The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper (1981)

the audience applauded

That was an excellent one.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I liked this movie. It was fun to see Duvall, Williams, and Gleason on the screen together. I've been fascinated with Dan Cooper ever since my father bought me a "Greatest Mysteries" book when I was about 8. That book got me going on Oak Island, too. Anyway, this is obviously not a factual account of anything. For one, none of the money cooper stole has ever made it back into circulation. The serial numbers were all noted, and the money was never used. So, if you go into the movie with the understanding that it's fiction and not based on actual events, I think you'll enjoy yourself. I really liked seeing Gleason, too. He's not in many movies, and it was fun to see him in something besides "The Breakfast Club" and "Trading Places."

As someone who likes chase scenes and was really intrigued by this fascinating true-life tale, I was optimistic heading into this film but too many obstacles got into the way of the good story it should have been.THE BAD - I'm a fan of Robert Duvall and many of the characters he has played, but his role here is a dull one as an insurance investigator.The dialog is insipid and the pretty Kathryn Harrold is real garbage-mouth. From what I read, there were several directors replacing each other on this film, and that's too bad. You can tell things aren't right with the story. I couldn't get "involved" with Treat Williams' portrayal of Cooper, either. He should have been fascinating, but he wasn't in this movie. It's also kind of a sad comment that a guy committing a crime is some sort of "folk hero," but I admit I wound up rooting for the guy, too.Not everything was disappointing. I can't complain about the scenery, from the lush, green forests of Oregon to the desert in Arizona.I'd like to see this movie re-made and done better, because it is a one-of-a-kind story.

The subject of this work is the infamous D. B. Cooper, who high jacked a jet over Washington state in 1971 by utilizing a bogus bomb, collected $200,000 from the airline company, and then parachuted toward ostensible oblivion, evading one of the most extensive collections of law enforcement personnel in United States history. The production, burdened with serious problems from its outset, with directors John Frankenheimer and Buzz Kulik being replaced in turn by Roger Spottiswoode, is marked by obvious re-shooting as continuity is at times seemingly abandoned. Nonetheless, although flaws abound and logic is sparse, the film succeeds as entertainment, and since the fate of Cooper may ever remain unknown, recounting his story from whole cloth is suitable, with this version fashioned from American poet J. D. Reed's debut novel, "Free Fall". As action opens, Cooper (Treat Williams) is preparing to leap to hoped-for safety into forested Washington (played by Oregon), and he is seen as he eludes state troopers by hiding his bagged stash of 20 dollar bills inside of a freshly slain buck (Cooper jumped with, among his supplies, a collapsible rifle within his pack, and it is deer hunting season). Apparently, the only man capable of tracking the fugitive is Bill Gruen (Robert Duvall), the victim airlines' insurance company investigator and coincidentally the former Army Ranger instructor of Cooper, whose actual name is Jim Meade, and soon Gruen has trailed Meade to his home where he has joined his wife Hannah (Kathryn Harrold). Jim and Hannah head for Mexico, with Gruen close behind, as is one Remson (Paul Gleason), another former Ranger mate of Meade, with an agenda of his own, and subsequent events are stuffed with outrageous incident including a dangerous raft pursuit through Wyoming's Snake River rapids. As is no novelty, Duvall gathers in the acting laurels here with his nuanced reading as a persistent insurance company investigator. Because of its false starts, the film has too much dross to be effectively tidied up by Spottiswoode, but scoring by James Horner is consistently interesting, a musical blend featuring battling banjos, along with jew's harps, dobros, and other instruments of folkish characteristics that highlight British grounded whirligig dances. The D. B. Cooper high jacking is an incomplete story because there is no certainty as to his fate, and a variety of tales may be invented as a result; this one, in spite of its weaknesses, may be enjoyed on its own terms as it provides solid entertainment and a correctly ambiguous ending.

You could do a lot worse than this slight yet amiable what-if fest that speculates on just how D.B. Cooper got away with all that money. Robert Duvall shines as the insurance company's bounty hunter but Treat Williams comes off somewhat bland as the title character. He's just too boringly cutesy, if that makes any sense. Yet if you told me to choose between this and say RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, D.B. sure gets my vote.