No Man's Land (1987)

A rookie cop goes undercover and infiltrates a car thief ring.

Director:

Peter Werner

Writer:

Dick Wolf

Stars:

Charlie Sheen, D.B. Sweeney, Lara Harris

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlie Sheen	...	Ted Varrick
D.B. Sweeney	...	Benjy Taylor
Lara Harris	...	Ann Varrick
Randy Quaid	...	Lieutenant Vincent Bracey
Bill Duke	...	Malcolm
R.D. Call	...	Frank Martin
Arlen Dean Snyder	...	Lieutenant Curtis Loos
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Captain Haun
Al Shannon	...	Danny
Bernie Pock	...	Ridley
Kenny Endoso	...	Leon
James F. Kelly	...	Brandon
Lori Butler	...	Suzanne
Clare Wren	...	Deborah
Philip Benichou	...	Michel

Storyline

Benjy Taylor is a rookie cop who goes undercover to nab a gang of car thieves led by Ted Varrick. Taylor becomes too involved and starts to enjoy the thrill and lifestyle of the car thieves, and falls in love with Varrick's sister Ann.

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Plot Keywords:

rookie cop | undercover | car thief | final showdown | main character shot | 

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Taglines:

Once you get a taste of the good life, it's hard to let go. Even if your life depends on it.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

260 chrono

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,088,273, 25 October 1987, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,877,571

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charlie Sheen and Randy Quaid previously starred in The Wraith (1986), another film about criminals engaged in automotive crimes. Quaid plays a cop in both films.

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Goofs

After the chase between the Porsche and the Camaro, when the Porsche gets banged up pretty bad on the right side and a window is blown out by a shotgun, the Porsche is driven into the chop shop and it doesn't have a scratch on it. In the next scene the right front end of the car is shown and it's a slightly lighter/paler color and appears to have scratches, although it looks more like mud splashes or painted-on damage than scratches.

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Quotes

Benjy Taylor: [points out a Ferrari to steal] How about this one?
Ted Varrick: [disdainfully] Italian trash... besides, I only steal Porsches.

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Alternate Versions

UK cinema and video versions were cut by 1m 5 secs by the BBFC to remove shots of a car being broken into and hot-wired. The cuts were waived in the 2005 MGM DVD.

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Connections

Referenced in 'Law & Order': The Beginning (2002)

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Soundtracks

FREE YOURSELF
Performed by The Untouchables
Written by Clyde Grimes (as Clyde Grimes, Jr.)
Courtesy of MCA Records/Stiff Records

User Reviews

Surprisingly bland

Despite starring Charlie Sheen, who has been hot for the past several years from starring in a top-rated sitcom, "No Man's Land" seems to have been all but forgotten. In fact, I have NEVER seen this movie broadcast on television - I had to rent this over the Internet to see it.

Before seeing it, I thought that maybe since the movie was rated "R", that's why I had never seen it on television. But to my surprise, the "R" rating for this movie seems a bit harsh. There's no nudity, no (onscreen) sex, there are only a few utterances of the harshest swear words (which could easily be overdubbed), and the limited violence on display could easily be shown on a television drama. The movie feels more like a PG-13.

The above is a big clue as to why I felt this movie didn't work. It's lacking grit - it feels bland and without passion. At times it feels like it was made for television. It's not only with the direction, but with the performances as well - none of the actors here seem to be very enthusiastic, and the only thing colorful about them is Randy Quaid's weird hairstyle.

One positive thing I can say about the movie is that unlike other '80s movies, this one hasn't dated that much. But that is not enough to save the movie.

P.S. - MGM's DVD of the movie is pretty bad. Not only is the movie presented full-frame, and using what seems to be an older print not made especially for this DVD, the colors frequently seem off somewhat.