Figures in a Landscape

The viewer is presented with two characters. These characters are on the run, from a black helicopter that keeps chasing after them. The viewer is not told what there crime is, or if they have committed any crime. They both must fight their way through a rocky, rough, dry desert region. All the viewer gets is little stories from each of these men. We find out about children, a wife, former girlfriends, etc. The men struggle to reach a safe place, almost driving themselves crazy, believing that this is possible. This film is not available on video or disc, and the TV print runs shorter than 110 minutes. There may be a large important part of this film missing. Maybe one day it will be released on tape and disc so that a wider audience can see it. This film really is a good piece of film making.

Inspired by the minimalist theater-driven film-making of the period, Figures in a Landscape is much more interesting than its competition (Tomorrow, Losey's own "The Servant). Why? Because of the helicopter, of course!

Robert Shaw, always inspired, is here particularly so, all but frothing at the mouth as he drags his weary carcass over the mountains, from nowhere, to nowhere, until the endless desert itself seems more and more like a stage for their mad performance.

An inversion of the often static fare of the period that still displays serious acting chops. Recommended.

This movie takes what was a difficult novel to start with (by Barry England) and turns it into a rather odd tale of two men on the run. Robert Shaw wrote the screenplay and stars in this, and as usual is excellent as the tough and slightly unhinged Mac, with Malcolm McDowell in slightly overshadowed support as Ansell. You never really find out why they are running or who from (their pursuers are constantly referred to just as 'them'); but at times the action turns bloody and violent, at other times it is more reflective and quiet.

Joseph Losey's direction gives us the sense of two people lost in an expanse of nothing, which makes the scenes with the helicopter chasing them across country even more powerful. It is just hard to care about these two, without any back story to speak of or any sense of just what or who they are. An ok film and worth watching, but slightly frustrating.

I spent quite a few pennies to get my hands on this film as it was consigned to oblivion after its brief cinematic release some 35 years ago, and it was money well spent. They certainly don't make them like this anymore. From the off you're thrown into this situation with Shaw and McDowell as two convicts on the run and being pursued by a menacing black helicopter through hostile, mountainous terrain. The aerial cinematography is breathtaking at times, more real than anything you see on the silver screen today, and quite frightening too. The chase becomes personal, with one character hell-bent on destroying the enemy and the other just wanting to escape. It's compellingly brilliant - beautifully shot, in most parts, and well acted. There are some lengthy sequences which the majority of todays directors, and actors, would struggle to pull off without CGI. It does have flaws, most films do, but there are enough positives here and it's a shame it ended up as another of those 'lost' films. Okay we don't find out where they are, although it was shot in Spain, or what crimes they have committed, so what? It's a bloody good film, though I can't help but think, what a film it could have been.

Rugged maniacal brute MacConnachie (a fabulously ferocious and galvanizing performance by Robert Shaw) and wimpy intellectual Ansell (a sound portrayal by Malcom McDowell) are a couple of escaped fugitives who are on the run in some unspecified foreign country. The pair find themselves being relentlessly pursued by an ominous black helicopter.

Director Joseph Losey makes excellent and inspired use of the harsh, sprawling, and desolate countryside. Shaw's stark and intriguing script eschews pretense and exposition in favor of stripping down the premise to its mean'n'lean existential essentials whereby the plot basically becomes a gritty meditation on survival and the ruthless extremes people will resort to in order to stay alive in a hostile and pitiless world. Shaw and McDowell play off each other exceptionally well as a couple of radically contrasting fellows who are forced to depend on each other so they can persevere through a grueling ordeal that's beyond their control or understanding. Several scenes involving close calls with the helicopter register as quite dangerous and hence are positively harrowing to watch. The striking widescreen cinematography by Guy Tabary, Henri Alekan, and Peter Suschitzky offers a wealth of breathtaking aerial shots. Recommended viewing.