Rent The Osterman Weekend (1983)

Baffling Conspiracy Thriller With Some Neat Touches - The Osterman Weekend review by GI

Sam Peckinpah's last film is arguably his most disappointing. A conspiracy thriller with a convoluted plot and very under written character development making it a lacklustre affair. Even Peckinpah is reported to have hated the script but he hadn't made a film for five years and was in very poor health and so it's suspected he wanted to get back in the director's chair and so took the job. This is basically an espionage story with a political edge that Peckinpah would have liked as he was always keen on attacking the establishment. Here a disaffected CIA agent, Fassett (John Hurt), convinces a controversial TV presenter, Tanner (Rutger Hauer) that his three best friends are all Soviet agents. When they all gather with their wives for an annual get together at Tanner's house, Fassett's true agenda is gradually revealed. The cast are good and includes Dennis Hopper and Burt Lancaster but this is a thriller that leaves you baffled by who is actually trying to do what! It many ways this has stylistic flourishes that are pure Peckinpah, especially the action scenes, but it's a weak film and only of interest because of this director who in his heyday was a genius.