Russian Roulette (film)
Russian Roulette | |
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Directed by | Lou Lombardo |
Written by | Stanley Mann (writer) Arnold Margolin (writer) Jack Trolley (screenplay) |
Based on | Kosygin is Coming (novel) by Tom Ardies |
Produced by | Elliott Kastner Jerry Bick |
Starring | George Segal Cristina Raines Denholm Elliott Gordon Jackson Peter Donat Richard Romanus |
Cinematography | Brian West |
Edited by | Richard Marden |
Music by | Michael J. Lewis |
Production companies | Bulldog ITC Films |
Distributed by | Rank Film Distribution (United Kingdom) Avco Embassy (United States) |
Release dates | 20 August 1975 (US) 2 May 1976 (UK) |
Running time | 93 minutes |
Countries | Canada United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Russian Roulette is a 1975 British-Canadian thriller film directed by Lou Lombardo and starring George Segal, Cristina Raines and Denholm Elliott.
Plot[]
Shaver (George Segal), a disgraced former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, receives an offer to keep an eye on a Latvian dissident during an upcoming visit to Vancouver by a renegade Soviet Premier in exchange for eventually being reinstated to the force. However, upon accepting the assignment, he finds himself engulfed in a KGB conspiracy to kill the premier during his visit and must clear his own name.
Cast[]
- George Segal as Corporal Timothy Shaver
- Cristina Raines as Bogna Kirchoff
- Bo Brundin as Colonel Sergi Vostick
- Denholm Elliott as Commander Petapiece
- Gordon Jackson as Hardison
- Peter Donat as Inspector Peter McDermott
- Richard Romanus as Raymond Ragulin
- Nigel Stock as Ferguson
- Val Avery as Rudolph Henke
- Louise Fletcher as Midge
- Graham Jarvis as Bension, RCMP
- Constantine Gregory as Samuel
- Doug McGrath as Lars
- Jacques Sandulescu as Gorki, KGB Goon
- Wally Marsh as Taggart
- Hagan Beggs as Kavinsky
Production[]
The film was the directorial debut for Lombardo, who is noted primarily as a film editor. It was adapted from Tom Ardies' novel Kosygin Is Coming. It was filmed primarily in Vancouver, where the story also took place.
Release[]
After being released theatrically in 1975, the film was released to home video on VHS in 1986, and on DVD by Shout! Factory in October 2013 as part of a double feature with Love and Bullets, a Charles Bronson thriller originally released in 1979.[1]
References[]
- ^ Hodgson, Mark A. (June 23, 2009). "Russian Roulette (1975) - not on DVD". Black Hole Reviews. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
Director Lou Lombardo indulges the cast to throw in improvised dialogue to add to the realistic feel. The best example is a scene where Segal tries to get an old lady to remember a really important message. The worst is his throwaway line to a traumatised Raines in the middle of a car chase, "How do you feel, killing a man?" Sometimes his comedy touch makes the film a little lighter than the subject deserves.
External links[]
- English-language films
- 1975 films
- Films shot in Vancouver
- Films set in Vancouver
- Canadian films
- British films
- English-language Canadian films
- Cold War spy films
- 1975 drama films
- Canadian drama films
- British drama films
- 1970s thriller films
- Canadian thriller films
- British thriller films
- ITC Entertainment films
- Films with screenplays by Stanley Mann
- 1970s British film stubs