Overly long and often aimless hostage story with lots of funky camera angles that try to convey confusion -- though one need not look much farther than the plot for that. Good performances by McGoohan & Kanner (who worked together on McGoohan's THE PRISONER), but overall, the poor plot drags it down.
12 Reviews
Dem Bones Dem Bones
Moor-Larkin7 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Where does one start with a movie like this? Alexis Kanner put together a story, locations and a cast that included the ex-First lady of Canada and Patrick McGoohan. Not content with this he then used some highly stylised sound-mixing techniques combined with unusual camera angles that can be quite disconcerting.
McGoohan was reportedly personally seduced into this movie by his protégé from the TV series 'The Prisoner'. Margaret Trudeau makes one of her few film acting appearances as McGoohan's wife. Kanner had evidently put huge efforts into creating what became, due to his untimely death, something of a life's filmic Opus.
We are introduced to McGoohan as a hugely successful, but jaded and dissolute, radio phone-in host. He evidently is convinced he has 'sold his soul' to the radio station, especially as he has also married the station-owners daughter. His cynicism is evident when he is 'picked up' by Andrea Marcovici, who bears a curious resemblance to his wife. He is then taken prisoner in his studio and joined by Kanner who has become obsessed with gaining the freedom of a friend unfairly jailed. At the same time the judge responsible for that jailing has been kidnapped as a secondary hostage. Kanner uses McGoohan's radio show as a method of publicising the unfairness of the case.
This basic story is inter-cut with dramatic scenes of SAS-style troops surrounding the studio building and panoramic scenes of a snow-bound Canadian city. Kanner must have put huge efforts into the choreography of all these peripheral events. The judge is taken to a remote cabin where he dies of a stress-induced heart attack. When this event is realised McGoohan loses his 'sophisticated cool' and attempts to strangle Kanner, furious at the unnecessary death. He is prevented from doing so by the evidently psychopathic beauty, Markovici.
McGoohan's own family are held hostage but he appears curiously unmoved about it. I am torn as to whether this is because he feels his behaviour towards them means he has no right to grieve or whether he steadfastly refuses to be held hostage by his captors in any sense other than the physical. Trudeau has her own sub-plot battling against the two terrorists. One is plainly wacko whilst the other quickly comes to regret imprisoning Trudeau and her slightly autistic child. Ultimately they are set free by him. As a consequence he is clubbed to death with a telephone by his partner, in a grisly scene.
Kanner took a lot on in the making of this film, possibly too much. However I feel the fundamental weakness that he never addresses, perhaps because of the huge task he set himself, is that the fictional case he and his colleagues were seeking to protest was simply not a strong enough one. It was difficult to see why eight people could become so angry about what was basically a traffic accident. As this forms the crux of the motivation for the whole story it creates a widening hole in the plot credibility as the film progresses. Accepting that and ignoring it still leaves a lot to be enjoyed. Kanner has one superb moment where the 'SAS' troops have become bored and one puts his face-mask on backwards and capers about. The Police chief is well played but the radio-station owner is not so convincing. It would have been nice to have had more of the verbal sparring in the confines of the studio but Kanner evidently had to sacrifice that to allow for the Police Station scenes and the more action-driven SAS sequences to take place.
McGoohan's personal friendship with Kanner is evidenced by McGoohan's permitting old Danger Man pictures of him to be used as scenery, plus the use of several evident in-jokes. Their shared-line rendition of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' has all the hallmarks of something they knocked up between them in a scripting session. As is his habit, McGoohan raises the neck-hairs on a couple of occasions. One such moment is when he grabs the shotgun in the hands of Markovici, pulling it to his chest, challenging her to pull the trigger, all without speaking a word.
The film was originally released in 1978, I think, in Canada and some of the US but did not reach Britain until the Eighties with Kanner having to do much of the publicity work himself, three years after making the movie!
McGoohan was reportedly personally seduced into this movie by his protégé from the TV series 'The Prisoner'. Margaret Trudeau makes one of her few film acting appearances as McGoohan's wife. Kanner had evidently put huge efforts into creating what became, due to his untimely death, something of a life's filmic Opus.
We are introduced to McGoohan as a hugely successful, but jaded and dissolute, radio phone-in host. He evidently is convinced he has 'sold his soul' to the radio station, especially as he has also married the station-owners daughter. His cynicism is evident when he is 'picked up' by Andrea Marcovici, who bears a curious resemblance to his wife. He is then taken prisoner in his studio and joined by Kanner who has become obsessed with gaining the freedom of a friend unfairly jailed. At the same time the judge responsible for that jailing has been kidnapped as a secondary hostage. Kanner uses McGoohan's radio show as a method of publicising the unfairness of the case.
This basic story is inter-cut with dramatic scenes of SAS-style troops surrounding the studio building and panoramic scenes of a snow-bound Canadian city. Kanner must have put huge efforts into the choreography of all these peripheral events. The judge is taken to a remote cabin where he dies of a stress-induced heart attack. When this event is realised McGoohan loses his 'sophisticated cool' and attempts to strangle Kanner, furious at the unnecessary death. He is prevented from doing so by the evidently psychopathic beauty, Markovici.
McGoohan's own family are held hostage but he appears curiously unmoved about it. I am torn as to whether this is because he feels his behaviour towards them means he has no right to grieve or whether he steadfastly refuses to be held hostage by his captors in any sense other than the physical. Trudeau has her own sub-plot battling against the two terrorists. One is plainly wacko whilst the other quickly comes to regret imprisoning Trudeau and her slightly autistic child. Ultimately they are set free by him. As a consequence he is clubbed to death with a telephone by his partner, in a grisly scene.
Kanner took a lot on in the making of this film, possibly too much. However I feel the fundamental weakness that he never addresses, perhaps because of the huge task he set himself, is that the fictional case he and his colleagues were seeking to protest was simply not a strong enough one. It was difficult to see why eight people could become so angry about what was basically a traffic accident. As this forms the crux of the motivation for the whole story it creates a widening hole in the plot credibility as the film progresses. Accepting that and ignoring it still leaves a lot to be enjoyed. Kanner has one superb moment where the 'SAS' troops have become bored and one puts his face-mask on backwards and capers about. The Police chief is well played but the radio-station owner is not so convincing. It would have been nice to have had more of the verbal sparring in the confines of the studio but Kanner evidently had to sacrifice that to allow for the Police Station scenes and the more action-driven SAS sequences to take place.
McGoohan's personal friendship with Kanner is evidenced by McGoohan's permitting old Danger Man pictures of him to be used as scenery, plus the use of several evident in-jokes. Their shared-line rendition of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' has all the hallmarks of something they knocked up between them in a scripting session. As is his habit, McGoohan raises the neck-hairs on a couple of occasions. One such moment is when he grabs the shotgun in the hands of Markovici, pulling it to his chest, challenging her to pull the trigger, all without speaking a word.
The film was originally released in 1978, I think, in Canada and some of the US but did not reach Britain until the Eighties with Kanner having to do much of the publicity work himself, three years after making the movie!
Alexis Kanner's Flawed Masterpiece
JasonDanielBaker29 November 2016
Womanizing, boozing talk radio show host John Kingsley (Patrick McGoohan) has a large and rapidly expanding audience for his program on Montreal-based station JXYL. His condescending, bloody-minded persona irritates but also captivates listeners. Depending on the issue or the guest or the caller and each respective listener's views Kingsley can become the hero or the villain during his discussions which can often be dismissed as rants. He routinely humiliates callers and guests in debates. He can put them on air and cut them off as he pleases.
In his forum he is a towering presence and authority figure. It gives him the status of celebrity in public which he has used to marry into money and curry favor with the local elite. A Britisher, he never quite found his niche until he emigrated to Canada. The very unremarkable way this seemingly remarkable man conducts himself personally is galling for many. The most coherently Canadian aspect of the narrative is how alienated everyday Montrealers felt from the wealthy and powerful dwelling in the high-end Westmount area of the city.
At the end of his Christmas eve show during which his friend Judge McManus (Budd Knapp) appeared as guest, the two of them then attend the JXYL gala Christmas party. Suddenly a series of benign-seeming events serve to situate different people in the grasp of those with malevolent intent. Lured in a drunken state back to the studio where he broadcasts his show by a seductive woman (Andrea Marcovicci), he finds a shotgun pointed at him and it is made clear that her terrorist associates also have abducted Judge McManus and are holding Kingley's Westmount socialite wife (Margaret Trudeau) and child (Jean-Pierre Brown) in a separate location where they have a bomb. They demand air-time on his next show.
Kingsley is, at first, understandably quite blindsided by the group of people who forcibly disrupt his life and that of those he loves. But his reaction to the situation at various times during the hours that follow verges on the bizarre. He can't help but prod his captors in the time leading up to the show and very much during it. Pushing people's buttons is what he does and he is extremely effective at it whether the situation calls for it or not. That dialectic which should be explosive lingers a little too gently through the night at the studio until the show begins the next morning.
Lucas Miller (Alexis Kanner), a university lecturer who somehow (Never adequately explained and far from evident) decided to become the leader of a terrorist group has a bone to pick with the justice system and a court case that he wants to use Kingsley's show to retry. Once the broadcast begins it becomes less than clear at times whether Miller is using Kingsley as effectively as Kingsley is using him.
It becomes even less clear why people (At least six of them from what we see and hear) would follow Miller in terrorist acts so highly illegal that their lives as they knew them would certainly be over at the conclusion. The more we know about the court case the terrorists say they are so motivated by, the less it seems like anything.
The on-screen chemistry between longtime friends McGoohan and Kanner used to such great effect on episodes of The Prisoner (1967-68) is scarcely evident in their scenes together in this production. Whilst Kanner adapted the screenplay he never got a handle on portraying terrorist ring-leader Miller. Most of his performance appears to convey disconcerted bewilderment at how things unfold and in a way which deflates much of the tension needed for it to be effective. It might have been better if it had been a stage play particularly since Kanner's performance is one which looks more like it belongs on a stage.
As a film it doesn't quite work even though there are some entertaining moments. Director/producer/cinematographer Alexis Kanner (Purportedly on large doses of pills and Scotch during filming) took on far too much himself. The eccentric or perhaps even self-indulgent manner in which this film was shot and cut (Kanner was in the editing room with it in post-production for a couple of years - Shot in 1977, it wasn't released until 1981) goes along with the eccentric or perhaps even self-indulgent manner in which it was written and acted.
McGoohan is effective throughout as is Marcovicci as are veteran Canadian actors August Schellenberg and Frank Moore. Margaret Trudeau, the wife of Pierre Elliott Trudeau - then Prime Minister of Canada, somehow found herself cast in this much to the dismay of McGoohan who loathed her and her attempts at a performance (which most would agree came up lacking). This was around the time Mrs. Trudeau was hanging out with the Rolling Stones, prowling Studio 54 and doing various other things to embarrass the much older man she had married who was still trying to run the country.
Perhaps more puzzling casting is Robin Spry portraying a terrorist bomber. Spry is known for doing almost everything BUT acting in Canada's film industry.
Whilst it bears superficial similarities to the 1988 film Talk Radio for some bizarre reason Kanner felt that the 1988 film Die Hard was far more similar to the point where he unsuccessfully sought legal damages for copyright infringement. Of course neither Die Hard nor Talk Radio are taken from Kings and Desperate Men in any obvious, and certainly not any actionable way.
It remains one of the scant few contributions Alexis Kanner was able to make to Canada's domestic film industry. His gifts were not writing or directing or cinematography. He couldn't be happy just being an actor who triumphed in character roles and as anti-heroes in counterculture productions. There was so much more he could have done if he had made better choices.
In his forum he is a towering presence and authority figure. It gives him the status of celebrity in public which he has used to marry into money and curry favor with the local elite. A Britisher, he never quite found his niche until he emigrated to Canada. The very unremarkable way this seemingly remarkable man conducts himself personally is galling for many. The most coherently Canadian aspect of the narrative is how alienated everyday Montrealers felt from the wealthy and powerful dwelling in the high-end Westmount area of the city.
At the end of his Christmas eve show during which his friend Judge McManus (Budd Knapp) appeared as guest, the two of them then attend the JXYL gala Christmas party. Suddenly a series of benign-seeming events serve to situate different people in the grasp of those with malevolent intent. Lured in a drunken state back to the studio where he broadcasts his show by a seductive woman (Andrea Marcovicci), he finds a shotgun pointed at him and it is made clear that her terrorist associates also have abducted Judge McManus and are holding Kingley's Westmount socialite wife (Margaret Trudeau) and child (Jean-Pierre Brown) in a separate location where they have a bomb. They demand air-time on his next show.
Kingsley is, at first, understandably quite blindsided by the group of people who forcibly disrupt his life and that of those he loves. But his reaction to the situation at various times during the hours that follow verges on the bizarre. He can't help but prod his captors in the time leading up to the show and very much during it. Pushing people's buttons is what he does and he is extremely effective at it whether the situation calls for it or not. That dialectic which should be explosive lingers a little too gently through the night at the studio until the show begins the next morning.
Lucas Miller (Alexis Kanner), a university lecturer who somehow (Never adequately explained and far from evident) decided to become the leader of a terrorist group has a bone to pick with the justice system and a court case that he wants to use Kingsley's show to retry. Once the broadcast begins it becomes less than clear at times whether Miller is using Kingsley as effectively as Kingsley is using him.
It becomes even less clear why people (At least six of them from what we see and hear) would follow Miller in terrorist acts so highly illegal that their lives as they knew them would certainly be over at the conclusion. The more we know about the court case the terrorists say they are so motivated by, the less it seems like anything.
The on-screen chemistry between longtime friends McGoohan and Kanner used to such great effect on episodes of The Prisoner (1967-68) is scarcely evident in their scenes together in this production. Whilst Kanner adapted the screenplay he never got a handle on portraying terrorist ring-leader Miller. Most of his performance appears to convey disconcerted bewilderment at how things unfold and in a way which deflates much of the tension needed for it to be effective. It might have been better if it had been a stage play particularly since Kanner's performance is one which looks more like it belongs on a stage.
As a film it doesn't quite work even though there are some entertaining moments. Director/producer/cinematographer Alexis Kanner (Purportedly on large doses of pills and Scotch during filming) took on far too much himself. The eccentric or perhaps even self-indulgent manner in which this film was shot and cut (Kanner was in the editing room with it in post-production for a couple of years - Shot in 1977, it wasn't released until 1981) goes along with the eccentric or perhaps even self-indulgent manner in which it was written and acted.
McGoohan is effective throughout as is Marcovicci as are veteran Canadian actors August Schellenberg and Frank Moore. Margaret Trudeau, the wife of Pierre Elliott Trudeau - then Prime Minister of Canada, somehow found herself cast in this much to the dismay of McGoohan who loathed her and her attempts at a performance (which most would agree came up lacking). This was around the time Mrs. Trudeau was hanging out with the Rolling Stones, prowling Studio 54 and doing various other things to embarrass the much older man she had married who was still trying to run the country.
Perhaps more puzzling casting is Robin Spry portraying a terrorist bomber. Spry is known for doing almost everything BUT acting in Canada's film industry.
Whilst it bears superficial similarities to the 1988 film Talk Radio for some bizarre reason Kanner felt that the 1988 film Die Hard was far more similar to the point where he unsuccessfully sought legal damages for copyright infringement. Of course neither Die Hard nor Talk Radio are taken from Kings and Desperate Men in any obvious, and certainly not any actionable way.
It remains one of the scant few contributions Alexis Kanner was able to make to Canada's domestic film industry. His gifts were not writing or directing or cinematography. He couldn't be happy just being an actor who triumphed in character roles and as anti-heroes in counterculture productions. There was so much more he could have done if he had made better choices.
A pretty bad movie
showgirl9 October 2000
I saw this movie, hoping to expect something fairly decent, since Patrick McGoohan was the star. How disappointed I was. It was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Patrick McGoohan totally overacts, and that's just one of the many things that ruins this movie. His overacting sometimes got a little embarassing to watch.
Many conversations going on at the same time and weird camera angles also make this movie hard to watch. And it was overly long. I never thought it was going to end.
If you're a Patrick McGoohan fan, you should see it just because he's in it. That's why I saw it. But I'll never watch it again. I could never sit through this movie one more time.
Many conversations going on at the same time and weird camera angles also make this movie hard to watch. And it was overly long. I never thought it was going to end.
If you're a Patrick McGoohan fan, you should see it just because he's in it. That's why I saw it. But I'll never watch it again. I could never sit through this movie one more time.
Totally unacceptable from any angle...
merklekranz22 September 2008
Despite the presence of the usually fascinating Patrick McGoohan, "Kings and Desperate Men" is almost a total failure. From a plot standpoint, the elaborate hostage taking scheme over a comrade's 15 year sentence for vehicular homicide seems unlikely at best and totally unbelievable at worst. The relationship of the hostage takers to the imprisoned criminal is never explained, and a who cares attitude permeates the film. From a technical standpoint, things are even worse. Long segments of dialog are incomprehensible, and the camera-work could only be described as annoying. What you get is a boring movie that will be a form of punishment for almost everyone. - MERK
One of the most underrated films of all time.
kremer56 August 2003
Warning: Spoilers
I cannot fathom the utter disdain heaped upon this ultimately important film. I was outraged upon seeing the Internet Movie Database rating of 3.2. Why? KINGS AND DESPERATE MEN is not, by any means, light entertainment or a mindless thriller. It requires the viewer to privately observe our own causes in relation to the ignorance of the masses. It successfully personifies existentialist thought, where the crusaders try to rationalize an irrational world, and to no avail. The masses will continue to turn a deaf ear until something else strikes their fancy, all within a society based solely upon outward appearance.
Perhaps the other reviewers watched the film because of Patrick McGoohan and Alexis Kanner being reunited after THE PRISONER. Again, this film is, by no means at all, light entertainment and cannot be seen just on the surface of a light thriller. Why this film has gone unrecognized for so many years, I do not understand. Only one mainstream critic, by name Charles Champlin, could identify with it. Leonard Maltin dislikes cinema verité in the first place (as I have seen in so many of his reviews of John Cassavetes films) to pass an objective rating on a verité work such as this. The sound editing is flawless in portraying a film of patrons fully willing to die for a cause. The cinematography chillingly portrays the icy landscape of a Montreal winter, and the graininess of it all adds so much atmosphere. All of these devices suit the film to a tee.
Most of all, this film tells a noble story, accented by a cynical protagonist who seems oblivious to the danger he is in. Patrick McGoohan was excellent and, regardless of what you read in Maltin, he did not overact at all. If I had power in Hollywood, I would reissue this film, just so it would gain wider recognition. But, as portrayed in the film, the masses will turn a deaf ear and the film will perhaps never get a just reception.
**SPOILER ALERT**
The camera captures December 23rd in Montreal. Traffic is deplorable and people are rushing through the streets. And over everything is the voice of radio station JXYL. "Englishman's Englishman" radio jockey John Kingsley (Patrick McGoohan) is interviewing a judge who has recently passed down a controversial sentence to a man for vehicular homicide, the victim being a policeman. All of this is intercut with snide, sharp wisecracks of a group of people in a small car. Following this, the judge is kidnapped, Kingsley's wife and son are held hostage in their apartment and Kingsley himself is held at gunpoint in his studio and told he must let their leader, history professor Lucas Miller (director Alexis Kanner). What follows is sharply edited filled with crisp dialogue and a few scenes of suspense for good measure (e.g. Kingsley waiting for his captors to dose off so he can fetch one of their guns). The "re-trial" goes on the air and their plan starts to go awry.
This film is effective to the final fade-out. Even the end credits are pithy. The streaming images of Christianity (i.e. shots of churches, a child singing hymns and Miller and Kingsley singing 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen') are particularly potent.
You cannot watch this film once and leave with the full picture. I have watched it five times and still catch little nuances with each viewing. For those of you who "didn't get it," try again. For those of you who find this worse than a hangover, keep on drinking.
Perhaps the other reviewers watched the film because of Patrick McGoohan and Alexis Kanner being reunited after THE PRISONER. Again, this film is, by no means at all, light entertainment and cannot be seen just on the surface of a light thriller. Why this film has gone unrecognized for so many years, I do not understand. Only one mainstream critic, by name Charles Champlin, could identify with it. Leonard Maltin dislikes cinema verité in the first place (as I have seen in so many of his reviews of John Cassavetes films) to pass an objective rating on a verité work such as this. The sound editing is flawless in portraying a film of patrons fully willing to die for a cause. The cinematography chillingly portrays the icy landscape of a Montreal winter, and the graininess of it all adds so much atmosphere. All of these devices suit the film to a tee.
Most of all, this film tells a noble story, accented by a cynical protagonist who seems oblivious to the danger he is in. Patrick McGoohan was excellent and, regardless of what you read in Maltin, he did not overact at all. If I had power in Hollywood, I would reissue this film, just so it would gain wider recognition. But, as portrayed in the film, the masses will turn a deaf ear and the film will perhaps never get a just reception.
**SPOILER ALERT**
The camera captures December 23rd in Montreal. Traffic is deplorable and people are rushing through the streets. And over everything is the voice of radio station JXYL. "Englishman's Englishman" radio jockey John Kingsley (Patrick McGoohan) is interviewing a judge who has recently passed down a controversial sentence to a man for vehicular homicide, the victim being a policeman. All of this is intercut with snide, sharp wisecracks of a group of people in a small car. Following this, the judge is kidnapped, Kingsley's wife and son are held hostage in their apartment and Kingsley himself is held at gunpoint in his studio and told he must let their leader, history professor Lucas Miller (director Alexis Kanner). What follows is sharply edited filled with crisp dialogue and a few scenes of suspense for good measure (e.g. Kingsley waiting for his captors to dose off so he can fetch one of their guns). The "re-trial" goes on the air and their plan starts to go awry.
This film is effective to the final fade-out. Even the end credits are pithy. The streaming images of Christianity (i.e. shots of churches, a child singing hymns and Miller and Kingsley singing 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen') are particularly potent.
You cannot watch this film once and leave with the full picture. I have watched it five times and still catch little nuances with each viewing. For those of you who "didn't get it," try again. For those of you who find this worse than a hangover, keep on drinking.
Worse than a hangover
vascrypt23 October 2000
The director or director of photography, or some other "genius" used the tired old trick of letting the camera be the eyes of one of the characters. Unfortunately, this, combined with "disembodied voices" makes watching this film remind one of a really bad alcoholic hangover!
Given the choice between watching this turkey and a real hangover, ...I'm out the door to the nearest liquor store!
Given the choice between watching this turkey and a real hangover, ...I'm out the door to the nearest liquor store!
Join this film's micro-cult!
thustlebird15 September 2009
Prisoner-fans take note, if you haven't already. This film reunites Prisoner star Patrick McGoohan with frequent Prisoner player Alexis Kanner. This undoubtedly started as one of those "concept movie projects". Get a load of this story: Charismatic, histrionic ex-actor turned Montreal radio talk-show host John Kingsley (Patrick McGoohan) is held hostage in his own private luxury radio-studio by a group of crusaders who want an on-the-air retrial of a man they feel was wrongly convicted and oversentenced at that, kidnapping the original judge who tried the first trial and detaining him elsewhere, then designating the listening audience as the phone-in jury. When I first read this description on the back of the video cover at a Pittsburgh flea-market circa 2001, I put down my two dollars because I was instantly hooked and intrigued. McGoohan's involvement certainly didn't hurt the prospect of my purchase...and, hey hey hey, it was obscure! Just my cup of tea! Ha ha! So, I popped the tape into the VCR and the movie underwent the customary Hidden-Gem Test (the GHTs...funner than the SATs and GREs, and more efficient!). It passed in flying colors, but not in the way I would have ever predicted. Its execution was almost...otherworldly. The camera placement is sometimes highly unorthodox, the sound design highly experimental, the acting decidedly stylized, the editing complexly fragmentary and elliptical, the politics offbeat even in the left-wing sense of the word, the narrative progression delightfully perplexing. What an interesting, strange creature this film was to me...and still is! This is one of those movies that, as a cinephile, I became obsessed with for years after first seeing, and it was a mighty quest to learn as much as I could about it inception, conception and reception. It plays out like an experimental film in some stretches, and renders its hook/reel-in of a plot summary a curiously distinctive thriller with a nearly inimitable sense of voice. By voice, I mean camera voice, montage voice, narrative voice and even soundscape voice. That's a lot of voices there, and a lot of films do not even have one type of those uniquenesses. This is a motion picture that is difficult to describe to the fullest using just words. Kings and Desperate Men is definitively a thriller, without question. It uses the conventions and the narrative traditions of genre (e.g. the unstable captor, periodic showdowns between captor and captive, etc) but uses a flamboyant, barbed cinema language and a twisting dialogic verbiage, courtesy mostly of McGoohan's purposefully melodramatic portrayal of the lead, and elaborate use of the film-making's "plastic" elements to deliver to its audience something completely in opposition to other offerings of its genre.
The film had a scattered release. It was shot in the winter of late 1977, was screened once in Montreal in late 1978, was widely released in its native Canada three years later in 1981 after its struggle to find additional completion funds, was later re-released only in Canada in 1983, premiered at the London Film Festival in 1985 and then finally hit the United States over a full decade later in 1989. That is quite a history. The film was met with accolades at the London Film Festival, but only The Los Angeles Times gave the film good reviews in the U.S. In point of fact, The Los Angeles Times gave it glowing reviews. Most critics obtusely complained of McGoohan's overacting, and every major U.S. review I read was facile, fast and artless. It definitely says something when a critic's dismissals are coy and mirthless. Vis a vis McGoohan's so-called "overacting," that's the point, folks! It's not hard to get! The story itself unfolds by sheer virtue of his character's history as an ex-actor and the writer-director's statement is made via McGoohan's character's titanic "emceeing" of the events at hand. Look at the art direction. Theater posters from the character's past are prominently on display. The film, when all is said and done, has a bold and (believe it or not) original message about media treatment of exploitable circumstance. I mean, the subject has been done before, but never like this. Again, all more I can really say is do your best to see it. It is only on VHS, but if you still have your VCR (if you are a real film fan and ditched yours, you are doing yourself no favors), I recommend tracking it down. In a post scriptum, I gave my copy to a friend to borrow. He definitely joined the film's micro-cult after seeing it. Rise to the occasion and join us!
The film had a scattered release. It was shot in the winter of late 1977, was screened once in Montreal in late 1978, was widely released in its native Canada three years later in 1981 after its struggle to find additional completion funds, was later re-released only in Canada in 1983, premiered at the London Film Festival in 1985 and then finally hit the United States over a full decade later in 1989. That is quite a history. The film was met with accolades at the London Film Festival, but only The Los Angeles Times gave the film good reviews in the U.S. In point of fact, The Los Angeles Times gave it glowing reviews. Most critics obtusely complained of McGoohan's overacting, and every major U.S. review I read was facile, fast and artless. It definitely says something when a critic's dismissals are coy and mirthless. Vis a vis McGoohan's so-called "overacting," that's the point, folks! It's not hard to get! The story itself unfolds by sheer virtue of his character's history as an ex-actor and the writer-director's statement is made via McGoohan's character's titanic "emceeing" of the events at hand. Look at the art direction. Theater posters from the character's past are prominently on display. The film, when all is said and done, has a bold and (believe it or not) original message about media treatment of exploitable circumstance. I mean, the subject has been done before, but never like this. Again, all more I can really say is do your best to see it. It is only on VHS, but if you still have your VCR (if you are a real film fan and ditched yours, you are doing yourself no favors), I recommend tracking it down. In a post scriptum, I gave my copy to a friend to borrow. He definitely joined the film's micro-cult after seeing it. Rise to the occasion and join us!
One of the best films I've ever seen
cristinasiqueira14 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This is a film in which McGoohan sounds a little theatrical, which I find fascinating, because I've never had (and never will have) the chance to see him in the theater. He does not overact at all. The fact is he plays the role of a very successful radio host in a sort of talk show, who had actually wanted to become an actor in his youth, but was not successful. Instead, he ended up marrying the daughter of the owner of the radio station and became very rich and famous with his program. Although he's being held a hostage and although he knows his wife and child (an autistic child) are also being held hostages, he's always in control, and that's what keeps him alive. His character is a very self-confident man, who is used to dealing with powerful people, and does not get easily intimidated. He is a little arrogant at times, and maybe stuck up, because from his vantage point of view he knows what is going to happen. He's the kind of man who has seen it all, and has nerves of steel. The title of the movie was taken from John Donne's poem "Death". The terrorist wants to use his program to justify his acts (he had also kidnapped a judge). So, McGoohan introduces him quoting John Donne: "Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men". This line explains the whole situation. It's a fantastic film for people who understand subtleties, who can read between the lines. It's not another Danger Man action movie (although I love them too). It's a great movie for those who have a soul and love thought-provoking films. But don't take my word for it. Go watch it, with an open mind. Enjoy the witty repartees. Oh, BTW, Mr McGoohan does a little singing too. He has a nice baritone voice. Cristina
I love it but...............
victora8715 May 2006
I love this movie and watch it frequently but the technical work on the film is simply horrible. The recording of the sound is so bad that one wonders what some of the characters are saying. The film is full of overdubs which stand out. The lighting in certain scenes particularly in the Aldini party is so poor that you wish that the film had made it to DVD so that we could witness a clearer picture. What saves the picture and makes it interesting is the storyline and the acting (even though McGoohan goes off the deep end, acting wise, towards the end of the film. Alexis Kanner is very good and gives a subtle yet strong performance and Patrick McGoohan cannot do better as the burned out, cynical radio talk show host. This film deserves a remake with todays story lines it would be a better film.
The Prisoner's Pat McGoohan and Alexis Kanner reunite
vonnoosh23 May 2016
Slow boil. That's how I would describe this Canadian drama/thriller.This is not an action movie as much as it is a battle of wits sort of like Sleuth. I could easily imagine this story being performed on stage with the setting being John Kingsley's studio.
Like any fan of the classic surrealistic torrent of a TV show, The Prisoner. Patrick McGoohan's show ran for 17 episodes. It ended in a sea of controversy because it refused to follow the conventions of storytelling. Alexis Kanner appeared in three different episodes of that show. His characters were wild, unpredictable and boyishly devious. McGoohan thought enough about Kanner to have him return for the series finale which was filmed a year after it's predecessor leading up to it. McGoohan directed Kanner and now in Kings and Desperate Men, Kanner is directing McGoohan.
The film uses audio a lot in the beginning and frankly, it's a little frantic and disorientating not knowing who is speaking. If you listen carefully later, you are able to put faces to the voices. This is an enigmatic beginning to any film.
The story revolves around a British radio talk show host, living in Canada, who himself/his wife, his son and his radio show are all held hostage. Also being held hostage is a judge who sentenced a man to jail for 15 years. His crime was vehicular manslaughter. The, let's call them domestic terrorists, either acting out of friendship fr the convicted man, or revenge on his behalf, or out of some political motive seize the people and the show to hold a 'public trial' of the man who was sentenced to 15 years.
Now, like any movie or theater project led by an actor, the story is fueled heavily by the characters. Much of the story is a battle of wits between the ringleader of the terrorists, Lucas Miller played by Alexis Kanner (in one of his last appearances in front of the camera) and the radio host Kinglsey played by McGoohan.
The movie also features the then wife of the then PM of Canada, Margaret Trudeau. Andrea Marcovicci who, I frankly know her best from The Stuff is memorable as one of the six terrorists. Her character is somewhat of a loose cannon much like Frank Moore's portrayal. He played one of the terrorists also.
If you have an appreciation for these actors already (especially Prisoner fans) you will find this movie to be a treat. If you enjoy a somewhat out of left field psychological thriller then you will find this to be a treat also. There's enough eccentricities and black humor to make the near 2 hours pleasurable and rewarding.
Like any fan of the classic surrealistic torrent of a TV show, The Prisoner. Patrick McGoohan's show ran for 17 episodes. It ended in a sea of controversy because it refused to follow the conventions of storytelling. Alexis Kanner appeared in three different episodes of that show. His characters were wild, unpredictable and boyishly devious. McGoohan thought enough about Kanner to have him return for the series finale which was filmed a year after it's predecessor leading up to it. McGoohan directed Kanner and now in Kings and Desperate Men, Kanner is directing McGoohan.
The film uses audio a lot in the beginning and frankly, it's a little frantic and disorientating not knowing who is speaking. If you listen carefully later, you are able to put faces to the voices. This is an enigmatic beginning to any film.
The story revolves around a British radio talk show host, living in Canada, who himself/his wife, his son and his radio show are all held hostage. Also being held hostage is a judge who sentenced a man to jail for 15 years. His crime was vehicular manslaughter. The, let's call them domestic terrorists, either acting out of friendship fr the convicted man, or revenge on his behalf, or out of some political motive seize the people and the show to hold a 'public trial' of the man who was sentenced to 15 years.
Now, like any movie or theater project led by an actor, the story is fueled heavily by the characters. Much of the story is a battle of wits between the ringleader of the terrorists, Lucas Miller played by Alexis Kanner (in one of his last appearances in front of the camera) and the radio host Kinglsey played by McGoohan.
The movie also features the then wife of the then PM of Canada, Margaret Trudeau. Andrea Marcovicci who, I frankly know her best from The Stuff is memorable as one of the six terrorists. Her character is somewhat of a loose cannon much like Frank Moore's portrayal. He played one of the terrorists also.
If you have an appreciation for these actors already (especially Prisoner fans) you will find this movie to be a treat. If you enjoy a somewhat out of left field psychological thriller then you will find this to be a treat also. There's enough eccentricities and black humor to make the near 2 hours pleasurable and rewarding.
Macbre Masterpiece with "Shockwave" Ending
mbanak23 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
There is much in this gem to warrant a review. I will be speaking to the way in which this film was made, and to the acting of McGoohan. If all films were made like this, it would be hard to enjoy them. The movie has an unsettling feel to it. So it wins with novelty. The tracking camera method, with bobbing and weaving, emerges here. I do not have the accumulated movie experience to know whether this was a pioneering effort in this film. The directors of The Bourne Series certainly use it a lot, and to equal effect ... to heighten the tension. Tension is further enhanced with that fast-cut, scene jumping method. You just know something bad is coming down. Soundtracks from one scene to another overlap generously, giving the viewer a sense of dizzying omniscience. The episodic chunks are also punctuated with a variety of crashes and rattling noises, guaranteed to keep you on- edge. Let's be out with it. The sustained tension and uncertainly of this film are simply a build-up to the "shock-wave" ending. When the "shock wave" ending was triggered, I felt, at once, grief, sorrow and defeat, just as the director wanted. How about you?
McGoohan always had a flair for the Macabre. It's all over the place here. Not sure whether that grotesque feel comes from McGoohan's influence, or whether he signed up for this shocker in anticipation of the harsh framing you get for this crash-bound roller coaster ride. The XMAS music, played with weird instruments and synthesizers in low- cut keys, perpetually conveys the sense that something evil has encroached upon the winter festivities. An emotional trespass.
I have seen perhaps three(3) summaries of the story, and none seem to mention a certain odd-placed character. Watch for a well-dressed lady, with an obvious connection to "Kingsly", the broadcaster. She muddles through her day, listening to the broadcast, with no emotional response to the crime unfolding on the airwaves. I concluded she was a mistress, certainly a gold digger with her indifferent tracking of the high crime unfolding on the radio.
I was living near Phoenix in the early 19080's, when a live, on-air, hostage situation emerged. The guy was obviously a kook. I have to wonder if that event was inspired by this film.
A word on McGoohan. After many years of delighting in this actor, my eyes were finally opened to a particular skill of his. He has the ability to play characters, who are also playing out a role. In Danger Man/Secret Agent, he played a spy who often assumed yet another character for the sake of covering. In those Columbo episodes, he would play a killer, pretending to be innocent. In this tour-de-force, he plays a broadcaster (a type of actor), who in turn must act calm and detached in the face of lethal danger. McGoohan has managed to bump it up yet another notch.
Please over look that campy 1970's look, and enjoy this novel approach to high-voltage story-telling. Despite its horror moments, this film has a socially redeeming and satisfying conclusion.
McGoohan always had a flair for the Macabre. It's all over the place here. Not sure whether that grotesque feel comes from McGoohan's influence, or whether he signed up for this shocker in anticipation of the harsh framing you get for this crash-bound roller coaster ride. The XMAS music, played with weird instruments and synthesizers in low- cut keys, perpetually conveys the sense that something evil has encroached upon the winter festivities. An emotional trespass.
I have seen perhaps three(3) summaries of the story, and none seem to mention a certain odd-placed character. Watch for a well-dressed lady, with an obvious connection to "Kingsly", the broadcaster. She muddles through her day, listening to the broadcast, with no emotional response to the crime unfolding on the airwaves. I concluded she was a mistress, certainly a gold digger with her indifferent tracking of the high crime unfolding on the radio.
I was living near Phoenix in the early 19080's, when a live, on-air, hostage situation emerged. The guy was obviously a kook. I have to wonder if that event was inspired by this film.
A word on McGoohan. After many years of delighting in this actor, my eyes were finally opened to a particular skill of his. He has the ability to play characters, who are also playing out a role. In Danger Man/Secret Agent, he played a spy who often assumed yet another character for the sake of covering. In those Columbo episodes, he would play a killer, pretending to be innocent. In this tour-de-force, he plays a broadcaster (a type of actor), who in turn must act calm and detached in the face of lethal danger. McGoohan has managed to bump it up yet another notch.
Please over look that campy 1970's look, and enjoy this novel approach to high-voltage story-telling. Despite its horror moments, this film has a socially redeeming and satisfying conclusion.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
