Black Sunday

"Black Sunday" is a nice example of how good action films used to be, before the 80s and 90s saw dumb scripts and dumb characters undermine the genre forever (films like "The Rock" for example). Instead of going for non-stop pyrotechnics, John Frankenheimer and Ernest Lehman serve up a tense, exciting build-up with interesting characters along the way that culminates in a grand finale that was partly filmed during Super Bowl X between Dallas and Pittsburgh. Robert Shaw, at long last given the chance to play the hero in a movie, is quite good as the weary Israeli agent and Bruce Dern is at his psychotic best as the deranged blimp pilot.

John Frankenheimer gets to direct one of the biggest stars...the Goodyear blimp. An ex-Navy pilot and prisoner of war(Bruce Dern) teams with a devout member(Marthe Keller) of the Black September terrorist group to hijack/fly the Goodyear blimp and shoot a quarter million rifle darts into the Orange Bowl. Among the 80,000 football fans in attendance watching the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl X is the President of the United States. Trying to prevent the disaster is an Israeli anti-terrorist expert(Robert Shaw)who is as ruthless as the people he tracks down. This action thriller is based on the Thomas Harris novel. And accenting the action is a gripping musical score by John Williams.

Shaw is solid and determined. Dern is like a lunatic tightroping the edge of sanity. Keller is as solemn as she is fetching. In support are Fritz Weaver, Steven Keats and Bekim Fehmiu. The violence is vivid while the special effects are average for the time period.

There are a number of good things going for this film, among them two things you learn right from the opening credits: (1) John Frankenheimer is the director and (2) it's based on a book by Thomas Harris, the man who created "Hannibal Lechter."

Throw in two intense always-interesting actors, Bruce Dern and Marthe Keller, and you now have a good, no-nonsense story translated to the screen. By that, I mean that when people are shot, that's it, no questions asked, no stupid talking.

Even the football scenes were real-life with actual footage of the Cowboys and Steelers playing in a past Super Bowl.

The suspense was done well, although a bit hokey at the very end (can't say more without spoiling it) but it can't take away from the previous two-plus hours of credibility.

Dern also makes for a good "psycho" (he's almost made a career of it) and Keller is convincing as a villain, too, as she was in a film from the previous year: Marathon Man. Two other consistently- good actors also help make this an interesting film: Robert Shaw and Fritz Weaver.

It was nice to see this film on a widescreen DVD but the picture was a bit grainy. The transfer was okay, but could have been better. The film is worthy of a top- notch print.

While Black Sunday may not be considered an actual classic, it's still the most edge of your seat movie I've ever seen! I was definetly glued to the TV the first time that I saw this film. It's a shame this movie didn't turn out to be a huge success, because I think it's very underrated. Next to Jaws and From Russia With Love, this is one of Robert Shaw's finest performances. It's too bad he passed away while he was probably in the heyday of his film career. Bruce Dern also gives a great performance as a disturbed Vietnam Vet turned blimp pilot who becomes an aid for the terrorist plot on the Super Bowl. The film should be considered very well-maid for it's time when they didn't have the special effects like they do today. The aerial shots were fantastic as was the ability to combine the football scenes in the movie. I recommend this thriller even though the first hour had it's share of dull moments, but you can't deny that the climax was a nailbiter.

"Black Sunday" is a flat out exciting motion picture about the planning and execution of a terrorist attack during the Super Bowl. Robert Shaw plays the head of an agency trying to prevent the attack. Bruce Dern is at his creepy best as a brainwashed Vietnam vet enlisted by the lovely Marthe Keller to help carry out the sinister plan. Dern is a blimp pilot and the perfect person to help detonate a contraption that will send thousands of deadly needles into the unsuspecting crowd. Dern was born to play parts like this and it's a reminder of how terrific an actor he is and how sad it is that he doesn't work as much as he used to.

The final 40 minutes is intercut between the game (actually shot during the real Cowboys-Steelers Super Bowl game of 76) and the unfolding of the final stages of the plot. It's tense and exciting as Shaw and cohorts commandeer helicopters to try to catch the blimp heading to the big game to unleash its deadly attack.

Kudos to director John Frankheimer for keeping the pacing on this 2 hour 25 minute thriller moving. The editing is first rate and the music score by John Williams is one of his best though it is never mentioned when his name comes up.

If you like a good thriller that is never boring and will keep you on the edge of your seat, I highly recommend "Black Sunday."