Liés par le sang

One wonders what it is that attracts stars to a particular project. A well-written script certainly or the chance to work with a great director. At the risk of appearing cynical one can think of no earthly reason why any of these excellent actors would agree to do a film based upon a novel(I use the term loosely) by Sidney Sheldon and directed by the staggeringly undistinguished Terence Young except THE MONEY. The starry cast list would no doubt encourage bums on seats but anyone who bought a ticket to see one of their favourites in this rubbish must have felt more than somewhat deflated. Anything at all worth remembering? Romy Schneider's line whilst unbuttoning the shirt of Maurice Ronet: 'A woman's work is never done' and Omar Sharif's seldom seen comedic side. Having endured this tripe I call to mind a quote of Dolly Parton: 'It takes a lot of money to make something look this cheap'.

...which makes this movie interesting to watch. It looks expensive and cheap at the same time. The money probably went to pay the stars, their wardrobe and to rent airplanes because the characters keep landing at airports. There seems to have been no money left for setbuilding or a proper editor! There are some really bad continuity gaps in the film.

The film is just trash! I thought it would be a serious study of a business empire run by a family. Instead it's a murder mystery without mystery and also a soft porn killer thriller! Did poor Audrey know about the naked ladies? She looks classy in her Givenchy clothes but the film is garbage; beneath her! She tries to pretend to care about the plot but the other stars (with the exception of Romy Schneider) are terrible!!!! I'm astounded at the low level of movie-making in "Bloodline"! See it for that reason only!

I enjoyed this movie! Any time Audrey Hepburn graced the screen was an occasion and for her to be paired with Ben Gazzara made this movie extra special for me. The story is interesting; the scenery is beautiful; a delightful romance develops; and who could forget Omar Shariff's shenanigans with his wife, his daughters and his mistresses? I do not wish that every single copy would disappear - I wish that they would put it on DVD. In fact, I have an excellent copy on VHS that I taped from TV. I have tried to copy it on my DVD recorder but they marked it so that it cannot be copied. I don't understand this practice but that has nothing to do with this movie! Sidney Sheldon is an excellent storyteller - and this one is no exception. As pointed out by another reviewer here, there may be cinematic flaws and shortcuts in this film - I did not notice them. I was much too engrossed in the story.

Very disappointing.

Nobody expects film based on Sidney Sheldon's book to be come art-house masterpiece but at least it could be made into enjoyable crime movie like Death on Nile. Well it was not. Despite the rather famous director (Young is not Fellini of course but most his previous films were enjoyable eye-feasts; would that be a spy adventure (2 Bond movies), eurowestern (Red Sun) or costume drama (Mayerling)) and all-star cast the film is very weak.

The plot is inconsistent and empty the idea to equip the Agatha Christy-like crime puzzle with subplots from other genres may seem not bad idea but it doesn't work at all

Subplot 1- (WWII -Jewish Tragedy with absolutely aimless trip to Poland) and Subplot 2 (French one - Schneider/Ronet story ) seem to be taken from the absolutely different film as well as the type-cast Shariff's line

Actually this all-star cast is the only reason to watch it, but its is painful to watch so much talent wasted. If Hupbern, Gazarra and Mason are at least is doing something during the boringly unveiling plot, the others are just fitting the empty space. especially annoying to see superb dramatic actresses like Papas and Schneider wasting their talent in this turkey.

Audrey Hepburn returned to Hollywood in the late 1970s to much fanfare...but once her return movie, "Robin and Marian", was finished, Hollywood didn't know what to do with her. Throwing money her way to get the Audrey Hepburn name on a film product seemed to be the industry's answer, and Hepburn collected a $1,000,000 paycheck (plus profits, though I doubt there were any) for this adaptation of Sidney Sheldon's bestselling novel. It all must have looked good expense-wise, but one has to wonder if she even read the script. It's a pallid whodunit: pharmaceutical titan is killed in a mountain-climbing accident; his daughter, though left out of the industry-loop for most of her life, decides not to sell out and run the empire herself. This is disconcerting to her greedy relatives on the board of directors, who had hoped to reap profits in their boss's absence. After a police inspector deduces the billionaire was actually murdered, and the daughter's brakes go out on a winding mountain road, it becomes clear to her there's a fox in the henhouse. Boring mystery is 'spiced up' with a snuff-film subplot involving the killer, a bald, naked strangler and some unfortunate prostitutes (and which, like many of the story threads, is never resolved; this movie doesn't end, it just stops). Hepburn is lovingly lighted and, though she's rail-thin, is the sole bright spot in this catastrophe. Ben Gazzara, James Mason, Omar Sharif, Gert Fröbe, Romy Schneider, Irene Papas and Beatrice Straight are all wasted. Terence Young directed, bringing absolutely no personality to the job. Talented writer Laird Koenig did the adaptation, which is humorless and without a shred of suspense. The finale seems to be an homage to Hepburn's classic "Charade", but here the staging is so static and clumsy it doesn't come off. Rightfully regarded as one of the worst films of Hepburn's career. * from ****