Year of the Gun (1991)

Really Surprised!

Admirable film.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

David Raybourne is an American journalist covering political news in Italy during the 1970's. He gets involved with the Red Brigades when trying to help Alison King, who photographed them in action and discover the mafia net is at all levels...Wow.I've seen some bad films, but Frankenheimer has made some decent movies in the past, and this was supposed to be factual, so it had my attention.McCarthey is woefully miscast in this, and the film consists of him and the bloke from To Live And Die In L.A, eating sandwiches and drinking wine.It's supposed to be some controversial movie about the Red Brigade movement, but in fact it's nothing more than McCarthey being a dirty old man and pursuing Stone while Golino is waiting at home for him.Dialogue is beyond bad, and its filmed in such a way, it looks really really cheap, like true movies cheap.It's a torturous watch, and its no wonder McCarthy didn't really get any more starring roles after this, and Stone had to be more...revealing.Avoid.

this may not be john frankenhiemers best work but is not one to overlook. i feel at the time of its release andrew mccarthy career was already over and although he does a fare job of it he did not help it's release and sharon stone was not yet a house hold name.plus Italian politics of the 70's doesn't really sound that inviting.however this little film is exiting,intriguing and well plotted. you feel for andrews plight and you feel lost in a world you don't really understand just like andrew. weather intentionally or not it works for me i don't it want all laid out. the actions of the red brigade are not answered just like the news we watch every night. john frankenhiemer made the best of a hard subject and the last third of the movie is very tense. with a good twist and a message that has not dated.also the DVD quality is very good but where are the subtitles and how about some extras, the deleted scene is odd to say the least. if your a sharon stone fan its a must one of her better early performances.

SPOILERS!There are three redeeming features about this terrible film. 1. An exciting fight scene, ending in sex. 2. A Student riot. 3. A Speedy motorbike chase, ending with a murder.Apart from that, this film is surprisingly unpromising and McCarthy delivers one of the worst performances i've ever seen he might as well be a plank of wood for all he's worth. The location of rome could be shot well, but in dank, dark colours and photos of run down cobbled houses, he fails at th easiest of opportunities. This is almost as boring as the videos they show in history lessons at high school!Frankly, Disappointing. **/****

The acting is solid and the film well directed except in one place: The photojournalist survives a hail of machine gun bullets by hiding behind a car while taking picture of a bank robbery. Normally this would be OK, except the parts of the car she is hiding behind are the windows!The story is tight and very believable as it is set to the historical background of the capture and killing of Aldo Moro (Italy). The sequence of events is built on a series of coincidental events that demonstrate how you cannot trust anybody if you really want to keep a secret. The film also proves the saying ` if you play with fire you will get burned'.Filmed on location in Italy, the street scenes and interiors add the authenticity of the film.Secondarily, the film also explores the sexual weapon that women sometime use to achieve their own ends, and the unfaithfulness of men that succumb to it so easily. I gave this a 9.