Product Details

• Actors: Tom Ormeny, Clifford David, Louis Pastore, Matt Craven, Victor Arnold (II)
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starmaker/Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: October 4, 1991
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302238277
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #435,068 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Cold Story, May 22, 2007

By 

Rottenberg's rotten book review (nyc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Agent on Ice [VHS] (VHS Tape)

John Pope, a former CIA agent now an insurance adjuster, has no idea why the agency cut him loose. He is in fact, within the first few minutes of this flick, one of the only men left alive who can link his ex-Boss to a supposedly dead organized crime boss named Matera. As far as Pope knows, Matera was killed, but when the Don wants to return from his Sicilian exile, and his CIA-laundered money returned, Pope is marked for death. Matera wants to settle a score against the agent. Pope's ex-boss is in the precarious position of needing Pope's protection against Matera, but also fearing Pope as the man who can uncover the CIA-Mafia connection.

This was a pointless, surprisingly plotless movie. For all that talk about how the end of the cold-war meant the end of cold-war thrillers, this mid-80's movie proves that the genre was probably on life-support even as the war went on. There are no recognizable characters, and some scenes just go on interminably. For a flick that tries to mix Godfather & "Three Days of the Condor", the result is less than the usm of its parts.

2.0 out of 5 stars LITTLE HERE FOR THE MIND, BUT A GOOD DEAL FOR THE EYE., July 20, 2006

By 

rsoonsa (Lake Isabella, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Agent on Ice [VHS] (VHS Tape)

John Pope (Tom Ormeny) is a former CIA operative whose past haunts him in this weakly-written work created by its producer, Louis Pastore, who also co-scripts and plays a principal part. Pope was involved in a Government conspiracy to assassinate Frank Matera (Pastore), a Mafia chieftain but, unknown to John the hit did not happen, being a ruse allowing Matera to disappear from public view by moving to Sicily. He and CIA supervisor of field operations Neil Kirkpatrick (Clifford David) had an established liaison whereby the Mob kills selected political figures that the intelligence agency wants cancelled in exchange for the laundering of Mafia moneys. Matera, wearying of his exile, has returned to the United States where he and his cohorts begin to eliminate all who know of his relationship with the CIA, to include Kirkpatrick and Pope, a situation that the latter naturally attempts to avoid. Pope, utilized as a patsy by the spy agency, is later released from its employ, and is working as an insurance investigator tormented by lack of knowledge relative to his being fired. His concerns are soon refocussed upon survival and he essays provisional connections with others who were duped for the same bogus assignment. Domination by logic seems to be not a concern of the writers who supply a peck of vague subplots in a movie manifestly affected by intemperate cutting for its release print. Although some of the story is set in Hungary, pine barrens in New Jersey are its proxy, with sectors of the Garden State and of Brooklyn hosting most of the shooting that makes good use of a snowy season. David always projects well and his performance stands out, and more could not be asked from other capable players who are effective in supporting roles, including Matt Craven, Al Mancini and Becky Ann Baker (as Becky Gelke). Heading the film's failings is a trite script, full of incongruity and cliche. Unfortunately, the director is answerable for the scenario as co-author. An electronic score, mired in one key, is irksome and obtrusive. The best for last: the camerawork from cinematographer Eric Kollmar, of the highest standard throughout the work, constitutes the only compelling reason for watching it. With deft use of long and deep focus shots, in addition to his excellent setup and lighting skills, Kollmar somewhat diffuses the staleness of this affair, with so many creatively interesting shots that viewing this film without sound is a valid aesthetic experience.