Director Sam Peckinpah ended his movie career with an absolutely horrible film. “The Osterman Weekend,” billed as a suspense spy thriller, is actually a boring motion picture with a confusing storyline, a plot filled with more holes than a Swiss cheese, and excessive sex and violence. (He began his directorial job with “The Deadly Companions” in 1961.)
Much of this dysfunction may be attributed to alleged substance abuse on the part of Peckinpah, who was not getting along with 20th Century Fox brass or the stars of the film, which failed at the box office. Much of this was documented in director Jonathan Gaines’ documentary “Alpha to Omega: Exposing The Osterman Weekend.” It was included in the 2004 DVD of “Weekend” from Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Screenwriter Alan Sharp adapted the film from the popular 1972 novel of the same name by Robert Ludlum, so “The Osterman Weekend” should have been a better picture than it turned out to be. The musical score was composed by Lalo Schifrin. The cast includes Rutger Hauer, Craig T. Nelson, John Hurt, Dennis Hopper, Chris Sarandon, Meg Foster, Helen Shaver, Cassie Yates, Sandy McPeak, and Burt Lancaster in one of his final film roles.
The Osterman Weekend (1983)
cinema
My Review
Director Sam Peckinpah ended his movie career with an absolutely horrible film. “The Osterman Weekend,” billed as a suspense spy thriller, is actually a boring motion picture with a confusing storyline, a plot filled with more holes than a Swiss cheese, and excessive sex and violence. (He began his directorial job with “The Deadly Companions” in 1961.)
Much of this dysfunction may be attributed to alleged substance abuse on the part of Peckinpah, who was not getting along with 20th Century Fox brass or the stars of the film, which failed at the box office. Much of this was documented in director Jonathan Gaines’ documentary “Alpha to Omega: Exposing The Osterman Weekend.” It was included in the 2004 DVD of “Weekend” from Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Screenwriter Alan Sharp adapted the film from the popular 1972 novel of the same name by Robert Ludlum, so “The Osterman Weekend” should have been a better picture than it turned out to be. The musical score was composed by Lalo Schifrin. The cast includes Rutger Hauer, Craig T. Nelson, John Hurt, Dennis Hopper, Chris Sarandon, Meg Foster, Helen Shaver, Cassie Yates, Sandy McPeak, and Burt Lancaster in one of his final film roles.