Defense of the Realm (1985)

After a newspaper reporter helps expose a Member of Parliament as a possible spy, he finds that there's much more to the story than that.

Director:

David Drury

Writer:

Martin Stellman

Stars:

Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, Denholm Elliott

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabriel Byrne	...	Nicholas 'Nick' Mullen
Greta Scacchi	...	Nina Beckman
Denholm Elliott	...	Vernon Bayliss
Ian Bannen	...	Dennis Markham
Fulton Mackay	...	Victor Kingsbrook
Bill Paterson	...	Jack Macleod
David Calder	...	Harry Champion
Frederick Treves	...	Arnold Reece
Robbie Coltrane	...	Leo McAskey
Annabel Leventon	...	Trudy Markham
Graham Fletcher-Cook	...	Micky Parker
Steven Woodcock	...	Steven Dyce
Alexei Jawdokimov	...	Dietrich Kleist
Danny Webb	...	Danny Royce (as Daniel Webb)
Prentis Hancock	...	Frank Longman

Storyline

A reporter Mullen 'stumbles' on a story linking a prominent Member of Parliament to a KGB agent. In fact it is also linked to a near Nuclear disaster involving a teenage runaway and an Americal USAF base. Has there been a Government cover-up,Mullen teams up with Vernon Bayliss, an old hack, and Nina Beckam the MP's assistant to find out the truth.

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Plot Keywords:

member of parliament | political thriller | journalism | cover up | newspaper reporter | 

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Taglines:

Just how far will a government go to hide the truth?

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Breakthrough feature film role of actor Gabriel Byrne.

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Goofs

While details are secret, it is generally assumed that a nuclear weapon has to be 'armed' before it would explode.

It would be absurd to have bombs in an aircraft that would wipe out the entire airbase if an aircraft crashed on landing.

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Quotes

Vernon Bayliss: Vodka and Coca-Cola. Detente in a glass!

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Crazy Credits

The research done for this film is shown by the acknowledgment at the end of the credits: "The Producers wish to thank the STAFF and MANAGEMENT of THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS FOR THEIR HELP."

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Connections

Referenced in Howling III (1987)

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Soundtracks

Passion Chorale
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach

User Reviews

So-so, bit hard to follow

It seemed quite promising, but was hard to follow in places, not helped by one or two outdoor scenes not transforming well onto a TV screen. I'd recorded it, so on several occasions was able to rewind to have another go at understanding it. It might help if I was to watch the entire film again from start to finish, but I can't be bothered. As I understand it, a youth fleeing from the police clambers over a very nasty looking fence onto the runway of an American air base and gets killed by an aircraft that's landing with a nuclear bomb on board. This precipitates an emergency exodus from the base. Cue cover-up, investigated by local MP who gets set up, leading to investigation by reporter.

Byrne does well as the reporter, but as is often the case Denholm Elliott impresses the most. Greta Scacchi is very bland.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Defense of the Realm

Filming Locations:

Haddenham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,938, 23 November 1986

Gross USA:

$750,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$750,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Rank Organisation, National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC), Enigma Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1