Ricochet (1991)

A District Attorney is terrorized by the criminal he put away years ago when he was a cop.

Director:

Russell Mulcahy

Writers:

Fred Dekker (story), Menno Meyjes (story)

Stars:

Denzel Washington, John Lithgow, Ice-T

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Nick Styles
John Lithgow	...	Earl Talbot Blake
Ice-T	...	Odessa (as Ice T)
Kevin Pollak	...	Larry Doyle
Lindsay Wagner	...	DA Priscilla Brimleigh
Mary Ellen Trainor	...	Gail Wallens
Josh Evans	...	Kim
Victoria Dillard	...	Alice
John Amos	...	Reverend Styles
John Cothran	...	Councilman Farris (as John Cothran Jr.)
Linda Dona	...	Wanda (as Linda Doná)
Matt Landers	...	Chief Floyd
Lydell M. Cheshier	...	R.C.
Starletta DuPois	...	Mrs. Styles
Sherman Howard	...	Kiley

Storyline

In this action thriller, Denzel Washington plays Nick Styles, the assistant district attorney of L.A. The film opens in his early days as a cop on the L.A.P.D. During a carnival, master criminal Earl Talbot Blake creates a scene after a botched drug deal. Styles and Blake confront each other, during which Blake is wounded by Styles and later sent to prison. Seven years later, Blake escapes from prison during a parole board hearing to carry out his revenge against Styles, and what follows is a violent series of events that destroys Styles' career. This sets the stage for one last bloody duel between Styles and Blake.

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Plot Keywords:

district attorney | escape from prison | tower | african american | empty swimming pool | 

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Taglines:

He's a cop accused of murder. And the only man who knows he's innocent is the killer who framed him.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and sensuality, and for language and drug content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Рикошет

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles City Hall - 200 North Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,831,181, 6 October 1991

Gross USA:

$21,756,163

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,756,163

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), Cinema Plus, Indigo Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Australia for the film's theatrical run, newspaper ads declared that "Ricochet" passed the terror test that "Cape Fear" flunked.

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Goofs

When the lead characters arm wrestle their hands are not in the correct positions - fingers wrap around the lower thumb, not the opponents palm.

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Quotes

Wanda: [mounts and rapes the drugged and tied up Nick Styles despite his objections] See, your little mouth says no, but your little friend says yes.

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Alternate Versions

All UK releases were cut by 5 secs by the BBFC to edit a scene featuring a butterfly knife and to remove a brief shot of the cover of a child porn magazine in line with UK rules on child protection.

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Connections

References The Watts Monster (1976)

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Soundtracks

Next 2 Me
Words and Music by Donald D.
Published by Syndicate Snyper Music (ASCAP)
Performed and Produced by Donald D.
Courtesy of Sire Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Typical Washington Fare, Which Means Interesting

This is a typical Denzel Washington film: well-acted, rough language, a racial theme and an involved story that holds your interest. A lot of his movies fit those categories.

Washington plays a preacher's kid and its nice to see he has such respect for him.So many times, Hollywood portrays fathers and especially clergymen in a bad light. John Lithgow is the villain and is such a crazy over-the-top loon he's fun to watch. There are no lulls in this story, yet the action scenes weren't overdone.

It gets predictable in the end but I like the analogy in the film to the classic movie, "White Heat."

I was sorry to see a few things: once again, white people are all the bigots; Lindsay Wagner, television's nice lady of the past, now using very profane language here and looking hard.

Overall, this sometimes looks like a "B" action film more than a classy one but it's still an interesting crime film that sports a few different angles. It may not be one of Washington's better-known efforts, \but it is still entertaining.