When three faceless corpses are discovered in Moscow's Gorky Park, the Moscow militia's top investigator, Arkady Renko (William Hurt), is assigned to the case. An honest Soviet official, Renko uncovers a murky and dangerous plot involving sinister KGB agents, the corrupt Soviet government, and a powerful American businessman. Although many of the Russians in the film speak with an English accent (all the dialogue is in English), GORKY PARK proves to be a provocative, fast-paced thriller that captures all of the intrigue and suspense in Martin Cruz Smith's best-selling novel of the same name. Director Michael Apted handled the thriller genre before in SQUEEZE and AGATHA, and the experience shows in GORKY PARK; there are so many twists and turns in the plot, viewers are constantly kept off balance. A supporting cast of Lee Marvin, Brian Dennehy, and Joanna Pacula (in her first starring role) back up Hurt with solid performances.
(23 votes)
2.
Martin Cruz Smith's bestselling mystery novel seemed ideally cast for this movie version, but director Michael Apted and the usually reliable writer Dennis Potter couldn't solve the problem of taking the story from the page to the screen. William Hurt plays Renko, a Cold War-era Moscow police detective who must cope with both crooks and Communist party protocol as he tries to solve a murder case in the middle of one of Moscow's public parks that leaves three faceless corpses. The strands of the mystery involve corruption, American money, and the fur trade and, ultimately, take Renko to New York. But the tension is never all there, despite a deliciously menacing performance by Lee Marvin as the bad guy and Brian Dennehy as an American cop who becomes Renko's ally. --Marshall Fine
(22 votes)
3.
"Highly Charged Story. Rita Has Never Been Sexier." -Leonard Maltin
The legendary Rita Hayworth sizzles with sensuality and magnetism as she sings "Put the Blame on Mame" and delivers a dazzling performance as the enticing temptress Gilda. In the story of Gilda, Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) goes to work for Balin Mundson (George Macready), the proprietor of an illegal gambling casino in a South American city, and quickly rises to become Mundson's "main man." All is well until Mundson returns from a trip with his new bride Gilda -- a woman from Johnny's past. Mundson, unaware of their previous love affair, assigns Farrell the job of keeping Gilda a faithful wife. Fraught with hatred, Gilda does her best to antagonize, intimidate, and instill jealousy in Farrell -- until circumstances allow him to get even.
(21 votes)
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
Movie Database
In Theaters
