Review of The Osterman Weekend (1983) by Steve S — 30 Apr 2010

Sam Peckinpah's last stand. After spending nearly half a decade in the wilderness after Convoy (1978), no-one wanted to work with him, his reputation with Hollywood had soured badly and his health had worsened.

But, he was given one last shot at the big time with this adaptation of Robert Ludlum's 1972 novel. It's not perfect, but it does have it's moments of suspense and action. It has TV presenter Bill Tanner (Rutger Hauer) being told by CIA director Maxwell Danforth (Burt Lancaster) and agent Laurence Fassett (John Hurt) that Tanner's 3 college friends Bernard Osterman (Craig T.

Nelson), Richard Tremayne (Dennis Hopper) and Joseph Cardone (Chris Sarandon) are working for a Soviet spy syndicate known as Omega. They're all going to Tanner's house for a weekend break, as they have done, but Fasset has installed video cameras everywhere to keep an eye on them, but tensions rise during the weekend.

It's got some good moments, but it feels quite dated now, and there isn't enough action. But, it has a good cast, and when it does get gripping it works. It could have been better, but it was Peckinpah's last hurrah.