Black Moon Rising (1986)

A thief, Quint, is hired by the Justice Department to steal incriminating tapes from a corrupt corporation. The tapes vanish when Quint hides them in the back of a hydrodynamic powered racing car that is stolen by a hot car ring.

Director:

Harley Cokeliss (as Harley Cokliss)

Writers:

John Carpenter (story), John Carpenter (screenplay)

Stars:

Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Hamilton, Robert Vaughn

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Quint
Linda Hamilton	...	Nina
Robert Vaughn	...	Ed Ryland
Richard Jaeckel	...	Earl Windom
Lee Ving	...	Marvin Ringer
Bubba Smith	...	Johnson
Dan Shor	...	Billy Lyons
William Sanderson	...	Tyke Thayden
Keenan Wynn	...	Iron John
Nick Cassavetes	...	Luis
Richard Angarola	...	Dr. Melato
Don Keith Opper	...	Emile French (as Don Opper)
William Marquez	...	Reynoso
David Pressman	...	Kid at Grocery Store
Stanley DeSantis	...	The Mover

Storyline

A professional thief is hired by the FBI to steal a data tape from a company under investigation. The analysis of this tape, will prove the criminal activities of this company. As this thief is discovered in his attempt, he hides the tape inside a prototype car, but unfortunately there is someone else interested in this vehicle.

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Plot Keywords:

premarital sex | sex | nipples | female nudity | bare breasts | 

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Taglines:

From the mind of John Carpenter comes the towering adventure that thunders across Los Angeles and explodes 30 stories above it!

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Moon

Filming Locations:

Corner of Ave E and 90 St. East, Lancaster, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,775,388, 12 January 1986, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$6,637,565

Company Credits

Production Co:

New World Pictures, Sequoia Productions (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A lot of Tommy Lee Jones' wisecracks were improvised by the actor himself.

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Goofs

Nina has two vehicles parked in front of her building (both her cars), a white Rolls Royce and a green Jaguar. The cars swap positions between shots, without being driven.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Quint: [to store clerk] Coffee?
Kid at Grocery Store: [entering with gun drawn] Alright freeze! One move and you've both dead! You here me asshole?
Quint: This something new for you son?
Kid at Grocery Store: Shut your goddamn mouth!
Quint: Hey fine, no problem. There's the cash register. And right up there's the television camera. And there's a nice full face shot. How 'bout a profile? Look there's a couple of ways we can do this.
Kid at Grocery Store: I told you to shut up!
Quint: Fine. I'm just saying you gotta think these things through. You don't just come walking in to ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The director's cut is 15 minutes longer.

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Connections

Referenced in Dawson's Creek: Full Moon Rising (1998)

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Soundtracks

Sleeping With The Enemy
Written by Chari Brandon and Jack Littlejohn
Performed by Chari Brandon

User Reviews

Grand Theft Auto, the 80's edition.

"Black Moon Rising" is a formulaic and predictable but nevertheless entertaining and fast-paced thriller based on a story originally written by no less than John Carpenter. Apparently he wrote it in the 70's already, but the content was admirably processed and adapted in order for the events to take place in a typically 80's setting with even faster cars and contemporary hot starlets like Linda Hamilton that are, in fact, most unattractive by today's standards. Tommy Lee Jones, on the other, rarely looked cooler than here in his role as super-thief Sam Quint. Quint is hired to steal a tape containing evidence against a dodgy company, but quickly finds himself chased by the company's fanatic security guards as well as his governmental employer. Quint hides the tape inside a prototype race car (one that reaches up to 350mph!), but before he has a proper opportunity to recover it, the wheels get stolen by a professionally organized syndicate of car thieves. That's how Quint meets and gradually falls for Hamilton's character Nina, as she's a sly and experienced kleptomaniac! "Black Moon Rising" is a prototypic example of an action movie in which one little handling (like hiding a tape in the truck of a car) snowballs into a gigantic avalanche of clichéd but even so enjoyable situations until a grotesque finale is inevitable. In this case the finale involves an impressive piece of stunt car driving at great height. Literally! It's a forgettable and lightweight 80's action movie, but Harry Cokeliss' direction is fairly competent and the dull moments can easily be count on the fingers of one hand. Robert Vaughn is on automatic pilot (pun intended) in his confident role of relentless crime boss and there are some neat cameos from familiar names like Keenan Wynn, William Sanderson and Richard Jaeckal. Nothing special, but definitely a fine choice if you seek mindless rainy-Sunday afternoon entertainment.