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

Brad Pitt's feature film debut.

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Goofs

When Ted meets 'Bill' at the shopping mall at the end of the movie, he calls him 'Benji', his real name. In an earlier scene, Ted had learned from Ann that Bill is a cop, but he left the house before she told him anything else. Thus, Ted wouldn't be able to know that Bill's real name is Benji.

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Quotes

[Explaining why he keeps a gun]
Ted Varrick: It's like an ICBM. You're never gonna use the fucker, but you sleep better at night knowing that you have one.

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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

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Sicilian/Prince of Darkness/No Man's Land/The Glass Menagerie/The Whales of August (1987)

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Soundtracks

BRIGHTER THAN THE MOON
Performed by Tin Star
Written by Kerry Hansen
Published by Sparkling Wine Music
Administered by Bug Music
Produced by Dan Fredman

User Reviews

One of the great unknown gems of the 80's

Once again I've got to say thank you to my Netflix 'recommended' queue, because thus far it's let me to several great movies that I never knew existed, including this one.

This was a truly good movie, with a fantastic storyline, great acting and a lot of style. Charlie Sheen turns in a terrific, understated performance, which makes you sadly recall that at one time he was a gifted young actor with a promising future ahead of him, and not an out of control bipolar freak of nature. This movie actually fell right in the middle of his golden period; shortly after 'Platoon' and just before 'Wall Street' and 'Young Guns'. He was pretty clearly at the top of his game.

The rest of the cast did wonderfully as well, especially D.B. Sweeney who handled the lead role admirably, and the incredibly beautiful and talented Lara Harris, who deserves far more work in Hollywood than she's gotten. The only character who seemed out of place was Randy Quaid as the no-nonsense lieutenant, but that's only because I've become so used to seeing him in goofball roles that it's now a bit jarring when he's serious.

I definitely enjoyed this film, and any fan of the police/thriller genre will surely enjoy it as well, as will fans of the time period in general. I'm glad I didn't pass this one over.