Black Sunday | | Cast : | Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern | | Director : | John Frankenheimer | | Studio : | Paramount Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | March 11, 1977 | | DVD Released Date : | March 01, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 22, 2005 | | Summary | Still my favorite thriller! | Content
 | It's great political action and thrills from director John Frankenheimer, who also gave us the original MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and RONIN. But because it's about a terrorist attack on American soil, it takes on a whole new meaning and relevance since the horrible events of September 11, 2001. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 17, 2005 | | Summary | Black Sunday not so subtly slimes Israel | Content
| This film was obviously put together by politically correct left-wingers. The lunatic Vietnam war veteran portrayed by Bruce Dern conveys the distorted impression that a high number of our military personnel returned home with serious mental illnesses. Robert Shaw's character, the Israeli secret agent/assassin, is insultingly told by an American operative that Israel created terrorists like the Palestinian woman (Marthe Keller) enraged by the alleged mistreatment of her family by the state of Israel. He is also somewhat guilt tripped by his past violent activities which supposedly only perpetuate the never ending violence. Such moral equivalency outrageously ignores the fact that Israel is a democratic society victimized by racist and self pitying Arab murderers. This noble country's virtues far outweigh its occasional failings.
Does Black Sunday have any redeeming value? Yes, this is a fast paced action story which is good enough to justify a few hours of your time. It's also interesting to watch a film regarding terrorist activity against the United States almost a quarter of a century before 9/11. At that time, we mistakenly thought that the more secular PLO types posed the greater danger. The Islamic jihadists barely registered on our radar screen. Lastly, football fans will definitely enjoy seeing clips of their long retired heroes. If nothing else, every NFL fanatic should want to own a copy of this film. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 07, 2005 | | Summary | Action Movie that is still Timely | Content
| Some movies show their age shortly after they were made. This is one that was written by Thomas Harris that is still timely. At the time it was fresh to the terrorist taking over the Olympics, but now it seems timely because of the activities in the Middle East. Robert Shaw and Bruce Dern especially turn in fine performances. The support cast is good as well. The music by John Williams is good as always. The addition of shots of the real Goodyear blimp and the Superbowl X game add to the believability. We even see Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staughbach, and the other real players for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. During the scene where the people stampede, you may find yourself mooing. Fans of "Two Minute Warning" should love it. I bought this since it is still a good movie and the price is great. Not much in the way of extras, but excellent picture and sound quality. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 12, 2004 | | Summary | Still Effective Thriller | Content
| Let me preface my review by saying that Thomas Harris, the author of the book that this film is based is one disturbed individual. With "Black Sunday" and the Hannibal Lecter series, Harris concocts effective thrillers that could only ferment in a sick mind. That said, this film is a rousing thriller that holds up remarkably well. The story, about a plot by Palestinian terrorists who plan a terrorist attack on the Super Bowl will have you on the edge of your seat. John Frankenheimer directs this film assuredly, maybe a notch below his other classic thriller, "The Manchurian Candidate". Robert Shaw is excellent as the Israeli officer who is trying to unearth the terrorist plot before it is launched. Bruce Dern, as the disillusioned unhinged Goodyear blimp pilot who is the pawn of the PLO is most effective, probably too much so. It's roles like these that typecast him in psycho roles throughout his career. Marthe Keller, the German Julia Ormond of the 1970's, doesn't fare as well. I think she was trying to tackle her command of the English language before she tried to effectively play a Palestinian terrorist. What was kind of neat in this film was it incorporated real NFL players into the film (Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw) and that gave it a flavor of authenticity. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 30, 2004 | | Summary | What if a blimp with a bomb tried to crash the Super Bowl? | Content
| For years the 1977 film "Black Sunday" was seen as being prophetic with regards to Super Bowl Sunday becoming a national obsession. But twenty-five years later it is the element of the terrorist attack that is seen as being prescient. If anything the story of this film is more powerful today, even if the special effects are less than special, even by the standard of the times. The story is based on the novel by Thomas Harris, his first work, now note worthy because it is the author's only work not involving Hannibal Lecter. Mike Lander (Bruce Dern) is a psychotic Vietnam vet who spent six years being tortured as a POW and who now joins up with Dahlia Iyad (Marthe Keller), a member of the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September in a plan to detonate a bomb at the Super Bowl. If for some reason you have never seen the film the poster art of a dirigible appearing over the top of the football stadium gives away how they plan to accomplish this task. Because a Palestinian is involved the person trying to stop the plot is Israeli agent David Kabokov (Robert Shaw), who knows full well the dangers of trying to stop people who are willing to die to accomplish their goal. He is also a man tired of living in a world where nothing ever changes and all the deaths he has seen and caused mean nothing. The hero and villain are men twisted by their lives in different directions and it is these characters that try to make "Black Sunday" more than thriller and it is their personal conflict that helps to sustain the film when we get to the big finish and things go a bit over the top. But up to that point it is a pretty solid thriller. The film is directed by John Frankenheimer, who already had life imitate art with "The Manchurian Candidate," which was shelved for decades following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Frankenheimer was pretty good at establishing tension and milking the dramatic moments of the film. The music is by John Williams, two years after "Jaws" at that point in his distinguished career. The game being played in the film is Superbowl X, where the Pittsburgh Steeler beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 (the blimp scene was filmed at the Orange Bowl the day before the game). One special treat of this film is that "The Star Spangled Banner" before the game was sung by Tom Sullivan (accompanied by Up With People), and whose memorable final high note is preserved for posterity. Appearing as themselves in the film are broadcasters Pat Summerall and Tommy Brookshier, and you will recognize Terry Bradshaw and some other players from both teams. Then there is Miami Dolphins' owner Joe Robbie who gets to speak the immortal line: "Cancel the Super Bowl? That's like canceling Christmas!" |
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