Bullseye! (1990)

Sir Roger Moore and Sir Michael Caine play dual roles in this off-beat and highly silly caper, a pair of small time conmen, and a partnership of nuclear physicists. As conmen, they use ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Leslie Bricusse (story), Michael Winner (story)

Stars:

Michael Caine, Roger Moore, Sally Kirkland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Caine	...	Sidney Lipton / Doctor Hicklar
Roger Moore	...	Gerald Bradley-Smith / Sir John Bavistock
Sally Kirkland	...	Willie
Deborah Moore	...	Flo Fleming (as Deborah Barrymore)
Lee Patterson	...	Darrell Hyde
Mark Burns	...	Nigel Holden
Derren Nesbitt	...	Inspector Grosse
Deborah Leng	...	Francesca
Christopher Adamson	...	Death's Head
Steffanie Pitt	...	Donna Dutch
Eddie Yeoh	...	Korean Bidder
Raymond Johnson	...	Nigerian Bidder
Nadio Fortune	...	Italian Bidder
Amir M. Korangy	...	Iranian Bidder
Angus MacKay	...	Rev. Simkin

Storyline

Sir Roger Moore and Sir Michael Caine play dual roles in this off-beat and highly silly caper, a pair of small time conmen, and a partnership of nuclear physicists. As conmen, they use their uncanny resemblance to the high-living scientists to con their way to the scientists' safe deposit boxes, but in doing so, become entangled in a shady world of spies and international intrigue.

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Plot Keywords:

independent film | look alike | dual role | slapstick comedy | punctuation in title | 

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Taglines:

They were the world's greatest conmen... almost.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final scenes had the smallest ever crew on a major movie. Writer and director Michael Winner operated the camera, cameraman David Wynn-Jones held the reflector. John Cleese moonlighted as sound man, but as he was performing at the same time (the sound recorder was concealed in a book he carried), he did not count as crew.

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Goofs

When the train worker is shot you can clearly see that it was a dummy.

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Quotes

Lipton: We're in deadly danger!
Garald Bradley-Smith: You're in deadly danger. Bavistock has not escaped.
Lipton: You think you're so hard, don't you.
Garald Bradley-Smith: I'll let Francesca be the judge of that.

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Crazy Credits

Appearing without the permission of his mother: John Cleese as the man on the beach in Barbados who looks like John Cleese.

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Connections

References A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

User Reviews

Missed the bullseye!

Pairing Roger Moore and Michael Caine must have thought to be a great Idea. Probably inspired by The Man Who Would be King, where Caine was paired with another ex-Bond, Sean Connery. Bullseye didn't have benefit of larger scale epic-like canvass of TMWWBK, as it didn't want itself to be taken seriously. Did Bullseye work?

Yes and No (God, we all hate this kind of answer). No, because most of the time, the jokes fall flat on the face. Yes, because Caine and Moore (as usual) are always great to watch. They play a pair of conmen and a pair of treacherous scientists. Keep an eye on Moore, always known as a great ad-libber. Unfortunately only this two guys are the only reasons to watch the movie.

Bullseye takes the premise of impersonating (this time two of them) and adds twist and turn, moving from a caper flick to espionage. While it tries hard to be a comedy, most of the time you see some humourless farce in an inconsistent progress. I quickly lost interest in the story during the first half an hour and just sat through the rest watching the dynamic duo of England. Being a Bond fan, I was especially delighted to see Moore playing off his Bond persona, even throwing lines like, `For England'. Ring a bell, Bond-fans?

There is Sally Kirkland, who provides some personal agenda to the ageing conmen, while also providing a bit of flesh here and there. She looks positively old and attractive at the same time. But her character does nothing much but to be in between Moore and Caine, and helping them with their con. That's all.

I checked out Michael Winner's (the director) past record, and was surprised to note that he directed the more seroius films like the Death Wish films and The Big Sleep (a supposedly sequel of Farewell, My Lovely). While the former was successful in its own way, the latter killed nostalgic-noir delight began by Farewell, My lovely. He later went on to direct many bombs, and regarded generally as a horrible director. Wonder how he managed to find job for so long. It is so evident in this film. Whether it's him, the script or his crew, the movie failed to amuse many at that time; it will still fail to amuse many now. Bullseye is something the film couldn't achieve.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bullseye - Der wahnwitzige Diamanten Coup

Filming Locations:

Inveraray Castle, Inveraray, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

21st Century Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1