Robert Shaw

Bruce Dern

Marthe Keller

Fritz Weaver

Steven Keats

Bekim Fehmiu

Michael V. Gazzo

William Daniels

Walter Gotell

Pat Summerall

Tom Brookshier

Walter Brooke

Clyde Kusatsu

Robert Patten

Victor Campos

Joseph Robbie

Robert J. Wussler

James Jeter

Tom McFadden

Than Wyenn

Jack Rader

Nick Nickolary

Michael Joseph Reynolds

Frank Logan

Hunter von Leer

Sarah Fankboner

Kathy Thornton

Kenneth I. Harms

Kim Nicholas

Bert Madrid

John Frankenheimer

Ivan Moffat

Ernest Lehman

Thomas Harris

Kenneth Ross

John Williams

Dick Ziker

Jeannie Epper

Bob Minor

Erik Cord

Gene LeBell

Glenn R. Wilder

Larry Holt

Sugar Blymyer

Robert L. Rosen

Alan Levine

Robert Dawn

Tom Rolf

Brad Wilder

Ray Summers

Robert Evans

Walter H. Tyler

Bobby Clark

Lynn Stalmaster

Jerry Wunderlich

Everett Creach

Ernest Robinson

Charlsie Bryant

Marc Monnet

Howard Beals

Herbert W. Spencer

John A. Alonzo

Jerry Ziesmer

Ray Mercer Jr.

James W. Gavin

Larry Franco

Gene S. Cantamessa

June Edgerton

John Wilkinson

Action

Drama

Thriller

Black Sunday

Paramount Pictures

Robert Evans Company

United States of America

English

Per Gunnar Jonsson

I read the book that the movie is based on a long time ago back in the times when books by definition where made out of paper. I honestly do not remember much from the book except that I thought it was a good enough book. I also generally like Robert Shaw as an actor so when I saw that this movie was given on Paramount Channel I decided to record it for a rainy day. Well, yesterday was not a rainy day but there was not really anything else on that I felt like watching so I put this one on.

It is a fairly good movie. At least up until the end. It is a pretty much standard political thriller with the rather common basic story of a couple of terrorists planning a terrorist strike on US soil and a couple of good guys trying to stop them. Of course one of the good guys are a foreign operative with less restrained ideas about how to achieve the desired outcome. There is nothing hugely inventive about the story, although I guess it might have felt a bit more fresh in 1977 when the movie was produced, but it is mostly well implemented.

I do like that the movie, as is all to often the case, does not try to “explain” the terrorists and justify their actions, at least not too much. Compared to many movie of this type (and that is why I generally do not like these movies) this one is rather neutral in terms of political sides. There are a few outbursts of “why” but in general the movie focuses on the preparations and the chase.

As I wrote, in general the movie is well implemented. The acting of both Robert Shaw and Marthe Keller, who plays the female terrorist, is not at all bad. Maybe not Oscars material but definitely not bad and, as I also wrote before, I do like Robert Shaw. For most of the movie we get to follow the preparations of the terrorists and the work of the good guys trying to unravel the plot and stop it. A few sporadic outbursts of action breaks the otherwise not so fast pace of the movie. Classical thriller material and quite enjoyable to watch.

Unfortunately by the time we come to the ending it appears like the classical Hollywood I-do-not-have-clue-but-lets-throw-in-some-action people took over and it drags down an otherwise fairly well-made movie. Once the plan is uncovered the movie turns into just another let’s-spot-the-faults Hollywood B-movie. For instance, once it is clear that there is a severe threat, why is the stadium not evacuated? At least they should have gotten the president out. Given the situation why did they not have an officer or agent on the blimp in the first place? Why did Kobakov have to run all over the stadium to talk to the TV-guys, there should have been someone with communication in their hut already? And then we have the blimp chase. There was a potential threat to the president and all they could muster was a single police chopper that got shot down and another chopper that they hijacked? Kobakov laying on the blimp fumbling to get hold of the hook was also dragged out in absurdum.

As I wrote I do not remember much details from the book but this ending sure dragged down the movie for me. It is at least a star off for the ending. Still, most of the movie was enjoyable.

Black Sunday - Trailer

Black Sunday

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