Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

krocheav Sam Peckinpah always seemed to remain at the level of a TV director who's simply working on a bigger screen. The inclusion of more violence, drugs and sex doesn't lift anything above TV of its era. Here he tends to prove it with a pathetic show of perverse overindulgence in an attempt to distance himself from his origins. Add to this an over-reliance on 70s type technology that even at its peak looked cheap - but by the mid eights looked even worse. With a mixed up story, average acting (except maybe John Hurt) poor music score, it all contributes to a lowly experience. This tends to be of little worth other than for the curiosity of diehard fans of an overblown filmmaker who specialized in nasty content.

Chrysanthepop Peckinpah's swansong 'The Osterman Weekend' at first appears as a political thriller but gradually as the story gets more complex, the layers unfold as the surprise is gradually revealed. It may have a dated look mostly because of the technical props that are obsolete today. But, the main theme of the story is ahead of its time.The movie is shot in a voyeuristic fashion. The viewer is given intimate glimpses into the lives of the characters, even during their private moments such as when they're having sex. At the same time, the editing could have been tighter had it not focused a little too much on the sex and drugs themes. Peckinpah does an excellent job in building tension and catching the viewer by surprise. The film gets a tad confusing but once the major twist is revealed, it's easy to get back on track.All the actors, John Hurt, Rutger Hauer, Dennis Hopper, Helen Shaver, Cassie Yates and Chris Sarandon do a good job. Craig T. Nelson is adequate. His performance in the latter half suffers due to the poor lines he's given to deliver. Lalo Schifrin's score works. The action sequences may not look as sophisticated as they do in today's spy-thrillers but they're quite fun to watch.Even though 'The Osterman Weekend' is confusing at times, it does work as a suspense thriller. It has its flaws but in my opinion, it is not half as bad as many have made it out to be.

Joseph (joenikolaou) I caught this movie, the other night on one of the premium cable channels, I think IFC or Sundance, I had read about the movie previously over the years, but never saw it. WoW! What a movie. There are def not anyone in this country that could make such an intelligent insightful movie about politics, today. The movie is very astute in terms of its analysis of the political structure in this country, and it was definitely too much for the average viewer upon its release in 1983. It is still too much today. But its message is still relevant, of how nothing is at seems, we are all pawns, how are whole government is just a front or cover which masks the true power structure in tnis country. We individually have no power, we are again pawns that are moved to one postion from the other, completely unaware of what is really going on. We are pawns that are played against each other, white against black, brown against black, straight against gay, men against women, etc..in the background they watch and laugh at us, we are such simpletons..eg. we still believe(that Universal Suffrage) that our elections in this country mean something...etc I think that is a very hard message for people to accept, the tragic thing is that with the recent collapse of our economy, people will actually come to realize this finally...

lost-in-limbo The last hurrah of legendary maverick director Sam Peckinpah was a cynically interesting, but unsatisfying accomplishment. Taken off Robert Ludlum's novel, and penned by Alan Sharp. This tight and calculated adaptation on the intrusiveness of media manipulation and surveillance for personal gain effectively exposes the dark corrupted underbelly, and the paranoia that follows it within the Cold War era. It's quite a topical subject. The complex script can feel convoluted, but the lean and nervous layout pulls you in. Appearances can deceive, and it becomes a real relationship tester between the characters on just who's behind the puppet work. The drama within these moments work well, and draw you in as the characters begin ask questions about each other, and their motives. Although the more I think, and concentrated on the plot details. The more I seemed to question the story's progression, and outcome. Sure it compels, but it leaves some niggles.Leading the way is a very solid showing by the ensemble cast of character actors. Rutger Hauer' superbly uneasy, but patriotically brave lead performance heads up the cast. John Hurt builds quite a good turn, in getting you suspicious about his CIA character. The three men that are under the microscope are brilliantly played by a twitchy Dennis Hopper, hasty Chris Sarandon and a spiritually calm Craig T. Nelson. Showing up in strong support are the ladies too. Meg Foster ably holds her own with a hard-nose turn. Her eyes are beautifully striking. Helen Shaver is lively seductive and lewd, as Hooper's cocaine addict wife and Cassie Yates is prominently good. Burt Lancaster's small, but controlled performance lends well too.Peckinpah's structured direction features a lot of his recognizable staples. Like his precisely polished set-pieces of slow-mo (no one else does it better) to the kinetic camera-work and the poetic-like violence. It's beautiful to watch, and quite suspenseful. However sometimes it just felt like an uneven balance between what the writer wanted, and Peckinpah visualised. Technically the film was competently executed, but seemed a little cold. Lalo Schifrin's fantastic music score is experimentally saucy, and eerie with some delicate acoustic touches.Intellectually too smart for its own good? Maybe, but this paranoia political thriller does keep one watching until the end.