Ransom, stato di emergenza per un rapimento

This film came out just two years after "Skyjacked," the first movie made about skyjacking. Most hijacking of airplanes before this were for one of two reasons – to extort money from the airlines, or to flee somewhere for political asylum. "The Terrorists" is the first movie made about organized terrorists taking over a plane. And it surely wasn't the last.

What is very good about this film is that it shows how security personnel handle the situation. It's new to all the characters in this film. Sean Connery plays the head of Scandinavian security, Co. Nils Tahlvik. While the movie uses the general term Scandinavian for the region, the event takes place in Norway, most likely Oslo. All the actors play their roles very well. The plot is complicated, and the script and direction handle it very well, so the audience is never lost about what is taking place.

The scenery and aerial photography are excellent. The flight into Russia with the buzzing and then escort by the Soviet-looking jets is most impressive. Even though the details are clear to the audience, the story has wonderful suspense as we see Tahlvik and the other characters go through their actions to meet deadlines. Connery's character also exclaims that to surrender to terrorists is to open to door to more and more terrorism. His purpose is to try to thwart the terrorists.

This is a nice film, filled with drama and suspense. There isn't a lot of action until the end. But, it is a good look at how government and security forces try to deal with terrorists and skyjackings.

"The Terrorists" has one subtle "message" of sorts. It takes a cynical stab at British government that will not arrest some criminals because they can be of use to them. The message is, that because they do that, it comes back to hurt innocent people. Connery's character insists that the law be followed, or anarchy will rule.

Sean Connery plays Scandanavian military police chief Nils Tahlvik, assigned to deal with a high jacked British plane that has landed at their airport. The terrorists make various demands that Tahlvik must meet if he wants to save the plane filled with passengers...

Undistinguished yarn has little going for it other than Sean Connery's commanding performance, and a surprise twist at the end that perhaps doesn't bear close scrutiny.... Regardless, though not at all bad, it contains little to make it memorable.

With all respect to Mr. Connery, were films like this and "Zardoz" worth giving up playing James Bond?

This film is also called The ransom, not to be confused with the mild action film with Mel Gibson.

The film set in the Scandinavian country (called Scandinavia in the movie, while it is shot in Norway), the snow atmosphere and the heavily dressed characters somehow dictated the slowness of the pace in the movie. Nevertheless, it's exciting. The whole look is not your conventional Hollywood actioner, while at the same time deserves the same class as that of the late sixties/early seventies crime/caper movies like Bullit, French Connection, Taking Pelham One, Two and Three and Dirty Harry.

Connery is fun to watch. He really adds to the atmosphere of the movie and the relatively tame climax looks good with his presence. Good movie. 7/10

Sadly neglected 70's thriller shot on location in Oslo, Norway. Sean Connery looks great as "Scandinavian Security Chief" Nils Tahlvik, and director Caspar Wrede has made some great use of Oslo scenery including a West Side residential area, Oslo's City Hall and Fornebu International Airport (which closed down in 1998). It's also nice to see one of Norway's greatest stage actors, Knut Wigert, as Connery's commanding officer.

All though slow-moving at times this gritty looking thriller has a nice realistic flair to it, including some surprising plot twists along the way.

One final note: from a Norwegian point-of-view it's fun to see how much this British production has the look and feel of a 70's Norwegian film!

Update/comment on Mike's user comment with the headline "Boring Swedish hijacking action": I don't know where he gets all this "Swedish"-stuff as the movie is mainly shot on location in Norway, it has Norwegian actors in some of the supporting roles (most notably Knut Wigert and Alf Malland) and not one Swedish actor, and as IMDb states it is a British production. Sweden had nothing to do with it.

Terrorists have seized the British ambassador (Robert Harris) to an unnamed Scandinavian country, and are counting on an associate named Petrie (Ian McShane), who's commandeered a jet, to get them to safety. The main character standing in their way is no-nonsense security chief Colonel Nils Tahlvik (Sean Connery). The passengers on the jet have cause to be concerned, as Tahlvik is not willing to play the terrorists' game. He's going to try to foil them, no matter what it takes.

Although a somewhat forgotten thriller 43 years later, it's certainly still topical enough to have some resonance. It's not particularly *exciting*, or exceptional in any way, but it tells an okay story in capable fashion. Its main asset is its forward momentum, as it races towards the finish line with no filler to speak of, and wraps up in just under an hour and a half. The excellent soundtrack by the always reliable Jerry Goldsmith is a big help in keeping it watchable. It gets off to a grand start with a couple of satisfying explosions, and delivers some twists along the way. It was largely filmed on location in Norway (the wintry atmosphere is most enjoyable), with interiors done at Britains' famed Shepperton Studios.

This viewer wouldn't necessarily consider the performances of Connery and McShane to be "indifferent". Yes, they've been better before and since, but the scenario does benefit from their presence and professionalism. The cast is mostly (and obviously) British, even in some of the Scandinavian roles, and they get the job done adequately.

Largely routine, and forgettable, but entertaining to watch.

Six out of 10.