Opération Green Ice

Old-fashioned story with a little bit of love story, a little bit of action and a lot of nothing much. Gerald Browne's novel of the same name is the basis of this adventure film, the first of two made by Ernest Day, he was the cinematographer of classics such as Clockwork Orange and Lawrence of Arabia. For his debut, it took years to be released in the United States due to the difficulty of finding a distributor to exhibite this film despite containing a great trio of famous actors at the time. It deals with an expert electronics engineer named Wiley (Ryan O'Neal) leaves New York for Mexico City, where he will meet the beautiful Holbrook (Anne Archer). Together, they will live a whole series of adventures while getting involved with a brutal South American government. In Mexico, both will meet the strange and mysterious Argenti (Omar Shariff) and discover that, right in the hotel where they are staying, there is a magnificent and spectacular collection of emeralds. From here, they will find themselves involved in the dangerous world of Latin smuggling of precious stones...He wanted adventure...She craved revenge...Emeralds held the answer. Driven by lust, greed and revenge . . .to the edge of disaster. The prize. . . A fortune in emeralds!. Hot excitement and gem of a thriller !.

Attractive and decent adventure/intrigue movie with good guy Ryan O'Neal, bad guy Omar Shariff and Anne Archer as the woman in between. A mediocre attempt to make a jolly romantic comedy set against background of torture, murder and rebel guerrillas being fed to the hogs of prisons of Colombia. This agreeable thriller/comedy-adventure blends noisy action, rip roaring, a love story, cliff hunger, and being fun and entertaining enough. Ryan O'Neal gives a sympathetic acting as an American electronics expert get in trouble and plans a heist with his girlfriend and other cohorts. His colleague is the gorgeous Archer; both of whom play a couple of Americans meeting cute in Mexico, then heading for Colombia where she takes over from her missing sister who's working for the rebel cause and he - at first with itchy fingers for the loot- helps her replenish the rebel coffer through a daring heist of emeralds from a strong-hold right out of a James Bond movie with Omar Shariff as a villain to match. Trio de protagonists are well accompanied by nice secondaries, such as: the later very famous John Larroquette, Philip Stone, Michael Sheard and ordinary Mexican actors, such as: Enrique Lucero, Manuel Ojeda and Miguel Ángel Fuentes.

The picture contains spectacular and lively scenarios, some nice stunts and funny lines. It is also worth highlighting the film's catching soundtrack, which marked the first foray into film music by the Rolling Stones' first bassist, Bill Wyman. Colorful and sunny cinematography by Gilbert Taylor, although an urgent and perfect remastering is extremely necessary. Being shot on various locations from Manzanillo, Colima, México, Nueva York, and Studio, some interior scenes: Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, and Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The motion picture was mediocre but professionally directed by Ernerst Day. He was a notorious cameraman in several films as The Secret Partner, A passage to India, Sphinx , Running scared, The Long Day's Dying and a director assistant as The spy who love me, Operation: Daybreak, Moonraker, The Adventurers. The film will have you on the edge of your seat but the adventure and action never let up. It's a winner for Ryan O´Neal, Anne Archer and Omar Shariff fans. Rating: 5.5/10. Average but passable and acceptable.

A poorly developed action adventure film shot largely in Mexico, this affair begins in promising fashion, but after its first of several changes in direction occurs within the plot line, little remains that will interest a viewer. A group of international students (in reality organized supporters of anti-government rebels) is massacred in Colombia by Federales as action opens, while during alternating scenes Joe Wiley (Ryan O'Neal), an American electronics engineer, visiting Mexico to recover from a divorce, meets an affluent socialite, Lillian Holbrook (Anne Archer). When the two become romantically involved, a complicated situation forms since Lillian is being wooed by Meno Argenti (Omar Sharif), a powerful plutocrat who controls the emerald trade for the rotten Mexican government, thus leading to shared distaste between the two men. When Lillian travels to Colombia in quest of her missing younger sister, Joe goes with her, an act not endorsed by Meno who wishes to wed her for personal reasons other than love, and a climactic conflict between the rivals can result only in violence. The screenplay is a hotchpotch with a thread of intended light-hearted romance woven among such disparate themes as murder, torture and sadism, along with grotesquely silly stunts that Joe and his cohorts perform in attempts to foil the evil Argenti. The piece is heavily cut for distribution, and editing is very choppy, increasing the episodic nature of a script that consistently meanders, scenes honouring logic being very rare indeed. The players are somewhat hindered by their cliché laden lines, O'Neal being even more encumbered by a large assortment of electronic and other specialized equipment that is magically available for use in situations requiring derring-do. Camera-work under supervision from cinematographer Gilbert Taylor is strikingly effective and creative but general mistreatment of basic rules of continuity sinks this effort despite its pretty scenic effects.

In the early eighties films were made without perfectly drycleaned wardrobe, without perfect glamour hair and without enough makeup to paint a world scene. This film is one of those that puts you in the film and away from the soundstage. Granted it's not a masterpiece but the story is solid and the acting and production is pretty good. The synth/spanish soundtrack by Bill Wyman also adds greatly to the Columbian landscapes and characterization (especially Wiley's campy yet likeable theme). Be wary however that there is a long scene involving one of the worst film songs of all time (floating) which will have you grinding your teeth in anguish as you reach for the remote to fast forward through it. Wiley (Ryan O Neal) travels to Mexico and meets Holbrook (Archer), a rich babe who is fiance' to Meno (Sharif). While Meno sucks dry Mexico's supply of Emeralds what he really wants is to return to the diamond concession in South America, using Holbrook to do so. In the process of his work he becomes responsible for killing Holbrook's sister which turns her against Meno thereby teaming her with Wiley to rob Meno's emerald vault. It's a good thief thriller, some laughable moments but not a bore at all.

Following a James Bond style opening, with sexy emeralds in place of women, GREEN ICE is a breezy seventies Neo-Noir (although not released till the early eighties) starring Ryan O'Neal as a drifter in Mexico who meets his damsel in distress, rich girl Anne Archer...

Her hippie sister (Tara Fellner) had been slain by the same crooked third world officials she and her gang were hiding emeralds from, and so big sister uses O'Neal to find out what happened: Which turns out it has to do with... guess what? GREEN ICE, which millionaire Omar Sharif collects like loose change while exploiting the locals.

Here's where things wane, considerably, going from an involving suspense chase thriller into a pointless class envy melodrama with the reintroduction of the dead little sister's mentor, Miguel, a whining communist revolutionary with a chip on his shoulder this size of a dwarf planet and the politics of a dreamy sixth-grader...

The break-in at Sharif's glass-building high-rise to get back the emeralds, by very bizarre means of hot air balloons (manned by John Larroquette, and with a song playing that sounds worse than Yoko Ono), is where the film never really recovers...

Hell, even the heist is boring, despite Sharif... as kinda/sorta Archer's beau (get it?)... giving O'Neal an initial tour in an intriguing manner. And what a shame: with such an adventurous premise, this might've been really something. (Bill Wyman, bassist of The Rolling Stones, provides the cooler parts of the soundtrack, including an groovy opening instrumental that, alas, on the Album/LP, has singing on it.)

When I was 8 years old my family went on vacation to Las Hadas in Manzanillo Mexico. I remember seeing Omar Sharif sitting in the lobby when we checked into the hotel. He was just sitting in a chair in the lobby reading the paper. He said "hello" to us and seemed like a really nice guy.

We also ran into Ryan O'Neal and Farah several times on the beach. One time my 11 year old sister and I approached them for an autograph. Farah said "go away" but Ryan said "sure, no problem" and signed a napkin for us. WTF Farah? Why would anyone be that rude to kids? I don't understand. I guess because it was the early 80's and she was still a big deal. That was when she was every little boys dream instead of the sea monster that she looks like today. I don't hold a grudge though...

My sister and sat by the pool for hours and hours waiting for them to shoot the pool scene at the hotel, so that we could be in the shot. Finally at around 1:00 in the morning (yes, my parents let us stay up that late) they filmed the scene. And after all of that waiting we can't be seen anywhere in the final cut of the movie.

I said all of that to say this... Although this movie was panned by the critics when it came out and was not really (at all) a hit. I still like it because it was my one little bush with fame. I haven't seen the movie in a while but I plan on looking for it on eBay.