Terrorists (1975)

I wish I would have waited till the DVD came out because I paid $29,99 for the VHS tape. But anyway, very good movie and Connery is at his best after the post 007 era. He is more of a classy verison of Dirty Harry where he breaks all of the rules to get the terrorist but does it with charm!

In a pre-9/11 world, THE TERRORISTS addresses the fears we all have of being victimized by self-righteous, insensitive terrorists. Tame by today's standards, this little known vehicle for Sean Connery is an intelligently plotted and tense little thriller. Connery plays the no-nonsense head of Norway's Security, called in when a group of British terrorists invade the home of the British Ambassador and hold him hostage, demanding release of imprisoned compatriates and safe passage out of Norway. These plans go awry however when the British government discovers the drop point and the terrorists are forced to make a change in plans. This change is orchestrated by a fellow terrorist, played with subdued relish by DEADWOOD's Ian McShane, who holds a commercial airline and its passengers hostage until the other group is released.

As in most British films of the seventies, the pace is deliberate but there is a good amount of suspense generated, and Connery is effective in his role.

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This movie also goes by the title of Ransom in Britain. It is a tense drama with Ian McShane and Sean Connery (need I say more!!???). Connery is the head of a security force sent in to negotiate with terrorist holding an ambassador and his servants. The terrorist demand transport to the airport, where they learn an aeroplane has been hijacked and is awaiting the arrival of the terrorists and their hostages. Connery is determined to stop them at all costs. It is a taught game of move-counter move, with nearly everyone involved running their own game within a game, and Connery can trust no one. McShane is very believable at the head of the hijacking team, that has more than one mask he is wearing.

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I like this sort of film, which has extended bouts of dialog to create a genuine plot, along with a decent amount of action, just to keep it exciting. This film has that 60's British feel to it, although it was made in 1975 and set in Norway.

(warning ending slightly revealed next) The only thing I thought was wrong with this film was a rather perverse ending. Connery was set up to be the "fixer" of problems others created, but in the end, it seemed like the plan was going well, but Connery bungled it, causing someone to get killed, all in the name of some ambiguous "higher" morality.

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Caspar Wrede's Ransom (retitled The Terrorists in the USA) is an entertaining enough cat-and-mouse yarn from 1975 if you have an hour and a half to spare, helped immensely by a commanding performance by Sean Connery as the Scandinavian security chief having to deal with a hostage crisis and an airplane hijacking by Ian McShane's terrorist. There are some neat plot twists, Sven Nykvist's cinematography makes good use of the snowbound locations and there's a strong Jerry Goldsmith score that helps drive the film along nicely, although it is rather disconcerting to hear John Quentin speaking with Malcolm Terris' voice in a particularly noticeable bit of dubbing. All in all, an efficient Saturday night thriller that doesn't aim high but does deliver.

Unlike the UK DVD under the film's original title, which offered the theatrical trailer, Anchor Bay's Region A-locked Blu-ray release has no extras in fact, it's so barebones it doesn't even have a menu, simply playing the film on a loop with fewer chapter stops than the US DVD. The mediocre widescreen transfer is no better than you'd get from an upscaled DVD. Fox's Region 1 video is similarly extras free but is a better bet at the lower price.

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