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Year of the Gun (film)
Encyclopedia
Year of the Gun is a 1991
thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer
and starred Andrew McCarthy
, Sharon Stone
and Valeria Golino
.
The movie re-creates the backdrop of politically charged atmosphere and student unrest, in which the infamous Red Brigades commit their spate of violent attacks which rocked northern Italy in the 1970's, culminating in the Kidnapping and later murder of Aldo Moro, former Italian Prime Minister.
As part of a plan to write a commercial novel and raise money to marry and support Lia in the style to which she is accustomed, Raybourne researches the activities and organization of the Red Brigades. He writes the draft of a novel, realistic but fictitious, with the plot centered around the kidnapping of a central political figure by the Red Brigades. During this time David Raybourne meets a beautiful and sexually provocative young photojournalist, Alison King (Sharon Stone in one of her earliest roles). She is eager for a news story and is introduced by Raybourne to Italo Bianchi. Alison King becomes convinced that Raybourne knows something about the Red Brigades and is hiding a potential scoop from her, so after a sexual dalliance, she searches his apartment and finds Raybourne's novel draft. She brings this to the attention of Bianchi who despite his mild manner and seemingly moderate politics, is actually collaborating with the Red Brigades. He delivers the draft to a Red Brigade contact and the similarity of his fictitious plot to their actual kidnap plans causes them to conclude that their plans have been leaked. Raybourne realizes he is being hunted when the Brigades attack the newspaper offices where he works killing everyone present, and he attempts to escape with Alison King, with the aid of his romantic connection, Lia.
It turns out that Lia is even more deeply involved with the Red Brigades than Italo, and after a chase, Raybourne and King are captured. They are held while the kidnapping of Aldo Moro takes place and after this is achieved, the Brigades leadership accuse Lia for the leak and shoot her for her apparent betrayal, right before Raybournes' and Kings' eyes. They force King to photograph the body and instruct Raybourne to publicize the story as a warning to any future traitors.
The movie ends with Raybourne being interviewed on American television regarding the successful publification of a now non-fiction book about the Red Brigades and his contact with them.
, criticized the transition from book to film by saying, "But the plot, from a screenplay by David Ambrose based on Michael Mewshaw
's book, turns out to be dizzyingly overcomplicated, and far too much of it hinges on the American journalist's supposed power to make trouble with his novel, which he says will be a "Day of the Jackal"-like mixture of real and fictitious characters. It is this journalist's advance knowledge of the plot to kidnap Aldo Moro, a former Italian Prime Minister, that makes so many waves."
Meanwhile, Siskel & Ebert were divided with Siskel giving the film a thumbs down, and Ebert giving a thumbs up.
1991 in film
The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
and starred Andrew McCarthy
Andrew McCarthy
Andrew Thomas McCarthy is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the 1980s films St. Elmo's Fire, Mannequin, Weekend at Bernie's, Pretty in Pink, and Less Than Zero, and more recently for his role in the television shows Lipstick Jungle, White Collar and Royal Pains.-Career:McCarthy...
, Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
and Valeria Golino
Valeria Golino
Valeria Golino is an Italian-Greek film and television actress. She is best known to English language audiences for the 1988 film Rain Man, and the Hot Shots! films...
.
Plot
In 1978, David Raybourne is an American novelist who lives in Milan and works as a journalist in a small English-language newspaper. He is romantically involved with Lia (Valeria Golino), the estranged wife of an Italian Industrialist, and befriended by Italo Bianchi (John Pankow), a politically left-leaning lecturer at a Milano University.The movie re-creates the backdrop of politically charged atmosphere and student unrest, in which the infamous Red Brigades commit their spate of violent attacks which rocked northern Italy in the 1970's, culminating in the Kidnapping and later murder of Aldo Moro, former Italian Prime Minister.
As part of a plan to write a commercial novel and raise money to marry and support Lia in the style to which she is accustomed, Raybourne researches the activities and organization of the Red Brigades. He writes the draft of a novel, realistic but fictitious, with the plot centered around the kidnapping of a central political figure by the Red Brigades. During this time David Raybourne meets a beautiful and sexually provocative young photojournalist, Alison King (Sharon Stone in one of her earliest roles). She is eager for a news story and is introduced by Raybourne to Italo Bianchi. Alison King becomes convinced that Raybourne knows something about the Red Brigades and is hiding a potential scoop from her, so after a sexual dalliance, she searches his apartment and finds Raybourne's novel draft. She brings this to the attention of Bianchi who despite his mild manner and seemingly moderate politics, is actually collaborating with the Red Brigades. He delivers the draft to a Red Brigade contact and the similarity of his fictitious plot to their actual kidnap plans causes them to conclude that their plans have been leaked. Raybourne realizes he is being hunted when the Brigades attack the newspaper offices where he works killing everyone present, and he attempts to escape with Alison King, with the aid of his romantic connection, Lia.
It turns out that Lia is even more deeply involved with the Red Brigades than Italo, and after a chase, Raybourne and King are captured. They are held while the kidnapping of Aldo Moro takes place and after this is achieved, the Brigades leadership accuse Lia for the leak and shoot her for her apparent betrayal, right before Raybournes' and Kings' eyes. They force King to photograph the body and instruct Raybourne to publicize the story as a warning to any future traitors.
The movie ends with Raybourne being interviewed on American television regarding the successful publification of a now non-fiction book about the Red Brigades and his contact with them.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Andrew McCarthy Andrew McCarthy Andrew Thomas McCarthy is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the 1980s films St. Elmo's Fire, Mannequin, Weekend at Bernie's, Pretty in Pink, and Less Than Zero, and more recently for his role in the television shows Lipstick Jungle, White Collar and Royal Pains.-Career:McCarthy... |
David Raybourne |
| Sharon Stone Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct... |
Alison King |
| Valeria Golino Valeria Golino Valeria Golino is an Italian-Greek film and television actress. She is best known to English language audiences for the 1988 film Rain Man, and the Hot Shots! films... |
Lia |
| John Pankow John Pankow John Pankow is an American film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for a supporting role on the sitcom Mad About You .-Early life:... |
Italo Bianchi |
| George Murcell | Pierre Bernier |
| Mattia Sbragia Mattia Sbragia Mattia Sbragia is an Italian character actor.Mattia Sbragia has been performing in films, on television, and in the theater for almost thirty years. He made his motion picture debut in 1974, in Franco Rossetti's Nipoti Miei Diletti... |
Giovanni |
| Roberto Posse | Lucio |
| Thomas Elliot | Marco |
Reception
The film received mixed reviews. New York Times film critic Janet MaslinJanet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
, criticized the transition from book to film by saying, "But the plot, from a screenplay by David Ambrose based on Michael Mewshaw
Michael Mewshaw
Michael Mewshaw is an American author of 11 novels and 8 books of nonfiction, and works frequently as a travel writer, investigative reporter, book reviewer, and tennis reporter. His novel Year of the Gun was made into a film of the same name by John Frankenheimer in 1991...
's book, turns out to be dizzyingly overcomplicated, and far too much of it hinges on the American journalist's supposed power to make trouble with his novel, which he says will be a "Day of the Jackal"-like mixture of real and fictitious characters. It is this journalist's advance knowledge of the plot to kidnap Aldo Moro, a former Italian Prime Minister, that makes so many waves."
Meanwhile, Siskel & Ebert were divided with Siskel giving the film a thumbs down, and Ebert giving a thumbs up.