As Pedras do Dominó

First I bought The Butterfly Effect, now The Domino Principle. In both movies the title makes a promise which is not kept in the least. The metaphor signifying that one falling stone brings all the others down has nothing to do with the story. The main character is rather a pawn in a game of chess, with no will of its own and part of an unknown scheme concocted by the player. Unfortunately the viewers do not learn much about the scheme either and everything simmers down to blind anti-government paranoia.

The acting is better than the story, and there are a few great helicopter scenes. This is possibly the last time Richard Widmark used his insane Tommy Udo laughter in a movie. Eli Wallach has not enough screen time to be more than reliable. One of the reasons to watch this is Mickey Rooney. His performance is a sheer delight. He plays Gene Hackman's sidekick in prison and steals every scene he's in. What a great character actor this former child star became!

For the opening credits of this movie they seem to have used several childhood photos of Gene Hackman, apart from a number of dominoes.

"The Domino Principle" has all but been forgotten today. Seeing it, it becomes clear why it hasn't become a cult movie to any degree. I will admit that it's not a terrible movie; in fact, it has some positive attributes. Gene Hackman is, as usual, solid. And Candice Bergen, who has been criticized many times for her bad performances in this time of her life, actually gives a decent performance. The movie also starts off fairly well, with quite a bit of mystery that slowly unpeels. But the movie ultimately unfolds TOO slowly. It takes forever for Hackman to get out of prison, and takes much longer for Hackman to understand what the mysterious organization wants from him. And we never really learn who the target is, and why he is targeted! I never would have guessed a famous filmmaker like Stanley Kramer was behind this movie, not just for its unusually slow pace but also for the fact that aside from some bad language and some violence, the movie feels exactly like a made-for-TV effort.

Run-of-the-mill crime thriller resulting in a muddle , so-so flick in which lunkhead Gene Hackman is coerced in recruitment by a mysterious organization bent on politican assasin . Stars a Vietnam War veteran , named Tucker (Gene Hackman) , he is a doltish , chronic underachiever , and a real loser who's imprisoned for murder , along with his colleague Spiventa (Mickey Rooney) . The only thing Tucker to be aware of the Vietnam war was his skill with a rifle . But one day an elegant person (Richard Widmark) visits him in prison, a man he has never seen earlier , and informs him that he can walk out of prison as a free man if he will carry out a perilous assignment , no questions asked about this risked mission . As he is offered his freedom if he accepts to undertake a sinister , risked contract for a shady organization. Trust no one. No one.

An average , predictable thriller stars Gene Hackman as a tough convict sprung from the joint by a government organization to do some dirty work , working as a political assassination , including noisy action , double-crosses , romance and violence , but never have so many been wasted on so little . It is cloaked in mystery , though hardened thriller enthusiasts should have have little trouble in guessing pretty well what's going on. Even the always excellent Gene Hackman as a Viet vet can't do anything playing a confused convict busted out of prison with the intent to kill somebody . Along with Gene Hackman as an inmate Vietnam war appears the attractive Candice Bergen as a lower-middle-class housewife , but both of whom fail to convince on their respective roles . They are accompanied by a distinguished cast , these are following ones : Richard Widmark who contributes the best portrayal as a mysterious contractor , Edward Albert as a violent agent , Eli Wallach as a suspicious General and Michael Rooney offers his customarily pugnacious acting . And brief appearances from Neva Patterson , Majel Barrett, Ken Swofford, Joseph Perry and Jay Novello.

It contains an atmospheric and evocative cinematogaphy by two great cameramen : Fred J. Koenekamp and Ernest Laszlo . As well as thrilling and moving musical score by composer Billy Goldenberg . The motion picture was heavily-handed and regularly directed by Stanley Kramer and lack of intrigue and suspense make it less than it should be . Prestigious producer/director Stanley Kramer was consequently tagged as a "message film maker" and "Hollywood's Conscience" . Among his most popular films are : The pride and the Passion¨, ¨On the beach¨, ¨¨ Judgment at Nuremberg¨, ¨Ship of fools¨, ¨World is mad , mad ,mad¨ . And , of course , being ¨Guess Who's Coming to Dinner¨ his biggest hit ; however , ¨Oklahoma crude¨ and ¨The Domino Principle¨resulted to be flops at box office . The Domino Principle (1977)rating : 5/10 , very average and frustrating movie ; only for Gene Hackman's hardcore fans.

"The Domino Principle" is an unusual film since the leading man apparently hated it and found the plot confusing...and he let reporters know he felt this way. Well, although I agree that there are a few portions which are a tad confusing, I enjoyed the movie very much...even if it left many questions unanswered when the story concluded.

Tucker (Gene Hackman) is a guy who's been in prison for some time...and he has at least another 15 years to go on his sentence for murder. One day, a stranger comes to the prison to meet him and offer Tucker a deal. If Tucker would agree to do 'something' for them, this group of people would arrange for his escape. While the something isn't 100% clear, you know it involves him killing someone. As the story progresses, he learns that whoever is behind it wants no loose ends...and soon some of his contacts with this organization begin to die...and he wonders who is next.

This is a very paranoid style film...like other contemporary pictures like "The Parallax View" and "Three Days of the Condor". Some may find the movies too bleak (especially since some of them end in a very fashion)....but I found the story interesting and didn't mind all the vagueness of the plot. Overall, a very interesting film...not perfect but clearly much better than Hackman thought at the time he made it.

It's amazing how so many reviewers are blinded to great art by their own opinions of a movie's story. The Domino Principle is work of art with a great cast who give wonderful performances surrounded by beautiful music, cinematography, and film direction. Not to mention a good script and screenplay. Micky Rooney Gave an Oscar quality performance as did Gene Hackman. There are no slouchers in this film. No matter what you think of the plot you have to appreciate the quality of the work put into the making of this movie. If you don't then please stop writing reviews. 7.3/10.