Review of The Osterman Weekend (1983) by Michael W — 17 Oct 2012

Sam Peckinpahs final film maybe a long way from his very best work but the fianl 30 minutes more than makeup for a lot of talking before hand.

When TV host John Tanner is told by Lawrence Fassett that his 3 old scholls chums are Russian spies he sets in motion a chain of events which unfold over the course of one weekend named after one of Tanners friends Bernard Ostermann.

As the weekend becomes more and more tense Fasset turns the screws and the friends begin to crack leading to a typically well shot Peckinpah ending.

The biggest problem is the films middle which is just the wrong side of dull and the old Peckinpah magic appears to be gone.

But the saving grace is the final assault on the house which shows just how good Peckinpah could be when he put his mind to it.

Rutger Hauer and John Hurt make great sparring partners as Tanner and Fasset and Craig T Nelson ,Meg Foster and Dennis Hopper make up some of the supporting cast .

Peckinpah is constanly showing us how the camera can fool us when it comes to statements or random acts and it really is a shame that this film was his last.