Ransom (1996)

Multi-millionaire Tom Mullen's son is kidnapped, but after initially agreeing to pay the ransom Mullen then decides to use the ransom money as a bounty.

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers:

Cyril Hume (story), Richard Maibaum (story)

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Gary Sinise, Rene Russo

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Tom Mullen
Rene Russo	...	Kate Mullen
Brawley Nolte	...	Sean Mullen
Gary Sinise	...	Det. Jimmy Shaker
Delroy Lindo	...	Agent Lonnie Hawkins
Lili Taylor	...	Maris Conner
Liev Schreiber	...	Clark Barnes
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Cubby Barnes
Evan Handler	...	Miles Roberts
Nancy Ticotin	...	Agent Kimba Welch
Michael Gaston	...	Agent Jack Sickler
Kevin Neil McCready	...	Agent Paul Rhodes
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Wallace
Allen Bernstein	...	Bob Stone
José Zúñiga	...	David Torres (as Jose Zuniga)

Storyline

Tom Mullen is a millionaire, he built his fortune by working hard. Along the way he learned how to play the game. He has a great family. One day his son is kidnapped. He is willing to pay the ransom but decides to call in the FBI, who manages to go into his home secretly. When he goes to make the drop something goes wrong. The kidnapper calls him again and reschedules it. On the way Mullen decides not to go and appears on TV saying that the ransom he was going to give to the kidnapper is now a bounty on the kidnapper.

---

Plot Keywords:

ankle holster | united states of america | usa | united states | ransom | 

---

Taglines:

A Ron Howard film

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic, bloody violence and strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gary Sinise will play another similar role of a rogue cop, one year later in Brian De Palma's Snake Eyes.

---

Goofs

Visible seam lines on the top of Shaker's prop gun when he points it at Maris.

---

Quotes

Det. Jimmy Shaker: [talking on the radio as they are both driving] You a movie fan, Tom? Ever seen that movie, The Time Machine?
Tom Mullen: No.
Det. Jimmy Shaker: It's the land of the future, right? There's only two kinds of people in the world now, the Morlocks and the Eloi.
Tom Mullen: Okay.
Det. Jimmy Shaker: The Eloi, they live above ground... they wear togas, they're all blond, they eat grapes and shit like that. It's like the garden of Eden out there, I mean basically everybody just plays around.
Tom Mullen: How do I get my boy back?
Det. Jimmy Shaker: The Morlocks, they live underground, all right? Big ...
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

The opening Touchstone Pictures logo is in black and white.

---

Alternate Versions

The laserdisc contains 18 minutes not seen in the theatres.

---

Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Phone Conversation Scenes (2014)

---

Soundtracks

Squirrels
Written, Produced, and Performed by Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Corgan appears courtesy Virgin Records USA

User Reviews

Definitely worth your time

After being reminded how good an actor Mel Gibson can be in Expendables 3, I have decided to revisit some of his earlier work.

This time around i decided to watch 1996's Ransom.

I saw this in the cinema when it was released, but for some reason I have never revisited it. And I had totally forgotten how good this movie is!!

All the cast are superb. I cannot praise them highly enough here. Gibson who has contributed some tough fisted, hard as nails characters over the years is perfect as the vulnerable panic stricken father. Re teaming with Gibson after Lethal Weapon 3 is Rene Russo who is excellent as the desperate mother. Gary Sinese, Delroy Lindo, Donnie Whalberg, Liev Shrieber and Paul Guilfoyle are all solid support. There is not one weak link in the cast

Ron Howard has directed a movie that is a highly professional piece of work, swift and suspenseful, with a good sense of pace and atmosphere it makes for perfect entertainment.

Gibson is truly a great actor, and hopefully he can sort his personal problems and demons out, because as we all know Hollywood loves comebacks.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ransom

Filming Locations:

Bergen County, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$34,216,088, 10 November 1996

Gross USA:

$136,492,681

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$309,492,681

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Ransom Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min 139 min (special edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1