Eureka (1983 film)
| Eureka | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nicolas Roeg |
| Written by | Paul Mayersberg |
| Based on | Who Killed Sir Harry Oakes? by Marshall Houts |
| Produced by | Jeremy Thomas |
| Starring | Gene Hackman Rutger Hauer Theresa Russell Mickey Rourke Joe Pesci |
| Cinematography | Alex Thomson |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | MGM/UA Entertainment Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 130 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $123,572 |
Eureka is a 1983 British-American drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg. It is the story of a Klondike prospector, Jack McCann (Gene Hackman) who strikes it rich, yet ends up fearing that his daughter Tracy (Theresa Russell) and his son-in-law (Rutger Hauer) are scheming to take his wealth and his soul; moreover, greedy investors (Joe Pesci and Mickey Rourke) are also hunting McCann's fortune.
Eureka is loosely based on the true murder of Sir Harry Oakes in the Bahamas in 1943.[1]
Plot[]
Arctic prospector Jack McCann (Gene Hackman), after 15 years of solitary searching, becomes one of the world's wealthiest men when he literally falls into a mountain of gold in 1925. Twenty years later in 1945, he lives in luxury on a Caribbean island that he owns. But his wealth brings him no peace of mind as he copes with Helen (Jane Lapotaire), his bored, alcoholic wife; Tracy (Theresa Russell), his headstrong daughter who has married Claude Van Horn (Rutger Hauer) a dissolute, philandering social-climber; his paranoid assistant Charles Perkins (Ed Lauter); and Miami mobsters led by Aurelio D'Amato (Mickey Rourke) sent by Mayakofsky (Joe Pesci), who want his island to build a casino. His life is entangled with the obsessions of those around him with greed, power, and debauchery against a background of occult symbolism.
When Jack is brutally murdered by unseen mob associates, his son-in-law, Claude, is arrested for the crime and put on trial, which takes place during most of the second part of the film. With circumstantial evidence and due to Jack's long list of enemies, the prosecution fails to prove its case against Claude, and he is acquitted. Claude leaves the island with Tracy shortly thereafter, and Jack McCann's murder remains unsolved.
Cast[]
- Gene Hackman as Jack McCann
- Theresa Russell as Tracy McCann Maillot Van Horn
- Rutger Hauer as Claude Maillot Van Horn
- Jane Lapotaire as Helen McCann
- Mickey Rourke as Aurelio D'Amato
- Ed Lauter as Charles Perkins
- Joe Pesci as Mayakofsky
- Joe Spinell as Pete
- James Faulkner as Roger
- Corin Redgrave as Worsley
- Helena Kallianiotes as Frieda
Legacy[]
Film critic and film maker Mark Cousins put Eureka in his top ten favorite films in the Sight & Sound Greatest Films poll 2012[2] and has called the film a "masterpiece".[3] Danny Boyle classified this film as underrated.[citation needed]
The film's title was used by musician Jim O'Rourke for his album Eureka.
DVD[]
Eureka was released to DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on September 16, 2003 as a Region 1 widescreen DVD, as well as a 2016 Blu-Ray release (under license from MGM) by Twilight Time.
References[]
- ^ [1]
- ^ Sight and Sounds Greatest Films Poll 2012, Mark Cousins
- ^ Twitter @markcousinsfilm
External links[]
- Eureka at IMDb
- Eureka at Rotten Tomatoes
- Eureka at Box Office Mojo
- 1983 films
- English-language films
- 1983 drama films
- American films
- British films
- Films directed by Nicolas Roeg
- Films set in 1925
- Films set in 1945
- Films set in the Caribbean
- Mining in film
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- United Artists films
- Films produced by Jeremy Thomas
- Films scored by Stanley Myers
- Films with screenplays by Paul Mayersberg