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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is supposed to take place in the same universe as the Die Hard franchise, however, some of the supporting characters went on to have different roles in later films, most notably John Amos.

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Goofs

After Blake places Jesse's dead body behind the wheel of the bookmobile, you can clearly see no body behind the wheel as the truck in flames drives off the cliff.

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Quotes

Earl Talbot Blake: I'm gonna do something far worse than kill you. I'm gonna let you live.

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Alternate Versions

For the Indian release, the CBFC removed visuals of hard blow on the groin by Blake in the prison. (When he enters, the prison), dialogue spoken by Blake with your wife's pubic hair, dialogue spoken by Blake 'To fuck your wife, your daughter and dog', 30% fight outside the court particularly reduce killings and visuals of blood, close shots of bare breasts of the girl and the visuals of the nude girl and Nick from the point she goes on top of him till the sequence goes into long shot, visuals of close shots of nude girl and Nick in the bed on the T. V. Screen in the play back and all close and mid shots of nude and bare breasts girls in the club to achieve an 'A' (restricted to adults) certificate. It has remained cut since and never re-submitted for an uncut version.

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Connections

References Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)

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Soundtracks

Chic Mystique
Words and Music by Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards and Princessa
Published by Tommy Jymi Music, Inc.
Admin. by Warner-Tamerlane Music (BMI), Bernard Edward Productions (Admin. by WB Music Corp.) (ASCAP)
Performed by Chic
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

On The Bounce

A strong opening sequence, reminiscent of titles straight from a Hitchcock movie, bodes well and it's Denzel to the max from the opening frames. 'Ricochet' is very much a product of the 80's in its look and sound, and there's a hard edge and some snappy dialog that really pushes the action forward without pulling any of its numerous punches. This is most likely down to the screenplay being penned by Steven de Souza who wrote Die Hard; DH 2; 48 Hours and Another 48 Hours, some of the previous decades' defining films. John Lithgow's performance is suitably deranged, Kevin Pollack provides solid support (nice impression in the early stages). It's a good story, not without a Hitchcockian twist or two, arguably not particularly polished as a final product, but still a barrel load of kitschy '80's fun. Worth a look, especially for Denzel fans.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ricochet

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:

2.39 : 1