The facts got in the way
Added 11/19/2008
Italy 1978: American journalist David Raybourne (Andrew McCarthy) moves to Italy with the intention of writing a political thriller about the Red Brigade, a group of left-wing radicals who were terrorizing Italy at the time. Photojournalist Alison King (Sharon Stone), who also wants to produce a book on the Red Brigade, albeit a non-fiction one, accidentally mistakes Raybourne's novel for a work of fact and ultimately causes the Red Brigade to believe that their deepest secrets are about to be exposed, leading to Raybourne and King being forced to flee for their lives.
"The Year of the Gun" is a reasonably entertaining political thriller/action film that is hampered by its desire to integrate historical facts into its storyline. Being neither Italian nor alive in the 1970's, I was unfamiliar with the historical background to "The Year of the Gun" prior to sitting down to watch it. This made the first half hour or so of this film a little bit difficult for me to follow, but once I started to catch on to what was going on, I quite enjoyed this film and found myself comparing it favourably to other political thrillers that I had seen, such as "The Manchurian Candidate", which was also directed by John Frankenheimer, the director of this film. Unfortunately, in the end, "The Year of the Gun" is no "Manchurian Candidate".
"The Year of the Gun" falls down by wanting to include the kidnapping of president Aldo Moro into its plot. It is a historical fact that Aldo Moro was kidnapped and ultimately murdered by the Red Brigade, something which the writers of this film couldn't change. Although a kidnapping makes for exciting viewing, the facts rule out Moro being saved by our heroes, making for a rather disappointing ending to this film. Another drawback is that throughout this film there are numerous scenes where characters converse in Italian with no subtitles, with these scenes becoming longer and more frequent as the film progresses. I can assure you that even two minutes of hearing people speak in a language that you can't understand is enough to make you lose interest in what you are watching. This is a well made film and everyone involved in it seems to be trying very hard to make it work (and both Stone and McCarthy turn in good performances), but in the end, the short comings make this a film that I will probably never revisit, rather than a classic like "The Manchurian Candidate".
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One of Frankenheimer's better later films - but a frustrating DVD
Added 2/15/2008
The latter years of John Frankenheimer's career were mostly a downward spiral with only occasional rare steps in the right direction, but Year of the Gun is certainly one of his better late entries thanks to a terrific premise. A less annoying than usual Andrew McCarthy is an American writer in Rome secretly working on a Day of the Jackal-style novel about a Red Brigade plot to kidnap Aldo Moro, only to end up in their bad books in a very big way when it turns out to be a virtual blueprint for the real-life crime they're on the verge of committing. Sharon Stone, in the best of her pre-Basic Instinct films, plays the pushy freelance photo-journalist after his story who gets down to her trademark horizontal gymnastics (sans icepick this time) for good measure, while no-one else is what they seem to be.
The plot creates its own momentum, leaving Frankenheimer free to evoke the chaotic Italian political landscape and the shocking violence of the Red Brigade's outrages in a series of convincing set-pieces. The action is well-handled - especially a bank getaway and a prolonged chase sequence - the story engrossing and for once the ending catches you off-guard. Not up to the standard of Frankenheimer's earlier classics, this is still a superior thriller, though the lack of English subtitles for the Italian dialogue is a bit frustrating - they're not to be found on the UK DVD or the widescreen German DVD (which cuts one sex scene from the US and UK versions but includes it as a deleted scene) either.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Decent film, awful DVD
Added 2/14/2007
This is a moderately entertaining late work from John Frankenheimer. The basic premise - a young journalist writes a novel about the Red Brigade in 1970's Italy, only to have it stolen and mistaken for the truth, causing him and his friends to be hunted for murder - is strong. The film itself is hampered by an obviously low budget and a lackluster leading man, though Stone and Golino are quite good. Even with schlocky stuff like this, Frankenheimer's talent with the camera and his actors shines through.
The DVD, however, is a complete disaster. Many scenes are in Italian, but Sony has left off the original subtitles, as another reviewer mentioned. Scenes going on for five minutes at a stretch become incomprehensible. In addition, though the case says the film is in 1.66:1 widescreen, it is actually fullscreen.
The film is not a masterpiece by any means, but it deserved better treatment than this.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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The Movie is Better than the Book
Added 3/3/2004
This is one of those occasions where the film beats the book. The greatest enemy of this movie has nothing to do with the film. It has to do with the fact that how many viewers will care enough about Italy and its communist 70's problems. Dialogue is dialogue unless its written by Ed Wood. The twists in the plot are enough to keep you watching. And you may even be surprised. Polical films require the viewer to accept some amazing coincidences, the kind of coincidences that occurred in "The Day of the Jacket," which is referred to in this film also. The film didn't and wouldn't win an award, and who cares who the director is. The novel was thin also, but again, there is no international intrigue, just an American caught in a duplicious situation.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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This DVD does not have english subtitles for the Italian dialogue. Some minor plot points are not clearly expressed because of this (Unless of course you are fluent in Italian). The old VHS versions have the english translations.
The film itself suffers from its flaws. The plot is a bit convoluted but still acceptable. Andrew McCarthy, John Pankow, and Sharon Stone all deliver somewhat lifeless performances. The already bland script is diminished by the poor delivery from the actors, and some questionable editing. The cinematography vacillates between bland and wonderful.
Despite all of its problems, I still manage to like this film. It is a must for any Frankenheimer devotee, also for any admirer of the wonderful Valeria Golino.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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The facts got in the way
Added 11/19/2008
Italy 1978: American journalist David Raybourne (Andrew McCarthy) moves to Italy with the intention of writing a political thriller about the Red Brigade, a group of left-wing radicals who were terrorizing Italy at the time. Photojournalist Alison King (Sharon Stone), who also wants to produce a book on the Red Brigade, albeit a non-fiction one, accidentally mistakes Raybourne's novel for a work of fact and ultimately causes the Red Brigade to believe that their deepest secrets are about to be exposed, leading to Raybourne and King being forced to flee for their lives.
"The Year of the Gun" is a reasonably entertaining political thriller/action film that is hampered by its desire to integrate historical facts into its storyline. Being neither Italian nor alive in the 1970's, I was unfamiliar with the historical background to "The Year of the Gun" prior to sitting down to watch it. This made the first half hour or so of this film a little bit difficult for me to follow, but once I started to catch on to what was going on, I quite enjoyed this film and found myself comparing it favourably to other political thrillers that I had seen, such as "The Manchurian Candidate", which was also directed by John Frankenheimer, the director of this film. Unfortunately, in the end, "The Year of the Gun" is no "Manchurian Candidate".
"The Year of the Gun" falls down by wanting to include the kidnapping of president Aldo Moro into its plot. It is a historical fact that Aldo Moro was kidnapped and ultimately murdered by the Red Brigade, something which the writers of this film couldn't change. Although a kidnapping makes for exciting viewing, the facts rule out Moro being saved by our heroes, making for a rather disappointing ending to this film. Another drawback is that throughout this film there are numerous scenes where characters converse in Italian with no subtitles, with these scenes becoming longer and more frequent as the film progresses. I can assure you that even two minutes of hearing people speak in a language that you can't understand is enough to make you lose interest in what you are watching. This is a well made film and everyone involved in it seems to be trying very hard to make it work (and both Stone and McCarthy turn in good performances), but in the end, the short comings make this a film that I will probably never revisit, rather than a classic like "The Manchurian Candidate".
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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One of Frankenheimer's better later films - but a frustrating DVD
Added 2/15/2008
The latter years of John Frankenheimer's career were mostly a downward spiral with only occasional rare steps in the right direction, but Year of the Gun is certainly one of his better late entries thanks to a terrific premise. A less annoying than usual Andrew McCarthy is an American writer in Rome secretly working on a Day of the Jackal-style novel about a Red Brigade plot to kidnap Aldo Moro, only to end up in their bad books in a very big way when it turns out to be a virtual blueprint for the real-life crime they're on the verge of committing. Sharon Stone, in the best of her pre-Basic Instinct films, plays the pushy freelance photo-journalist after his story who gets down to her trademark horizontal gymnastics (sans icepick this time) for good measure, while no-one else is what they seem to be.
The plot creates its own momentum, leaving Frankenheimer free to evoke the chaotic Italian political landscape and the shocking violence of the Red Brigade's outrages in a series of convincing set-pieces. The action is well-handled - especially a bank getaway and a prolonged chase sequence - the story engrossing and for once the ending catches you off-guard. Not up to the standard of Frankenheimer's earlier classics, this is still a superior thriller, though the lack of English subtitles for the Italian dialogue is a bit frustrating - they're not to be found on the UK DVD or the widescreen German DVD (which cuts one sex scene from the US and UK versions but includes it as a deleted scene) either.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Decent film, awful DVD
Added 2/14/2007
This is a moderately entertaining late work from John Frankenheimer. The basic premise - a young journalist writes a novel about the Red Brigade in 1970's Italy, only to have it stolen and mistaken for the truth, causing him and his friends to be hunted for murder - is strong. The film itself is hampered by an obviously low budget and a lackluster leading man, though Stone and Golino are quite good. Even with schlocky stuff like this, Frankenheimer's talent with the camera and his actors shines through.
The DVD, however, is a complete disaster. Many scenes are in Italian, but Sony has left off the original subtitles, as another reviewer mentioned. Scenes going on for five minutes at a stretch become incomprehensible. In addition, though the case says the film is in 1.66:1 widescreen, it is actually fullscreen.
The film is not a masterpiece by any means, but it deserved better treatment than this.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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