Shoot to Kill (1988)

An FBI agent teams up with a tracker to pursue a murderer after he vanishes into the mountains and infiltrates a hiking group.

Director:

Roger Spottiswoode

Writers:

Harv Zimmel (story), Harv Zimmel (screenplay)

Stars:

Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger, Kirstie Alley

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sidney Poitier	...	Warren Stantin
Tom Berenger	...	Jonathan Knox
Kirstie Alley	...	Sarah Rennell
Clancy Brown	...	Steve
Richard Masur	...	Norman
Andrew Robinson	...	Harvey
Kevin Scannell	...	Ben
Frederick Coffin	...	Ralph
Michael MacRae	...	Fournier
Robert Lesser	...	Minelli
Milton Selzer	...	Mr. Berger
Les Lannom	...	Sheriff Arnett
Walter Marsh	...	Sam Baker
Frank C. Turner	...	Crilly
Sam Hiona	...	Inspector Hsu (as Samuel Hiona)

Storyline

Sidney Poitier returned to the big screen in this action-thriller, after a decade-long absence. When a cunning murderer vanishes into the rugged mountains of the Pacific Northwest, pursuing FBI agent Warren Stantin (Poitier) must exchange familiar city streets for unknown wilderness trails. Completely out of his element, Stantin is forced to enlist the aid of expert tracker Jonathan Knox (PLATOON'S Tom Berenger). The killer has infiltrated a guided hiking trip led by Knox's girlfriend Sarah (Kirstie Alley, at the height of her Cheers fame). Viewers don't know which of the hikers is the killer, and the tension lasts well into the movie.

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Plot Keywords:

mountain | hiking | wilderness | fbi | pacific northwest | 

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Taglines:

A ruthless killer. A beautiful hostage. Two men follow them into the mountains. One for love. One for revenge.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 February 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mountain Man

Filming Locations:

Buntzen Lake, Anmore, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Gross USA:

$29,300,090

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners III, Century Park Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Knox is carrying a Marlin Model 336 lever action rifle. 35 Remington, 44 Magnum or 444 Marlin were large bore cartridges offered in the 336 and appropriate for someone walking trails in bear country. It is also pictured with a scope, a common modification.

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Goofs

When Stantin crashes through the boxes in the alley in pursuit of Steve, one shot from inside the Caprice shows some sort of mechanical device on the roof of the Jeep.

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Quotes

[as Knox prepares to cross a gorge]
Warren Stantin: What are you doing?
Jonathan Knox: I'm going to get the basket.
Warren Stantin: Oooh, shit!

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Connections

Referenced in The Hunted (2003)

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Soundtracks

I Love A Parade
Lyrics by Ted Koehler
Music by Harold Arlen
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Music

User Reviews

Very good eighties cop thriller

Deadly Pursuit certainly has it's fair share of problems, but as an entertaining little action thriller; it stands up well to criticism, as while some of the dialogue, situations and character drawings don't exactly ring true; the film moves quickly and director Roger Spottiswoode does a good job of ensuring that the film is easy viewing and never becomes boring. Deadly Pursuit is something of a film of two halves; it starts off as a gritty cop thriller, and then mutates into a survivalist themed chase movie. The plot is fairly standard at first, as we witness a man being caught robbing a diamond store. The plot thickens when, after some interrogation from the arresting officers, it turns out that the thief actually owns the store! We then learn that he's stealing the diamonds to pay a kidnapper for the release of his wife. FBI agent Warren Stantin manages to chase the kidnapper down, but he gets away with the diamonds and flees into a forest near Canada; thus meaning that Agent Stantin must chase the killer into the woods, with the help of a rugged local who knows the area.

The film does have a number of problems - sometimes, for example, it seems to just jump from one scene to the next without much in the way of a connection. This does keep things moving, but the film can feel a bit disjointed because of it. Still, the plot flows fairly well and enough different angles are created to keep things interesting. The film features a decent cast, headed up by Sidney Poitier. Poitier's character changes a lot through the film, and while the actor sometimes looks a bit silly, he does seem to manage this well. He is joined by Tom Berenger, who also gives a decent performance in his role, while the rest of the cast is filled out by the likes of Clancy Brown, Kirstie Alley and Andrew Robinson. Perhaps the best thing about this movie is the fact that we don't know who the killer is for so long, which builds suspense - and mystery, and the film also carries off a nice twist little twist with the choice of actors surrounding the killer. Overall, I can't really say that Deadly Pursuit is one of the best films of its type - but it's certainly a very good thriller and I recommend watching it!