After an American scientist is severely injured and scarred in a car crash along the border with East Germany, he is captured by East German military. The scientists use metal implants to sa... Read allAfter an American scientist is severely injured and scarred in a car crash along the border with East Germany, he is captured by East German military. The scientists use metal implants to save him. Once he's back in the States, no one can tell if it's really him, so an intelligen... Read allAfter an American scientist is severely injured and scarred in a car crash along the border with East Germany, he is captured by East German military. The scientists use metal implants to save him. Once he's back in the States, no one can tell if it's really him, so an intelligence specialist must determine who is under the "mask".
- Finchley
- (as Ed Grover)
- Director
- Writers
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Featured reviews
"Who" is an overlooked spy thriller ,which takes elements from "Manchurian candidate", "seconds " and Alexandre Dumas and brings them all back home;without special effect,or almost,he creates a thoroughly disturbing atmosphere ,helped by a superlative performance by J.Bova who succeeds in making his character endearing and extremely moving ,against all odds.
Eliott Gould's investigation does not matter much,it's not essential;the subject of the movie is "is life worth living when you've become "inhuman"?" (that perfectly explains the final death of the "second " Martino).
Some scenes are extraordinary,spooky ,without the usual horror paraphernalia :Martino walking through the streets of the city is a great moment;the mask ,which could look like that of an ET ,a serial killer or a clown, is more frightening (and more human because of those eyes)than the bandages of the invisible man.
The message is not "can he resume the Neptune project?" but "how can
he find a reason to believe and to live?"If you find a way,everything's possible:it's hope for people who think they are no longer part of the human race (is there a reason to be proud of being part of them anyway?)
let this sleeper be an introduction to the other Gold movies I mention above.
A fairly slow-building film, nothing really happens for the first 50+ minutes. Once Martino leaves the government building, the "action" begins. Sort of. There's an assassination attempt, a car chase, an explosion, and the big reveal.
An odd artifact from the 1970's, it gets points for originality. Modern audiences may have trouble staying awake long enough to enjoy its more nuanced approach.
Co-stars Elliott Gould as Rogers, the suspicious government agent...
One last thing: Does the FBI really have jurisdiction in Europe?
What could have been a very interesting and thrilling seventies spy story is just a lame movie about a robot man walking around stupidly. The acting is dull, but you can't blame main actor Joseph Bova as is is constantly acting with a mask on his face. The Cold-War-Conflict is just a background for a silly love story, and the worst is Bova's "make-up", as the robot outfit looks rather like the iron man of the "Wizard of Oz" or a funny figure from an old Disney movie instead of being a symbol for a human tragedy. The "Who?" script is a promising idea for a film, but the production itself is disappointing, and even stars like Elliot Gould and Trevor Howard can't rescue this movie.
Did you know
- TriviaThis film may have had a press showing in Britain in 1974, but it never opened commercially in British cinemas. It was unseen in the UK until a BBC television showing in 1976.
- GoofsWhen the assassin's car crashes after the failed attempt on Martini's life, it's clearly shown to be empty as it bursts into flames.
- Quotes
Lucas Martino: You think panic has something to do with the heart racing, the nerves getting tense, the breath getting labored? Mine doesn't. But I'm in a constant state of panic, Mr. Rogers. My mind is poised for flight. I'm on the edge of screaming all the time, except that if I did more people would stare at me and that would make me scream more until I wouldn't be able to stop!
- ConnectionsReferenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005)
- How long is Who??Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Who?
- Filming locations
- Germany(filmed entirely on location in Germany)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1