Year of the Gun (1991)

Two young Americans, he a journalist and she a photojournalist, experience Red Brigades terrorists close up in Rome, 1978.

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Michael Mewshaw (novel), David Ambrose (screenplay)

Stars:

Andrew McCarthy, Sharon Stone, Valeria Golino

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andrew McCarthy	...	David Raybourne
Valeria Golino	...	Lia
Sharon Stone	...	Alison King
John Pankow	...	Italo Bianchi
Mattia Sbragia	...	Giovanni
George Murcell	...	Pierre Bernier
Lou Castel	...	Round Faced Man
Francesca Prandi	...	Woman Terrorist
Carla Cassola	...	Lena
Pietro Bontempo	...	2nd Man
Luigi Di Fiore	...	1st Terrorist
Roberto Posse	...	Lucio
Thomas Elliot	...	Marco
Darren Kelley	...	Joe Bob (as Darren Modder)
Carol Schneider	...	Mattie

Storyline

David Raybourne is an American journalist covering political news in Italy during the 1970's. He is involved with the Red Brigades when trying to help a friend (Alison King), who photographed them in action and discovers the mafia net is at all levels.

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Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | female nudity | italy | red brigade | politics | 

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Taglines:

From the Director of "Ronin"

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Genres:

Action | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sensuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the fictional novel that David Raybourne (Andrew McCarthy) wrote was "Year of the Gun" - the same as the film's title.

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Goofs

Near end of film, crew person in red coat seen in chrome of driver's rear view mirror just before Lia gets out of the car on the barren hillside before the kidnapped man and woman get out.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: 29th Street/Highlander 2: The Quickening/Billy Bathgate/Year of the Gun (1991)

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Soundtracks

MAJESTIC RIDE
Composed by William Ashford and Robert J. Walsh
Copyright 1989 Screenmusic International (BMI)
The Hollywood Film Library

User Reviews

don't really care about American characters in Italian drama

It's 1978 Rome. Violence is in the air threatened by the revolutionary Red Brigade. American David Raybourne (Andrew McCarthy) returns to write for a small paper and a fictional book about them. His friend Italo Bianchi (John Pankow) is a leftist American lecturer at an university. His girlfriend Lia (Valeria Golino) is the estranged wife of rich and powerful Marco. Photo journalist Alison King (Sharon Stone) is also after the Red Bridgade and sees Raybourne as a possible lead. This is a fictionalized account of events leading to the real kidnapping and murder of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro.

The directing from John Frankenheimer seems inferior or obsolete. The tension needs to be higher. This feels more like a 70's movie. Instead of three lead American characters, I would prefer to see a movie about Italian characters in this Italian drama. I'm not that interested in these Americans although the political intrigue seems compelling. The Americans can always walk away from any danger. It's an extra layer that separates these characters from the intensity of the story.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

1 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Year of the Gun

Filming Locations:

Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$606,046, 3 November 1991

Gross USA:

$1,182,273

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,182,273

Company Credits

Production Co:

Initial Films, J&M Entertainment, Shomedia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1