IMDb RATING
6.2/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
The younger brother of an assassinated US President is led down a rabbit hole of conspiracies and dead ends after learning of a man claiming to be the real shooter.The younger brother of an assassinated US President is led down a rabbit hole of conspiracies and dead ends after learning of a man claiming to be the real shooter.The younger brother of an assassinated US President is led down a rabbit hole of conspiracies and dead ends after learning of a man claiming to be the real shooter.
Toshirô Mifune
- Keith
- (as Toshiro Mifune)
Robert Courtleigh
- First Mate of T.K.
- (as Robert Courleigh)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Jeff Bridges, Toshirô Mifune didn't know any English and had to learn his lines phonetically.
- GoofsNick Kegan does appear to be a bit young to be a brother of a U.S. President who was slain nearly 20 years earlier. However, it's explained that Pa Kegan fathered them from two different wives. Men are known for fathering children (from different women) decades apart.
- Quotes
John Cerruti: I'm so glad you're here! I receive so few outsiders. Who to trust? Who to trust? All of the nerves, but none of the flesh.
- Alternate versionsReissued in 1983 with deleted scenes restored.
Featured review
Can't Make Up Its Mind
Lamentably uneven film roughly paralleling the Kennedy killing. By the finish, it's hard to tell if the intent is to parody an assassination conspiracy or to offer up food for thought. Of course, the two can be combined, but if so, the results here are sloppy, more head-scratching than suggestive. Much time is spent with Nick (Bridges) chasing shadows, that amount to conspiracies behind conspiracies.
Okay, shadows can make for fascinating progression, not knowing who's involved and who isn't. This sense of dislocation was probably best conveyed in 1974's chilling The Parallax View. But here, such suggestive moments are undercut by exaggerations, such as the incredible shooting of the three men in the car, or the ragged development of who Yvette actually is. To me, the only explanation for the frequent piling on of events is that someone was reaching for an element of parody, despite the seemingly dead serious parts.
Now I can well understand why the production here wanted to raise questions about the Lone Assassin official theory. It certainly hasn't withstood the test of time, as even a few key frames of the Zapruder film show. Moreover, 1978's House Committee on Assassinations found upon reviewing the evidence that Kennedy "was probably assassinated as the result of a conspiracy". But then the whole matter was dropped without follow-up. Ironically, I can also understand why officials don't want to pursue the matter. After all, who knows where it might lead or what crises an honest investigation might produce.
Anyway, Bridges turns in a riveting and energetic turn as the beleaguered president's brother. If spoof was the movie's intent, Bridges should have been informed since he plays it absolutely straight throughout. Also, veteran director and actor Huston towers as the shady and mysterious patriarch of the clan. Note too, how many veteran Hollywood names settle for brief appearances in an independent production, even super-star Elizabeth Taylor. Perhaps they too were unhappy with the Warren Commission Report and wanted to help boost critics who were gathering steam at that time. Of course, the movie debunkings would culminate in 1991's JFK.
Though this 90-minutes has its moments, entertaining and suggestive, it's too uneven and inconsistent to really register as either parody or expose.
Okay, shadows can make for fascinating progression, not knowing who's involved and who isn't. This sense of dislocation was probably best conveyed in 1974's chilling The Parallax View. But here, such suggestive moments are undercut by exaggerations, such as the incredible shooting of the three men in the car, or the ragged development of who Yvette actually is. To me, the only explanation for the frequent piling on of events is that someone was reaching for an element of parody, despite the seemingly dead serious parts.
Now I can well understand why the production here wanted to raise questions about the Lone Assassin official theory. It certainly hasn't withstood the test of time, as even a few key frames of the Zapruder film show. Moreover, 1978's House Committee on Assassinations found upon reviewing the evidence that Kennedy "was probably assassinated as the result of a conspiracy". But then the whole matter was dropped without follow-up. Ironically, I can also understand why officials don't want to pursue the matter. After all, who knows where it might lead or what crises an honest investigation might produce.
Anyway, Bridges turns in a riveting and energetic turn as the beleaguered president's brother. If spoof was the movie's intent, Bridges should have been informed since he plays it absolutely straight throughout. Also, veteran director and actor Huston towers as the shady and mysterious patriarch of the clan. Note too, how many veteran Hollywood names settle for brief appearances in an independent production, even super-star Elizabeth Taylor. Perhaps they too were unhappy with the Warren Commission Report and wanted to help boost critics who were gathering steam at that time. Of course, the movie debunkings would culminate in 1991's JFK.
Though this 90-minutes has its moments, entertaining and suggestive, it's too uneven and inconsistent to really register as either parody or expose.
helpful•85
- dougdoepke
- Feb 9, 2017
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Philadelphia Clan
- Filming locations
- Death Valley National Park, California, USA(Pa Kegan's villa)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,161,386
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $11,182
- Aug 13, 2023
- Gross worldwide
- $1,161,848
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