Product Description

As steady hands carefully wire a bomb and meticulously set the timer to the eerie sounds of children singing in the background, and as the deadly device explodes, rupturing a building into fragments and splintering the tranquility of the theatre, the cinematic genius of the OscarÂ(r)-nominated* writer/director of The Wild Bunch comes to startling life. Featuring "a first rate cast"(Los Angeles Times) headed by Academy AwardÂ(r) nominee** James Caan and OscarÂ(r) winner*** Robert Duvall, this sinister action-thriller "aim[s] at the jugular" (Cue) and "rivets you to the screen" (Cosmopolitan)! Elite assassins Mike Locken (Caan) andGeorge Hansen (Duvall) take on jobs too risky for even the CIA to handle. They're best friends, superior marksmen and on the A-list when it comes to killing. But when one high-powered hitman betrays another, the intrigue, the violence and the thrills become more than just a dangerous game of who-kills-whom first...it becomes a very personal war! *1969: Original Story and Screenplay (Sam Peckinpah) **1972: Supporting Actor, The Godfather ***1983: Actor, Tender Mercies

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26981 in DVD
• Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
• Released on: 1999-02-23
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 122 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
James Caan and Robert Duvall star as a pair of CIA operatives in the Bay Area; when Duvall sells out Caan, he cripples him instead of killing him. But Caan fights back, working himself back into shape and back into service to protect a visiting dignitary who is targeted for assassination. It all leads to a solid shootout and martial-arts battle aboard the mothballed fleet in the North Bay. Economic and spare, this is one of director Sam Peckinpah's lesser efforts, but still features his skillful direction of action scenes. An intriguing cast includes Arthur Hill, Mako, and Bo Hopkins; this may be the only film that features both Burt Young and Gig Young. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Caan and Duval, Uzi's and Ninja's!
I watched this movie a long time ago when I was much younger and it immediately became one of my favorites. First the movie was directed by Sam Peckinpah who's style I always liked. Second it stared two really powerful actors of the time in James Caan and Robert Duval. And lastly it had a LOT of action. It is a highly intelligent movie and several steps up from anytthing that you will ever see that has Ninja's in it. The movie revolves around a company of mercenaries that are hired by corporate interest or the government to do certain jobs. The movie story really takes off when two friends are torn apart by betrayal and then the movie becomes a story of revenge and obsession.

I have heard several people review this movie in a bad light when it first came out. But I must say that I enjoyed it back in the early 80's when I first saw it and I have watched it several times over and over since. Each time I still find the movie to be fun and interesting and the acting to be top notch.

Boom then Bust
It was almost unfathomable to me that this film would be a bust but I was indeed disappointed. Having been a connoisseur of Pekinpah cinema for years, I found this DVD, drastically reduced, for sale and thought it was worth a shot. The opening few credits, iconic to Pekinpah fans, has the inter-cutting between man and animal, but here we have non-diegetic ambient noise of children playing in a schoolyard while a bomb is being planted. Fantastic suspense. Then, when the perps, Caan and Duval, travel to their next mission, Duval drops the bomb on Cann that his date last night had an STD, found only by snooping through her purse while Cann was being intimate with her. The ensuing laughter is fantastic, and is clearly paid homage to in Brian Depalma's Dressed to Kill, at the short-lived expense of Angle Dickenson. The problem with The Killer Elite is that after the opening credits, the film falls flat. Even Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia has stronger production value, a bold call for anyone who knows what I'm talking about. I use Pekinpah's credits as supplementary lecture material, but once they are finished, turn The Killer Elite off.

Not a complete waste of time , but do not expect too much
It is always sad when , for whatever reason , someone who has a strong reputation releases material with their name still attached , but without the former quality .

That is the best description of this movie . It feels like scenes are missing .

I encourage you to seek out and watch Sam Peckinpah's earlier , better films . The two lead actors are not shown to best advantage - I am a James Caan fan , but didn't feel much was asked of him in the film .

Rent it if you want to see all of Sam's films .
I have traded my copy . I won't miss it .