Customer Reviews

Defense of the Realm

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The showbiz adage of 'never work with children or animals' was, within the British film industry, extended to 'never work with children, animals or Denholm Elliot'. He was, rightly, labelled a 'scene stealer' and with his passing, one of the 'true stars' were lost.

Gabrielle Byrne and Greta Scacchi star in this 1984 UK film, but the film, despite featuring a young Robbie Coltrane ( Cracker ), is forever Elliot's. Massively underrated, this film is a powerful indictment of the true 'powers that be'. Governments come and governments go, but the engine room remains in place, along with the stokers.

Is this a political thriller, a journalistic thriller, a shadowy thriller even - scary too, maybe ?. Probably all and more besides. It's very taut, very fast, very complex and, perhaps, very true to life ( the scary bit ). Underhand and double dealing are rife and little mercy is shown to the designated stooges. Elliot, as Vernon Bayliss, suffers no fools here and realising the enormity of the truth and confiding in nobody, pays a heavy price for his refusal to be swept along with the tide of seemingly incontrovertible proofs. Perhaps Fox Mulder saw this film and coined 'trust no-one' from Elliots' performance.

What is sure, though, is that a field day awaits conspiracy theorists who watch this. There is no sex, no violence and no profanity and I defy anyone to watch this film only once.

Saw this little gem when it originally was released theatrically. Needless to say, I was impressed.

Starring a terrific Gabriel Byrne (does this guy ever age?), it is a very tight story of a newspaper reporter (Byrne) who comes across a story of a Member of Parliament having an affair with a prostitute, who is also seeing a KGB agent.

But things are much more complex than they initially appear, and it becomes a much thicker paranoia thiller (one of my favourite themes). If you liked "The Parallax View" (1974) - or favour conspiracy theories - then you'll like this very British effort.

Watch for the gaggle of reporters camped on the Minister's doorstep. Durning the scene, a car backs into one of the reports, knocking him down. It is never explained...

The DVD transfer is exceptional, though in typical MGM fashion, there are no extras except for the original trailer.

Fast moving all too credible movie showing dealing with the issue of press freedom versus what should be considered secrets of the state.
Great casting. This is a gem that is surprisingly little known.

Defense of the Realm is a very interesting movie about the British government and the extent they will go to protect it. Nick Mullen (Gabriel Byrne) is an investigative reporter that has stumbled onto a scandal that could rock the government. When the story unravels to a bigger scandal, his life becomes in danger.

I always am skeptical of these types of film but something about this has a ring of authenticity. Gabriel Byrne always has an intensity about him. In this film he rises to a new height. Greta Scacchi is great as the politician's secretary that gets involved with Byrne.

This film will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.

DVD EXTRAS: None

Overlooked. Something of a quiet sensation when it came out in the mid 1980's. Starring Gabriel Byrne(in his first lead role), Greta Scacchi, and Denholm Elliot. The script could have been written by John Le Carre. A complex, claustrophobic, dark, fast-paced film which requires alertness on the part of the audience.

"Defense of the Realm" was made in 1985 near the end of the Cold War when Russians were still supposed to be the bad guys. It appears to be a sex scandal but it may hide an even bigger British government cover up as a trio of reporters sets out to discover.

Dark and brodding Gabriel Bryne (1950) plays a new and eager newspaper reporter. Bryne is that marvelous Irish actor who gave us remarkable performances in Miller's Crossing (1990) and "The Usual Suspects" (1995). He received two Emmy nominations for the TV series "In Treatment" for which he won a Golden Globe in 2009. He's said - "Sometimes, the vanity of actors is that we imagine we're so completely different on screen from who we are in real life. When really, all actors play themselves."

Denholm Elliott (1922-92) plays the elder statesman of the reporters. Elliott won BAFTA awards for Best Supporting Actor 3 years in a row, 1984-6 ("Trading Places", "A Private Function", "Defense of the Realm"). In all, he had 9 nominations and 4 wins. American audiences probably know him best as Harrison Ford's associate from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981).

Big Robbie Coltrane (1950) is best known as Hagrid from the "Harry Potter" series and from his two James Bond films, "Golden Eye" (1995) and "The World is Not Enough" (1999) in which he played a former KGB operative turned mafia boss. Coltrane is another reporter.

Ian Bannen (1928-99) was a staple in films and on British TV for 45 years. He was nominated for an Oscar ("The Flight of the Phoenix" and twice for a BAFTA ("Hope and Glory", "The Offence"). U.S. audiences might remember him as the leperous father in "Braveheart" (1995) or as Terry Adamson in "To Walk With Lions" (1999). Bannen plays the Profumo-like MP at the center of the controversy.

Greta Scacchi (1960) plays Bannen's secretary who ultimately gets involved in the search for the cover up. Scacchi won the Emmy for "Rasputin" (1996) and was nominated for "Broken Trail" (2006). She does a great job and one can only wish there were more scenes with her. For that metter, Bannen and Elliott are also underused.

Director David Drury works primarily in TV. This was his second (and last) feature film and judging for this film, he is best suited for TV. That's meant as a complement. The film is tight, taut, and moves quickly. It's also remarkably short given the scope of the story, and this may lead some viewers to criticize the film for being difficult to follow. That being said, this is a film that forces you to put the pieces together, so it does require a bit of brain power because the plot is not handed to you on a platter.

The film has many noir elements, and had a little more time been taken with the story, it might have made an excellent film. As it is it is very good and will appeal to people who like spy thrillers and/or detective stories with a twist. The acting is very good and the photography is compelling.

Such a shame this movie could not have apent more time developing the storyline & in the process the various lead characters as in my opinion it comes the closest of any movie I have seen that tries to tell the truth about decision-making in the highest levels of government. The fact that various real-life events were referred to proved that this was not just another fictional thriller but someone trying to make a statement of reality concerning the situation as it actually is. However truthfully this reflects the state of affairs in Britain, it does also (& perhaps more so) for that of the US.

If more time & care had been taken with this film it would have been truly great. But since as with so many films it cut corners, I can only give it 4 stars.

This could have been a plot for MI-5 (and probably was) but has an eery air of reality about it. Although the beginning of the film harks back to a 1960's scandal (no pun intended but see the movie Scandal), it has links with another recent movie, Bank Job.

There are similarities too, with the events of 1986, when US planes from a base in Britain bombed Libya.

This film is made with an all star cast and some compelling plots and sub-plots. The political links between newspaper proprietors and politicians and the British establishment are sketched out alluding to the covert meetings in gentleman's clubs. More sinister are the covert operations and the fine lines of distinction between the regular police and Britain's Security forces. It is hard not to think of the allegations of skullduggery surrounding the Princess Diana affair when the bombblast destroys the reporter's flat.

This thriller evokes a very suspense atmosphere which can almost be felt, particularly when the journalist is released from the clutches of the security forces after their interrogation into the chilly London dawn.

I could go on but would rather encourage others to watch this exceelent film.

This British political intrique is so fast-paced that you will have to watch in rapt attention so that you don't miss anything, or re-view. It is as entertaining as a movie can be. As a writer who has just finished writing a novel, I am always curious as to who could play the leads in my stories. Gabriel has an uncanny resemblence to my character--could this proud Irishman also emote the body language, timing and speech of my protagonist, an American historical figure? I have viewed as much of Gabe's filmography as I could over the last year and I am convinced he is THE ONE for my fantasy, time-travel,action adventure. He has quite a range, as I have discovered.
"Defense of the Realm" is one of my favorites from all his movies I have viewed. It is taut with innuendo and "what ifs" that occur as a result of his character's journalistic diggings into a political sex scandal. All of the players are very good as plots unravel before us.
Last night (1-11-09) Gabriel Byrne received a well-deserved Golden Globe. About time for this deserving, but somewhat obscure actor to be recognized.

All about whistle blowing and why everyone should for a better world.
I like Gabriel Byrne and Greta Scacchi so I'm a little prejudiced. I guess this movie shows me up as a frustrated journalist.
I guess I would have done exactly what Gabriel Byrne did and suffer a similar fate.
A British movie with no screaming sirens, roaring helicopters and screeching tires. A break from Bruce Willis.
Very believable but beware of the ending.The Holcroft Covenant