Power (1986)

After a close friend drops out of politics, a political consultant helping to find a replacement finds a web of corruption and deceit as well.

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writer:

David Himmelstein

Stars:

Richard Gere, Julie Christie, Gene Hackman

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Gere	...	Pete St. John
Julie Christie	...	Ellen Freeman
Gene Hackman	...	Wilfred Buckley
Kate Capshaw	...	Sydney Betterman
Denzel Washington	...	Arnold Billings
E.G. Marshall	...	Senator Sam Hastings
Beatrice Straight	...	Claire Hastings
Fritz Weaver	...	Wallace Furman
Michael Learned	...	Governor Andrea Stannard
J.T. Walsh	...	Jerome Cade
E. Katherine Kerr	...	Irene Furman
Polly Rowles	...	Lucille DeWitt
Matt Salinger	...	Phillip Aarons
Tom Mardirosian	...	Sheikh
Omar Torres	...	Roberto Cepeda

Storyline

Pete St. John is a powerful and successful political consultant, with clients spread around the country. When his long-time friend and client, Ohio senator Sam Hastings, decides to quit politics, he is rapidly drafted to help with the campaign of the man destined to succeed him, unknown and mysterious businessman Jerome Cade. In parallel, and unaware of the potential dangers, he proceeds to unravel the mystery surrounding Hastings dropping out, with the aide of his ex-wife, a prominent Washington-based journalist. But interests more powerful than local arm wrestling are at stake, and things start going awry.

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Plot Keywords:

politician | cover up | conspiracy | political corruption | corruption | 

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Taglines:

Smart woman

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Yiddish

Release Date:

31 January 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

El precio del poder

Filming Locations:

Armonk, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,854,200, 2 February 1986, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$3,800,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Productions, Polar Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gene Hackman and J.T. Walsh appeared in Narrow Margin (1990).

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Goofs

The character portrayed by Denzel Washington has the surname Billings. In the end credits, the character's surname is spelled Billing.

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Quotes

Claire Hastings: [to Ellen, who is about to write an hurtful article about the Hastings] When you'll write this, make sure I'm the monster!

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Connections

References Duel (1971)

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Soundtracks

The Stars and Stripes Forever
Written by John Philip Sousa
Performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra (as The Boston Pops)
Conducted by Arthur Fiedler
Polygram Special Projects
A division of Polygram Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Dated story about election manipulation. Silly moustache on Richard Gere, silly accent from Gene Hackman and a general lack of any suspense or chemistry. Bland and boring.

Great director. Great actors. What could go wrong? Well, many things. Let's start with the story. Have you read the synopsis on Imdb? I did and I still didnt understand what this movie was about. Basically this movie is a portrait of a pr manager for politicians. Back in the eighties it was kinda new to have pr managers running an election campaign. Now every upcoming tv personality has got a pr campaign. Therefore the story is outdated.

The execution of this story is done in a very bland way. There is none of the usual Sidney Lumet magic to be seen in this story. The photography looks bland and all the actors look rather silly. Richard Gere's moustache looks really silly. So does Gene Hackman's "polish" accent. There is no real suspense in this story. No chemistry between the actors. It all looks terribly bland and dated.

Only 17 reviews for this movie, that says a lot. This is one of the few flops talented director Sidney Lumet has made. Watch the classic "Network" instead by the same director, that movie is old as well, but has tons of emotions and a very suspenseful and thought provoking story, all of which are lacking in "Power".