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In 1974, the screen comes alive with a distinctly charged atmosphere, one where the fading echoes of the old studio system mix with the bold experiments of an emerging cinematic era.

The film unfurls against a backdrop steeped in the aesthetic and ambitions of that time—a period marked by a seismic shift in filmmaking techniques and narrative approaches. The industry, in a state of quiet revolution, offers a stage where the rules of traditional production are questioned and redefined.

At the heart of the narrative lies a desperate producer who devises a plan to secure an insurance payout by engineering a fatal mishap on set. This risky plot centers on the production of a Western, interweaving peril with the delicate art of staging an “accident.” The story’s momentum is driven by a carefully orchestrated gamble, where each attempt to tip fate into the producer’s favor adds layers of tension and dark humor.

Not unlike an attentive bird who spots a smidgen of sustenance in a pile of cattle dung, director George Gallo and co-scripter Josh Posner’s new comedy retrieves a viable comic premise in the deservedly obscure and irredeemably wretched 1982 comedy “The Comeback Trail.” Unfortunately, their hugely enjoyable remake, in name only, was stuck in distribution limbo for the better part of five years, despite a stellar cast that includes Oscar winners Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones and Morgan Freeman. At long last, the movie recently received an extremely limited U.S. theatrical run and is now available on digital platforms.

Speaking as someone who viewed a screener of the new and improved “Comeback Trail” back in 2020, and has puzzled over why it remained more or less shelved ever since, I am happy to report after a second viewing that the indie production is every bit as funny as I...

The trailer for The Comeback Trail starring Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jone, Emile Hirsch, and Zack Braff is here. Over the past few years, film legend De Niro has puzzled fans of his Raging Bull days by taking on one perplexingly mediocre comedy role after another. With the trailer release of The Comeback Trail, the actor seems to have finally lent his talents to a comedy that looks more ambitious than being a middling cash grab.

The trailer starts with Robert De Niro as struggling Hollywood producer Max Barber swearing to return the money he owes to Morgan Freeman's mob boss Reggie Fontaine. Zach Braff is introduced as Barber's hapless helper Dr. Walter Creason. A freak accident of a famous actor on set gives Barber a brilliant idea: Set up a dummy film production, insure the lead actor for a huge amount, kill the actor in a freak 'accident',...

Robert De Niro, who was nominated this year for an Academy Award for producing “The Irishman,” plays against type as a completely incompetent producer in the first trailer for the showbiz comedy “The Comeback Trail.”

To get the mob off his back, De Niro’s disheveled producer decides to make a Western starring the washed-up Duke Montana (played by Tommy Lee Jones) in order to “accidentally” kill him during a stunt in order to collect on the life insurance policy. The problem is that Duke is apparently immortal. He survives a daily game of Russian Roulette, a fall into a massive canyon and being engulfed in flames.

Morgan Freeman stars as the mobster, who appears at the start of the trailer threatening to kill De Niro’s Max Barber and accuses him of lying about paying his debt.

“I swear I’m not lying,” De Niro responds. “Ok, I’m...

Exclusive: Domestic rights for the George Gallo directed Robert De Niro comedy The Comeback Trail have been scooped up by Cloudburst Entertainment for a Nov. 13 wide release. Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones star.

The second teaming between De Niro and Gallo since the 1988 action comedy Midnight Run, which the latter wrote, follows Max Barber (De Niro) and his partner Walter (Zach Braff) who play down-and-out B-Movie producers who find themselves in trouble with mob boss Reggie Fontaine (Morgan Freeman). To save himself and Walter, Barber has to sell the only great script he’s ever had to his former intern and, now, A-Movie producer, James Moore (Emile Hirsch). On the first day of shooting Moore’s lead actor dies in a stunt accident and lets him cash in on a huge insurance policy. That gives Barber an idea to do the same. They take a horrible...