Power Play (1978) User Reviews

Worked on this film as an actor

[media-576-216640 · 5/10 · 9 January 2013]

I am the uncredited (Secret Police) Sound Technician, Moritz Asch in the scene with Secret Policeman Blair (Donald Pleasance) trying to decipher the words on a reel of audiotape. I remember the set for this scene, way over-dressed with a ton of sound equipment. I appear bullet- ridden and quite dead at the end of a long shot; the camera moves from room to room, bodies everywhere. My mom did not care to see these stills . . My scenes were filmed at a local police station on College Street, near Spadina Avenue in the neighborhood I was living in (in Toronto) at the time. Donald Pleasance was very pleasant (forgive me). I recall that he introduced himself to me. Being the international and legendary star that he was, this impressed me very much at the time.

Peace and Love,

Wolf Krakowski www.kamea.com

Catch it if you can - this is an undervalued movie

[timothy-lewesgibbon · 7/10 · 24 October 2006]

Just to correct an error in the details; this same error is repeated in most movie books/websites.

"Power Play" is not based on a novel, but on an academic book: "Coup d'Etat- A Practical Handbook" by the distinguished academic Edward Luttwak; London- Allen Lane The Penguin Press 1968

This book is an entertaining critique of the coup - chiefly in Latin Amerioa and Africa - its practical aspects and the economics of repression and revolution.

This possibly explains why the movie fails to a certain extent as a gripping drama. However the individual performances are excellent.

Nevertheless, it is worth watching.

And after more than 20 years the book rewards a re reading. Incidentally; I last read the book during the coup against Gorbachev in 1991; and applying Edward Luttwak's principles - I judged - rightly as it turned out- that the coup would fail because the promoters of the coup had not secured or neutralised all their objectives. They should have read the book or watched the movie!

How to stage a coup

[poc-1 · 7/10 · 21 May 2003]

Inside story of a military coup in a fictional South American country. A well written screenplay plus good performances from David Hemmings, Peter O'Toole and Donald Pleasance make this film believable. In a strange way the English language spoken by the characters and northern temperate scenery made the film more real to me because it felt closer to home.

This film should be mandatory viewing for would be dictators, because it provides a virtual recipe for the process - and pitfalls - of staging a military coup. Fans of action and pretty cinematography will be disappointed.

Uneven but still intriguing

[Jordan-36 · 24 June 2000]

When I first saw this movie about ten years ago, I was blown away by it. On subsequent viewings, its flaws have become more apparent -- most of the characters are flatly written, a few of the minor roles are poorly played. However, the film still remains a worthy effort. Whereas most political films only pay lip service to ideological concerns, Power Play actually attempts to examine both what it means to live in a totalitarian regime and how easily the best intentions can be subverted. The film has a fine lead performance from David Hemmings. While he at first seems to be flamboyantly overacting, Peter O'Toole eventually reveals the chilling truth behind his character's manner. Lastly, Donald Pleasence plays the head of the Secret Police but, as opposed to later performances, doesn't descend into camp and is a frightfully Himmleresque figure. The scenes where he tortures a young woman are disturbing and, thankfully, played for outrage than for exploitation. Powerplay features a downbeat ending but in the end, its the only honest way the film could end. Check it out if you get a chance.

In Which We Meet a Sinister Fascist Named Blair

[JamesHitchcock · 6/10 · 7 July 2017]

"Power Play" is rare example of a film with an entirely fictional plot but based on a non-fiction book, in this case "Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook" by Edward N. Luttwak. The action takes place in an unnamed, fictitious Western European country. The events of the plot bear a certain resemblance to real-life events which took place in Portugal in 1975, three years before the film was made, but the film-makers seemed to have wanted to avoid identification with any specific country. The names of the characters are taken from various languages- German (Zeller, Stauffenberg), French (Rousseau), Spanish (Barrientos), Russian (Kirov) and Arabic (Anwar), even English (Blair). The country's flag, seen displayed prominently in many scenes, is green, yellow and black- colours probably chosen because no actual European country uses this particular combination.

Like Portugal in 1975, this country is a civilian dictatorship with an oppressive, corrupt and authoritarian government. Resistance to the regime is growing not only among the general population- there have been numerous acts of armed resistance, including the kidnapping and murder of a cabinet minister- but also among the armed forces who are unhappy at being asked to repress their own people in the interests of the unelected politicians. A small group of military officers, led by Colonel Anthony Narriman, decide that they must lead a coup to overthrow the regime and restore democracy.

Most of the film is taken up with details of preparations for the coup. The plotters come close to discovery on a number of occasions by the regime's intelligence service. One of the group is a heavy drinker and the others worry that he might blurt out their secret while in his cups. They succeed in recruiting Colonel Zeller, the commander of a tank regiment, to their cause, knowing that they will need his tanks to take the capital, but worry if he is a man they can trust. The closest they come to disaster is when they attempt to recruit another regimental commander only to find he is 100% loyal to the government, and have to take immediate action to prevent him from betraying them. The film is able to generate a good deal of tension, justifying its "thriller" label, until the appointed day arrives and the conspirators are able to send their tanks onto the streets to reclaim their country for democracy. There is, however, to be a surprising denouement.

The film, officially a British-Canadian co-production, stars some of the leading lights of the British cinema from the seventies, including Peter O'Toole as the enigmatic Zeller, David Hemmings as the idealistic Narriman and Donald Pleasence as Blair, the sinister head of the secret police. (No jokes please. The film was made long before Britain had a Prime Minister with that particular surname). All of them play their roles well, but the film seems to have largely vanished from sight in recent years. (I recently caught a rare screening on London Live, a TV channel which seems to specialise in reviving forgotten British films from the seventies, eighties and nineties).

I think that the reason why the film has faded is that it no longer seems as topical as it once did. In the Cold War years of the seventies military coups were a frequent occurrence in various parts of the world, including Europe. Not long after the film was made there was to be an unsuccessful coup in Spain and a successful one in Poland when the military under General Jaruzelski succeeded (with the connivance of the Soviet Union) in removing the country's civilian Communist leadership from power. Today, fortunately, they are less common than they once were, even in Latin America, and virtually unthinkable anywhere in Europe. The result is that, although "Power Play" is a reasonably well-made action-thriller, it does not speak to the world of 2017 in the way that it might have spoken to the world of 1978. 6/10

Not as good as the sum of its parts

[ubercommando · 7/10 · 18 March 2004]

An unnamed country is suffering at the hands of a corrupt government so a group of idealistic army officers and intellectuals attempt to stage a coup with the idea of reforming their nation. But who can they trust, is there a Judas in their midst?

A great idea, a great cast and great detail into how to stage a coup d'etat and yet the film just lacks that little bit to make it truly memorable. The production looks a little flat, the pace lags and it's narrative is a little fractured. It comes across as a vaguely interesting tv movie not helped by the fact that it should have been set in either Africa, South America or Eastern Europe because the locations just scream "Canada!" at you and why would they be staging a coup? Still, enjoy Peter O'Toole, David Hemmings, Donald Pleasance and Barry Morse together.

Desperately Seeking Carmen Miranda

[Waiting2BShocked · 1/10 · 19 August 2002]

'Political thriller' mish-mash of the bargain-basement package-tour-for-the-cast variety, with enough intrigue, insurrection and military corruption to keep its small banana republic going for the next 25 revolutions, but none of it remotely interesting or even watchable. If it were a European co-production farrago then at least maybe there'd be a wry smile or two raised by incompetent dubbing, but it's impossible to mask the embarrassment of the English-speaking "stars" in their native tongue, or gloss over the unease of the 'international' cast members. On top of that, this TV print looks like it had been salvaged from a Third World sanitation ditch, and it seems the director must have been shot by terrorists before he had a chance to shoot any of his own movie.

Power Play

[henry8-3 · 6/10 · 25 January 2021]

Disgusted at the behaviour of his corrupt government, Colonel Narriman (Hemings) agrees to lead a Coup D'Etat. The films follows the planning and delivery of the Coup with associated twists and turns.

An intriguing film, charting the thinking and action required to complete a Coup. Hemmings is really good in the lead with fine support from Morse as a moral driving force, Pleasence as the dreaded head of Security and O'Toole, in a supporting role as one of the key soldiers involved. There are issues however. It is rather dull to look at, the pace varies considerably, it clearly needed a bigger budget and towards the end looks cheap and the direction overall is flat and unimaginative. Worth catching though, it's different, well acted and definitely provides food for thought.

Military dirge

[PlasticActor · 2/10 · 13 December 2021]

...not the missing Hollywood CGI, direction drags on through too many takes - - (Donald, whoosh) and the the only thing interesting is Plenty O'Tools hair wave. When you're bald you think about those kinds of things. Not that it bothers Donald much - - the movie seems to skip around him, he seems wasted. I'm glad the Yanks hired Barry Morse and I'm a big fan of the Fugitive, nice seeing Barry in a film. Maybe the money made him cry or Peter's posing. Poseur. Actors are so competitive. I hope Barry got up to the others level in pay. David Hemmings should have done a sequel to Blowup, an excellent film, he's just not military material. Peter - - too effeminate here, and not helped by the end credits body count on a pole.

Underrated if a little clunky

[info-60514 · 7/10 · 27 January 2021]

Firstly I personally feel we need all the political films we can get, as they are somewhat far and few between.

The plot is believable if you relate it to something akin to the Portugal Coup in 1974, with the exception of the rather grim ending. This is also not too difficult to accept when looking at other events in the not so distant past.

One point of interest is the motivation of the concept, being a Canadian production may have been the now forgotten political kidnap of the British Government official James Cross by the Front de liberation du Quebec in 1970.

I think the dialogue is the weakest point but I can overlook the somewhat unconvincing conversations as some set pieces, like the Aldo Moro kidnapping and Chilean Secret Police style torture sequence are effective.

I read a TV review of this once that appeared to misunderstand what a coup involves, When the critic stated only one tank was blown up as if to highlight the low production values. The reviewer clearly missing the point entirely.

A brilliant and massively under-rated film

[RussianPantyHog · 9/10 · 1 August 2005]

This almost unknown movie remains one of my favourites. David Hemmings plays Colonel Narriman, a charismatic infantry colonel in a small viciously repressive country. For years he's tried to keep out of "politics" and ignore the horrors around him but finally he can't take it any more and is pursuaded to lead a military coup. To ensure success he reluctantly accepts the help of the officer in charge of the country's tanks, Colonel Zellar (played by Peter O'Toole). Their main enemy is the head of the secret police, a character with the hilarious name of BLAIR, played brilliantly by Donald Pleasence. I love the way this movie explores Narriman's mental anguish as conscience gradually overtakes duty and it racks up the tension wonderfully as the coup is planned and eventually carried out. I'm not giving the 'twist' away but rest assured the scene where Narriman finally realises he's been used is as good as you'll ever see. This is a genuinely scary film and perfectly portrays life in a country where the law is whatever the president says it is. Don't miss it!

Efficiently realistic

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 31 January 2021]

A really interesting film about a military coup, POWER PLAY is virtually unheard of today but well worth a look particularly considering the talents of the top three cast members: David Hemmings typically dedicated as the hero, Peter O'Toole as the soldier he enlists to help, and Donald Pleasence up against them as a truly sinister Himmler-style villain. It's a story about political corruption and the lives of those dedicated to overthrowing it, and it's certainly timely given the kind of stuff going on internationally in the 1970s. It's also grimly realistic with one of the nastiest torture sequences I can remember witnessing in a mainstream film, and the ending is outstanding.

Bringing totalitarianism home to a domestic audience

[spride · 8 April 2000]

Familiar faces in this film (Hemmings, Pleasance, O'Toole) help to get a Western audience to empathise with what it's like to live under a totalitarian regime. Our sympathies are with the heroes as they move towards a coup d'etat (an odd one in which the military intends to replace a more repressive regime with one less so). However not every conspirator's motives are the purest...

Under-rated classic.

[blondJasper · 8/10 · 26 December 2006]

Why is this movie not better known,on the very rare occasions it's on British TV it's tucked away in the middle of the night and is dismissed in a few indifferent clichés by TV reviewers.I admit it's not the easiest movie to follow,the characters' names come from a bewildering variety of cultures,it's far from clear what part of the world the fictitious country is located (the Canadian locations could,at a pinch,pass for the Balkans/Eastern Europe) and the pace drags a little at times.However,these minor flaws are of little importance when you consider the excellent line-up of A-list stars who form the cast,the tense and most unusual subject matter and the absolutely savage twist,the scene with Hemmings and O'Toole in the recently-vacated Presidential palace is,or certainly should be,an all-time classic.There is a lesson there for anyone who thinks they have a simple answer to an intolerable situation,and overall the movie is thought-provoking and challenging as well as being great viewing.

Excellent movie for countries with power grabber

[cesar-35 · 10/10 · 7 August 2005]

I find this movie quite interesting, I saw this movie in the Philippines during the height of the 1986 revolution in the Phil. I liked the way Peter O Toole played the character of a cunning officer. The treachery of the power grabbers was for real. Other cast and characters of the movie are good to their respective roles. I could not believe the setting was in Canada. I thought it was in Latin America. I recommend this movie to all countries with unstable political system. There's a lot of lesson you could learn from this movie. Its a warning to military adventurism and to those who wants to grab power unconstitutionally. I want to own a DVD copy of this movie. Where could I find it?

Powerfully Played

[michaelberanek275 · 9/10 · 27 February 2018]

In this no doubt peculiar film that has a rather dated patina and production values that wouldn't bear scrutiny in today's world of slick multimillion endeavours however drove away at me and ended up surprising my, admittedly reduced expectations. There's a professional cast pulling out the stops to keep it going, and the way the story ended up left quite a visceral punch - even though the screenplay rather gives it away in the opening sequence in a chat show reminiscence by a witness, back in the real world, ie New York.

I like odd movies like this for the curveballs they can throw like the really confusing setting imagined for this country in convulsions. Where somewhere in Eastern Europe do all the military speak in rich English accents or American drawl and the character names seem so anglo-saxon? Where are there big sea freighters unloading British rail rolling stock? The little bit of folk music might have Balkan origin but where in Yogoslavia do they have so many sand dunes for the tank sequences? The 'terrorists' look like the young German Red Brigade or even Irish lackeys. The bit the few reviews can't fail to pick up is the faintly absurd torture of a young woman with electrodes attached to her nipples dispassionately supervised by the Blofelt-type Donald Pleasance (who is good here).

All the funny external elements are redeemed however I think by the seriousness of the whole thing and the repeated riff on home truths like perfectly understandable duplicity and cyclic violence that all such Coup-d'etat and by implication all revolutions can involve -despite best efforts from even good chaps. O'Tool's speech at the end about change and society is so deeply ironic and scary - be very scared of change old boy - a very British movie indeed.

jeu de puissance

[deanofrpps · 10/10 · 16 May 2003]

truly fantastic screen play about a putsch --- excellent acting all round --- donald pleasance as the cia/cid inteligence chief magnificient --- it only gets worse says the cleaning man , but who is he really who is anyone --- the good guys and bad guys are indistinguishable!

Tanks in the Streets

[richardchatten · 8/10 · 27 January 2021]

"For a coup to be successful you need tanks. My tanks" declares tank commander Peter O'Toole to idealistic young army officer David Hemmings in this engrossing military drama reminiscent of Bunuel's 'La Fievre Monte a El Pao' and Jancso's 'The Red and the White' with a wonderful punch line as he demonstrates to Hemmings that power comes down the barrel of a gun and you never know who's next for the firing squad.

Interesting and Intriguing yet definitely flawed

[langford_david · 8/10 · 14 September 2021]

This film is very much kept alive by the key stars Hemmings, O'Toole, Morse and Pleasance their acting carries it through the sluggish pace, lacklustre direction and lack of budget...however the narrative depicting the inside plotting of a coup is still unusual even 40 years later and for that it deserves watching...the totalitarianism of the existing regime and the plotting and organisation required to overthrow it and the trust and mistrust involved was compelling. It could have been genuinely a great movie with more budget , better direction and tighter focus but still worth a watch for the premise alone.