Ransom (1974 film): Difference between revisions

Ransom
Ransom
	Film poster
Directed by	Caspar Wrede
Written by	Paul Wheeler
Produced by	Peter Rawley
Starring	Sean Connery ; Ian McShane
Cinematography	Sven Nykvist
Edited by	Eric Boyd-Perkins
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Production; companies	Lion International ; Rawley Film & Theatre
Distributed by	British Lion Films
Release date	27 February 1975;
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$1.5 million

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Ransom, known in North America and some countries as The Terrorists, is a 1975 British crime film starring Sean Connery and Ian McShane and directed by Finnish director Caspar Wrede.

Plot

A small group of terrorists have seized the British ambassador to the fictitious country of "Scandinavia", and are holding him hostage in his residence. Scandinavia's head of security, Col. Nils Tahlvik, wants to take an uncompromising position, but he is overruled by the governments of both Scandinavia and Britain, who insist that all of the terrorists' demands be met.

A passenger aeroplane arriving at the airport of Scandinavia's capital city is hijacked by another small group of terrorists, led by Ray Petrie. The aeroplane ends up parked on an isolated taxiway, and Petrie demands that he be put in touch with Martin Shepherd, leader of the group holding the British ambassador hostage. Petrie, who is known by Shepherd, convinces Shepherd that his group and his hostages should leave on the hijacked airplane, not on a military plane as originally planned.

Tahlvik and his group of military commandos make several attempts to thwart the terrorists' plans, but nothing seems to work out for them. At the last minute, Tahlvik figures out that the "terrorists" on the airplane are actually British secret operatives intent on capturing Martin Shepherd, and that the British officials have been misleading the Scandinavian authorities and undermining Tahlvik's efforts to capture the two terrorist groups. He boards the aeroplane alone just before it is to take off, precipitating a shootout between the two groups that leaves both Shepherd and Petrie dead.

Cast

Sean Connery as Col. Nils Tahlvik
Ian McShane as Ray Petrie
Jeffry Wickham as Capt. Frank Barnes
Isabel Dean as Mrs. Palmer
John Quentin as Martin Shepherd (dubbed by Robert Lang)
Robert Harris as Ambassador Palmer
James Maxwell as Bernhard
William Fox as Ferris
Harry Landis as Lookout Pilot - George Rawlings
Norman Bristow as Capt. Denver
John Cording as Bert
Christopher Ellison as Pete
Richard Hampton as Joe
Preston Lockwood as Brigadier Hislop
Karen Maxwell as Eva
Gordon Honeycombe as the newsreader (uncredited)

Production

According to Michael Deeley, managing director of British Lion Films, the film was put together by British producer Peter Rawley. He arranged the script and engaged Sean Connery and Ian MacShane, then went to British Lion, who agreed to provide the $1.5 million budget. They sold US and Canadian rights to 20th Century Fox for $800,000, and sold the rights for the rest of the world for $1 million, making a comfortable profit.^[1]

Filming

Filming was carried out in Norway, with a large part of the filming taking place at Oslo Airport, Fornebu. Technical services were contracted to Norsk Film.^[2] The aircraft displayed in the hijacking is a Boeing 737-200 in the livery of Mey-Air.^[3]

Production started in January 1974. During production, Mey-Air defaulted on their payments to Boeing Commercial Aircraft, who sent representatives to Fornebu to repossess the aircraft on 26 February. Filming of the aircraft shots had begun but were not completed.^[4]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 50% based on reviews from 6 critics.^[5]

Time Out magazine commented:

The action is set in Scandinavia, and concerns two terrorist actions: the kidnap of the British ambassador at his residence; and the hijack of a passenger plane on the tarmac of a nearby airport. Law and order security chief Colonel Tahlvik (Connery) is given the task of handling the situations - only to discover that all is not what it seems.
Although Wrede and his photographer Sven Nykvist are more than competent, the movie nevertheless has a distinct air of triviality, due mainly to the made-for-TV ethos that seems to surround the whole production.^[6]

Home media releases

In 2003, the film made its region 1 DVD debut from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on a dual-sided disc with an anamorphic 1.66 widescreen version on side A, and a 1.33:1 full frame version on side B. This release sports the original English mono and is the US version with "The Terrorists" title and opens with the Fox logo. In Europe, the first region 2 DVD release was by Scanbox Entertainment in Scandinavia using a 1.33 transfer, followed by a German DVD release by StudioCanal in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen; both carry the UK "Ransom" title.

In 2012, Anchor Bay (under licence from 20th Century Fox) reissued it on DVD and gave it a Blu-Ray debut in the US. This release is the same transfer of "The Terrorists" US version as the 2003 Fox DVD, only with a 5.1 upmix in lieu of the original Mono and no other supplements. This release is now Out of Print.

In the UK, it received its DVD and Blu-ray debut by independent label Network (under licence from StudioCanal, owners of the British Lion/EMI catalog) in August 2014. Network's release uses a new 2K restoration of the UK "Ransom" version and opens with the British Lion logo. Its supplements are UK Teaser and Theatrical trailers under its "Ransom" title.

In Australia, Umbrella Entertainment (under licence from StudioCanal) initially released a DVD release under "The Terrorists" title using the same transfer as the Fox DVD. In 2024, they re-released the film on Blu-ray utilizing the 2K restoration of the UK "Ransom" version. Its supplements are an exclusive audio commentary with Lee Pfeiffer, editor of Cinema Retro Magazine, along with film historians Paul Scrabo and Tony Latino, "The Wilderness Period" a new interview with film critic Kim Newman, the alternate title sequence with the US "The Terrorists" title card, the original trailer and teaser plus a trailer reel of 1970s films starring Sean Connery.

References

^ ^a ^b Michael Deeley, Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies, Pegasus Books, 2009 p 108 ^{[ISBN missing]}
^ Fjeldstad, Øyvind G. (16 January 1974). "Sikre og sterke navn bak "Løsepenger"" (in Norwegian). p. 33.
^ "Ransom". Internet Movie Plane Database. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ Fjeldstad, Øyvind G. (27 February 1974). "Flykaprenes fly "kapres"" (in Norwegian). p. 33.
^ Ransom at Rotten Tomatoes
^ "Ransom (film)". TimeOut.com. Time Out. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

External links

Ransom at IMDb
‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Ransom at AllMovie
Ransom at the TCM Movie Database
Ransom at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
The Terrorists at Box Office Mojo
RZeview at Cinema Retro

[Deeley-1] Michael Deeley, Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies, Pegasus Books, 2009 p 108 ^{[ISBN missing]}

[2] Fjeldstad, Øyvind G. (16 January 1974). "Sikre og sterke navn bak "Løsepenger"" (in Norwegian). p. 33.

[3] "Ransom". Internet Movie Plane Database. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[4] Fjeldstad, Øyvind G. (27 February 1974). "Flykaprenes fly "kapres"" (in Norwegian). p. 33.

[5] Ransom at Rotten Tomatoes

[6] "Ransom (film)". TimeOut.com. Time Out. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 | writer         = [[Paul Wheeler (writer)|Paul Wheeler]]
 | narrator       =
-| starring       = [[Sean Connery]]<br/>[[Ian McShane]]
+| starring       = [[Sean Connery]] <br/>[[Ian McShane]]
 | music          = [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
 | cinematography = [[Sven Nykvist]]
 | editing        = [[Eric Boyd-Perkins]]
-|studio = Lion International<br>[[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]]<br>Rawley Film & Theatre
+| studio         = Lion International <br />Rawley Film & Theatre
-| distributor    = [[British Lion Film Corporation|British Lion]]
+| distributor    = [[British Lion Films]]
-| released       = {{Film date|1974|3|14|df=yes}}
+| released       = {{Film date|df=y|1975|2|27|}}
-| runtime        = 97 minutes (UK)
+| runtime        = 94 minutes
 | country        = United Kingdom
 | language       = English
-| budget         = $1.5 million<ref name="Deeley">Michael Deeley, ''Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies'', Pegasus Books, 2009 p 108</ref>
+| budget         = $1.5 million<ref name="Deeley">Michael Deeley, ''Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies'', Pegasus Books, 2009 p 108 {{ISBN needed}}</ref>
 }}
-'''''Ransom''''', known in North America and some countries as '''''The Terrorists''''', is a 1974 [[Eastmancolor]] film starring [[Sean Connery]] and [[Ian McShane]] and directed by Finnish director [[Caspar Wrede]]. The plot concerns a group of terrorists who try to extract a large sum of money from two governments.
+'''''Ransom''''', known in North America and some countries as '''''The Terrorists''''', is a 1975 British [[crime film]] starring [[Sean Connery]] and [[Ian McShane]] and directed by Finnish director [[Caspar Wrede]].
 ==Plot==
-A small group of terrorists have seized the British ambassador to the fictitious country of "Scandinavia", and are holding him hostage in his residence. Scandinavia's head of security, Col. Nils Tahlvik ([[Sean Connery]]), wants to take an uncompromising position, but he is overruled by the governments of both Scandinavia and Britain, who insist that all of the terrorists' demands be met.
+A small group of terrorists have seized the British ambassador to the fictitious country of "Scandinavia", and are holding him hostage in his residence. Scandinavia's head of security, Col. Nils Tahlvik, wants to take an uncompromising position, but he is overruled by the governments of both Scandinavia and Britain, who insist that all of the terrorists' demands be met.
 [[File:Mey-Air 737-2H5 LN-MTD.jpg|thumb|left|[[Boeing 737-200]] of [[Mey-Air]], prominently featured in the film]]
-A passenger aeroplane arriving at the airport of Scandinavia's capital city is hijacked by another small group of (purported) terrorists, led by Ray Petrie ([[Ian McShane]]). The aeroplane ends up parked on an isolated taxiway, and Petrie demands that he be put in touch with Martin Shepherd ([[John Quentin]]), leader of the group holding the British ambassador hostage. Petrie, who is known by Shepherd, convinces Shepherd that his group and his hostages should leave on the hijacked airplane, not on a military plane as originally planned.
+A passenger aeroplane arriving at the airport of Scandinavia's capital city is hijacked by another small group of terrorists, led by Ray Petrie. The aeroplane ends up parked on an isolated taxiway, and Petrie demands that he be put in touch with Martin Shepherd, leader of the group holding the British ambassador hostage. Petrie, who is known by Shepherd, convinces Shepherd that his group and his hostages should leave on the hijacked airplane, not on a military plane as originally planned.
 Tahlvik and his group of military commandos make several attempts to thwart the terrorists' plans, but nothing seems to work out for them. At the last minute, Tahlvik figures out that the "terrorists" on the airplane are actually British secret operatives intent on capturing Martin Shepherd, and that the British officials have been misleading the Scandinavian authorities and undermining Tahlvik's efforts to capture the two terrorist groups. He boards the aeroplane alone just before it is to take off, precipitating a shootout between the two groups that leaves both Shepherd and Petrie dead.
 ==Cast==
+{{cast listing|
 * [[Sean Connery]] as Col. Nils Tahlvik
 * [[Ian McShane]] as Ray Petrie
 * [[Jeffry Wickham]] as Capt. Frank Barnes
 * [[Isabel Dean]] as Mrs. Palmer
-* [[John Quentin]] as Martin Shepherd
+* [[John Quentin]] as Martin Shepherd (dubbed by [[Robert Lang (actor)|Robert Lang]])
 * [[Robert Harris (British actor)|Robert Harris]] as Ambassador Palmer
 * [[James Maxwell (actor)|James Maxwell]] as Bernhard
@@ Line 49: / Line 50: @@
 * [[Karen Maxwell]] as Eva
 * [[Gordon Honeycombe]] as the newsreader (uncredited)
+}}
 ==Production==
@@ Line 54: / Line 56: @@
 According to [[Michael Deeley]], managing director of [[British Lion Films]], the film was put together by British producer Peter Rawley. He arranged the script and engaged Sean Connery and Ian MacShane, then went to British Lion, who agreed to provide the $1.5 million budget. They sold US and Canadian rights to [[20th Century Fox]] for $800,000, and sold the rights for the rest of the world for $1 million, making a comfortable profit.<ref name="Deeley"/>
+===Filming===
 Filming was carried out in Norway, with a large part of the filming taking place at [[Oslo Airport, Fornebu]]. Technical services were contracted to [[Norsk Film]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sikre og sterke navn bak "Løsepenger" |last=Fjeldstad |first=Øyvind G. |date=16 January 1974 |page=33 |language=Norwegian}}</ref> The aircraft displayed in the hijacking is a [[Boeing 737|Boeing 737-200]] in the livery of [[Mey-Air]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://impdb.org/index.php?title=Ransom |title=Ransom |publisher=Internet Movie Plane Database |accessdate=25 August 2015}}</ref>
 Production started in January 1974. During production, Mey-Air defaulted on their payments to [[Boeing Commercial Aircraft]], who sent representatives to Fornebu to repossess the aircraft on 26 February. Filming of the aircraft shots had begun but were not completed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Flykaprenes fly "kapres" |last=Fjeldstad |first=Øyvind G. |date=27 February 1974 |page=33 |language=Norwegian}}</ref>
-== Media releases ==
+== Reception ==
+On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has an approval rating of 50% based on reviews from 6 critics.<ref>{{rotten-tomatoes|1021089-terrorists}}</ref>
-In 2003, the film made its region 1 DVD debut from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in a dual-sided disc with an anamorphic 1.66 widescreen version on side A, and a 1.33:1 full frame version on side B. This release sports the original English mono and is the US version with "The Terrorists" title and opens with the Fox logo. In Europe, the first region 2 DVD release was by Scanbox Entertainment utilizing a 1.33 transfer, followed by a German DVD release by StudioCanal in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen; both carry the UK "Ransom" title. In Australia, Umbrella Entertainment (under licence from StudioCanal) had put out a DVD release under "The Terrorists" title using the same transfer as the Fox DVD.
+''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' magazine commented:<blockquote>The action is set in Scandinavia, and concerns two terrorist actions: the kidnap of the British ambassador at his residence; and the hijack of a passenger plane on the tarmac of a nearby airport. Law and order security chief Colonel Tahlvik (Connery) is given the task of handling the situations - only to discover that all is not what it seems.<p>
+Although Wrede and his photographer Sven Nykvist are more than competent, the movie nevertheless has a distinct air of triviality, due mainly to the made-for-TV ethos that seems to surround the whole production.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/movies/ransom|title=Ransom (film)|access-date=10 September 2012|publisher=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]|website=TimeOut.com}}</ref></p></blockquote>
+== Home media releases ==
+{{Unreferenced|section|date=February 2024}}
+In 2003, the film made its region 1 DVD debut from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on a dual-sided disc with an anamorphic 1.66 widescreen version on side A, and a 1.33:1 full frame version on side B. This release sports the original English mono and is the US version with "The Terrorists" title and opens with the Fox logo. In Europe, the first region 2 DVD release was by Scanbox Entertainment in Scandinavia using a 1.33 transfer, followed by a German DVD release by StudioCanal in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen; both carry the UK "Ransom" title.
 In 2012, Anchor Bay (under licence from 20th Century Fox) reissued it on DVD and gave it a Blu-Ray debut in the US. This release is the same transfer of "The Terrorists" US version as the 2003 Fox DVD, only with a 5.1 upmix in lieu of the original Mono and no other supplements. This release is now Out of Print.
-In the UK, it received its DVD and Blu-ray debut by independent label Network (under licence from StudioCanal, owners of the British Lion/EMI catalog) in August 2014. Network's release utilizes a new 2k restoration of the UK "Ransom" version and opens with the British Lion logo. Its supplements are UK Teaser and Theatrical trailers under its "Ransom" title.
+In the UK, it received its DVD and Blu-ray debut by independent label Network (under licence from [[StudioCanal]], owners of the British Lion/EMI catalog) in August 2014. Network's release uses a new 2K restoration of the UK "Ransom" version and opens with the British Lion logo. Its supplements are UK Teaser and Theatrical trailers under its "Ransom" title.
+In Australia, Umbrella Entertainment (under licence from StudioCanal) initially released a DVD release under "The Terrorists" title using the same transfer as the Fox DVD. In 2024, they re-released the film on Blu-ray utilizing the 2K restoration of the UK "Ransom" version. Its supplements are an exclusive audio commentary with Lee Pfeiffer, editor of Cinema Retro Magazine, along with film historians Paul Scrabo and Tony Latino, "The Wilderness Period" a new interview with film critic Kim Newman, the alternate title sequence with the US "The Terrorists" title card, the original trailer and teaser plus a trailer reel of 1970s films starring Sean Connery.
 == References ==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
 == External links ==
 * {{IMDb title|id=0073796|title=Ransom}}
-*{{rotten-tomatoes|1021089-terrorists}}
 * {{amg movie|49156}}
 * {{tcmdb title|id=92609}}
-* {{AFI film|id=55689|title=The Terrorists}}
+* {{AFI film|55689}}
 * {{mojo title|terroristsransom|The Terrorists}}
-*[http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/8196-REVIEW-RANSOM-AKA-THE-TERRORISTS-STARRING-SEAN-CONNERY-1974;-BLU-RAY-UK-RELEASE.html RZeview] at Cinema Retro
+* [http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/8196-REVIEW-RANSOM-AKA-THE-TERRORISTS-STARRING-SEAN-CONNERY-1974;-BLU-RAY-UK-RELEASE.html RZeview] at Cinema Retro
+{{Authority control}}
 [[Category:1975 films]]
-[[Category:British films]]
+[[Category:British drama films]]
-[[Category:English-language films]]
+[[Category:British Lion Films films]]
+[[Category:Films about kidnapping]]
 [[Category:Films about terrorism]]
 [[Category:Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith]]
 [[Category:Films set in Europe]]
 [[Category:Films set in airports]]
+[[Category:Films set in fictional countries]]
 [[Category:Films about hostage takings]]
+[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
+[[Category:1970s British films]]