Twilight's Last Gleaming

I disagree that the political statement in the movie is misplaced. It was one of the first movies from the Hollywood mainstream to address the atrocities in Vietnam (such as the Mai Lai massacre for those who are not familiar with history). I think the film showed the pain and anger many vets felt when they returned. Beyond the social statement, I think the film is good thriller that stands the test of time. There are some minor problems with the plot such as the security at the silo, but those come up when one tries to analyze the film instead of enjoying the ride. Lancaster and Widmark are, as usual, very good in the picture which alone makes the picture worth seeing.

A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell (Burt Lancaster) and his band (Paul Winfield , Burt Young , William Smith) , escape from a military prison and take over an ICBM silo near Montana . They have invaded Silo 3 and are prepared to launch nine nuclear missiles . Head saboteur General Lawrence threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the government and President of the United States (Charles Durning , though Paul Newman was offered the role , but turned it down) carry out their conditions , as they demand the followings : ¨Ten million dollars , Air Force One (it was only painted on one side) and you Mr President¨ as he must reveal details of a secret meeting and confess the Vietnam policies and crimes .

Thrilling film about nuclear threatening that contains noisy action , suspense , intrigue , thrills and being pretty entertaining . One of the very few films made in the late 1970's to be shown with an intermission and an extended use of split screens functioning to a large degree in tightening the intrigue . The movie's weakest point is the television style and some ridiculous dialogues as when an enemy appears and Paul Winfield tells ¨Perhaps he might be a midget¨and Lancaster responds : ¨There are no midgets in the United States Air Force¨. Based on a novel by Walter Wager titled ¨Viper three¨ with interesting screenplay from Ronald M. Cohen and Edward Huebsch . The secret policy is closely based on the 1957 book "Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy" by Henry Kissinger, in which the future Secretary of State outlines a strategy committing the US to promoting regional conflicts to deter the Soviets' initiating full-scale war. Top-notch acting by Lancaster as a thinking madman who holds America to ransom by kidnapping atomic missiles . Burt Lancaster initially turned the script down when he was first approached about the project, but eventually agreed to do it after Robert Aldrich became attached to the picture. This is Burt Lancaster's fourth collaboration with director Robert Aldrich, after Apache (1954), Veracruz (1954) and Ulzana's raid (1972). Very good support cast such as Roscoe Lee Browne as James Forrest , Joseph Cotten as Secretary of State , Melvyn Douglas as Zachariah Guthrie , Richard Jaeckel as Capt. Stanford , William Marshall as Attorney General , Gerald S. O'Loughlin as Brig. Gen. O'Rourke , Richard Widmark as Gen. Martin and final film of Charles McGraw , Lionel Murton and Leif Erickson . Atmospheric cinematography by Robert Hauser , all of the scenes were shot with two cameras running . Thrilling and suspenseful musical score by the master Jerry Goldsmith .

The motion picture was professionally directed by Robert Aldrich , he even turned down a large salary and a 10% profit stake in ¨A bridge too far¨1977) in order to make this film and he finished the film ten days ahead of schedule . Here Robert Aldrich gave a tense and brilliant direction . Aldrich began writing and directing for TV series in the early 1950s, and directed his first feature in 1953 (Big Leaguer ,1953). Soon thereafter he established his own production company and produced most of his own films, collaborating in the writing of many of them . Directed in a considerable plethora of genres but almost all of his films contained a subversive undertone . He was an expert on warlike (Dirty Dozen , The Angry Hills , Attack , Ten seconds to hell) and Western (The Frisko kid , Ulzana's raid, Apache , Veracruz , The last sunset) . Rating : acceptable and decent movie , it's a must see for Burt Lancaster fans .

In the 1960's three "nuclear" movies stand out: Dr. Strangelove, Fail Safe, and the much under rated Bedford Incident. All tried in their own ways to raise awareness of the implications of both the Cold War, the mind set of Nuclear Warriors and their political masters, and the dangers implicit in the possession of nuclear weapons. While Twilights Last Gleaming is not as good as these three, it is an excellent well crafted film that not only explores the mind set of the military and politicians, but also how a power structure will protect itself, particularly from that most dangerous of threats: the truth. Its also explores ONE of the reasons that once in Vietnam, the US found it so hard to get out. If you enjoy this one, check out another Burt Lancaster movie, CONTROL. Again, an excellent treatment of a nuclear subject.

And If it says Richard Widmark on the cast, you know he's going to play a top general, and even more ridiculously than in "The Swarm". Here, Burt Lancaster--playing the mad-dove equivalent of his mad-hawk general from "Seven Days in May"--hijacks a nuclear missile silo, demanding the President (Charles Durning, uncannily resembling the present-day Bill Clinton) as hostage, and threatens to launch it if the government doesn't release the secret memo of why we went to Vietnam.

The whole "Ironic patriotism" is laid on a little too thickly, as if the German filmmakers were trying a little too hard to make an American Picture, but the real problem is director Robert Aldrich: The ex-Baby Jane director didn't quite survive the 70's ("The Longest Yard", "The Choirboys"), the Aldrich touch was never elegant or subtle, and the opening "heist" scenes of hijacking the silo are spoiled by turning Lancaster's partners-in-crime into foul-mouthed cliche' thugs. Also, for almost half the film, Aldrich tries to borrow Brian dePalma's trick of split-screening parallel plots and phone conversations, but doesn't seem to understand how dePalma used them for "suspense"--Here, he just lets things play out like we're watching the movie on dual security cameras, or a film-school editing assignment of "How would you intercut these two scenes to make it more exciting.?"

Stil, worth a watch if it comes your way.

Rating 4**** out of 5

Robert Aldrich's "Twilight's Last Gleaming" based on the novel Viper 3 by Walter Wager is the story of General Dell, played superbly by Oscar winner Burt Lancaster, who was an ex-military officer during the Vietnam War. His intentions are to take control of an underground nuclear silo and expects certain demands to be made including ten million dollars in cash and the to use the President of the United States as a hostage. A fine war film with Jerry Goldsmith's excellent score, makes Twilight's Last Gleaming a very recommended motion picture which should be viewed today, especially at the height of the recent terrorism attacks with great performances by Oscar nominees Burt Young, Richard Widmark, Paul Winfield, Joseph Cotton, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Jaeckel and Charles Durning as the President.