Power Play (1978)

Beautiful, moving film.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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.

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.

'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.

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.