The Bourne Identity (1988 film)

The Bourne Identity
Genre	Action Adventure Drama
Based on	The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Screenplay by	Carol Sobieski
Directed by	Roger Young
Starring	Richard Chamberlain Jaclyn Smith Anthony Quayle Donald Moffat Denholm Elliott
Music by	Laurence Rosenthal
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Alan Shayne
Producers	Frederick Muller Martin Rabbett (co-producer) Gayle Scott (associate producer) Carol Sobieski (supervising producer)
Production locations	Théoule-sur-Mer, France St Ermin's Hotel, Caxton Street, Westminster, London, England Eiffel Tower, Paris, France Arc de Triomphe, Paris 8, Paris, France La Defense, Paris, France French Riviera, Alpes-Maritimes, France Regensberg, Kanton Zürich, Switzerland Zürich, Kanton Zürich, Switzerland Park Avenue and E. 71 Street, Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Cinematography	Tony Pierce-Roberts
Editors	Ellen Ring Jacobson Benjamin A. Weissman
Running time	185 minutes
Production companies	Alan Shayne Productions Warner Bros. Television
Distributor	ABC
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	Color
Audio format	Mono Stereo (remix for video release)
Original release	May 8, 1988 (1988-05-08)

The Bourne Identity is a 1988 American mystery action thriller television movie adaptation of Robert Ludlum's 1980 novel The Bourne Identity.^[1] The film adaptation was written by Carol Sobieski, directed by Roger Young for Warner Bros. Television with Richard Chamberlain in the title role, along with Jaclyn Smith. It follows the storyline of the original novel, with a run-time of 3 hours 5 min. With commercials added, the running time was extended to four hours. The film was first shown on ABC in two two-hour installments over two nights. The film was the last TV film for both Anthony Quayle and Denholm Elliott.

The book was adapted again in 2002 by Doug Liman starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, launching the Bourne series of theatrical films, with considerable deviations from the original Cold War novel.^[1][2] It was followed later by a new series of Bourne best sellers written by Eric Lustbader with the permission of the Ludlum estate.

Differences from the book[]

The film exhibits some differences from the novel by Ludlum. The undercover identity of Jason Bourne is simplified to "Bourne" pursuing Carlos rather than using the code name "Cain". Alexander Conklin is killed by one of his own people when attempting to confront Bourne; in the novel he survives and appears in subsequent novels. In the book's ending, Carlos the Jackal escapes in the confusion, whereas in the film he is killed in the climactic battle with Bourne.

Cast[]

• Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne
• Jaclyn Smith as Marie St. Jacques
• Anthony Quayle as Gen. François Villiers
• Donald Moffat as David Abbott
• Shane Rimmer as Alexander Conklin
• Yorgo Voyagis as Carlos
• Denholm Elliott as Dr. Geoffrey Washburn
• Peter Vaughan as Fritz Koenig
• Michael Habeck as The Fat Man
• Wolf Kahler as Gold Glasses
• Philip Madoc as D'Armacourt
• Bill Wallis as Chernak

References[]

Further reading[]

• Tibbetts, John C., and James M. Welsh, eds. The Encyclopedia of Novels Into Film (2nd ed. 2005) pp 39–42.

External links[]

• The Bourne Identity at IMDb