-top action scenes and so far so good. Then you've got a rather sleazy sex scene between Burstyn and Testi, which includes the actress doing some nudity. Again, so far it's fun. You then get into an incredibly long political drama about the whole peace idea and then there's some shocking and incredibly bloody violence that pops up at the end. All the while Mitchum and Hudson are trying to uncover this terrorist plot and get the sex tape back before it reaches the media.

    I'm going to guess Cannon really wanted a serious drama but there wasn't a way to make money on that alone so additional bits of action were thrown in. Thompson, who was working in mainly "B" pictures at this time, manages to build up some nice action but the drama of the story is downright weak and the "message" of the movie is a bit silly to say the least. The film just never really packs a punch or builds up any sort of tension so the non-stop political talk eventually gets boring and when Mitchum's character isn't worried about the sex tape then why should the viewer be?

    The film benefits from its terrific cast and that alone makes it worth sitting through. I think had Mitchum and Hudson switched roles the film might have been better but it was still fun seeing them together. Burstyn in good in her role of the wife and Testi is always dependable. You've also got Donald Pleasence so that's another plus. The film's violent climax features some gory shots that I'm sure shocked most people at the time of the film's release unless they were fans of slashers and were already used to it.

    In the end, THE AMBASSADOR has its heart in the right place but it just never fully comes together.
    helpful•7
    1
    • Michael_Elliott
    • Dec 27, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 11, 1985 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Der Ambassador
    • Filming locations
      • Negev Desert, Israel
    • Production company
      • Northbrook Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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