Customer Reviews

Falcon & The Snowman [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Based on a true story, the film details how two young men sold U.S. secrets to the Soviets in the mid-seventies during the height of American apathy and disillusion.

Taken from the excellent non-fiction book by Robert Lindsey, director John Schlesinger's film does a fine job of creating the feeling and temperament of the time but stumbles in a couple of important areas, though the leads, Timothy Hutton as Christopher Boyce and Sean Penn as Daulton Lee, are in terrific form.

Boyce was the "falcon" as he dabbled in falconry, Daulton the "snowman" due to his dealing cocaine, or snow.

Boyce was the oldest of a large Catholic family whose father was retired FBI. Boyce was given a job too quickly with TRW, at the time working with the CIA on secret projects. Working from the "Black Vault," Boyce eventually decided to sell the information he saw to the Soviets. His drug dealing childhood friend Lee became the courier who transported the data to the Russian Embassy in Mexico.

While the story flows well on screen, the film cannot deliver what the novel makes apparent, namely WHY Boyce became a traitor. Other minor nitpicks include a scene (that never occured in real life) of Boyce seeing his ex-girlfriend Alana before impending arrest added for schmaltz effect only, and a badly edited moment of him ripping apart a gift from his co-workers that leaves the viewer puzzled.

However, everything else is fine. The cast is superb, particularly Pat Hingle as Boyce's father. The look of the film is true to the era it occured in. Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays produced a compelling score, collaborating with David Bowie on the theme song.

This is not an action film, and the better for it. Instead The Falcon And The Snowman gives the viewer psychological insight into espionage. It does not go far enough but is a solidly enjoyable film and deserves your attention.

I enjoyed this movie immensely. It was fairly true to life and very well done. Hutton and Penn are terrific and Schlesinger does an excellent job in directing.
For those of you that are curious, Christopher Boyce will be released from a halfway house in San Francisco on March 15, 2003. He will be paroled after 25 years in prison, including spending time in SuperMax in Colorado, alongside Oklahoma City bombers Timothy J. McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols, and the Unabomber, Theodore J. Kaczynski. (Information taken from the LA Times story "The Falcon and the Fallout" by Richard A. Serrano, published March 2, 2003.)

This has become one of my very favorite films. One reason is that this is when I began to see how really brilliant Sean Penn is, but I think it's more about how this film captures its time, and the dangers of naive idealism. The affluent surburban young men here both find ways to reject the perceived shallowness of their parents, the corruption of their government and the numbing reality of their circumscribed lives, but end up discovering even darker and more painful realities.

Schlesinger makes the most of his excellent cast and gets some of the most memorable performances ever from veterans like Pat Hingle and Richard Dysart. David Suchet is fantastic in his portrayal of a cold, professional KGB operative trying to deal with Sean Penn as a rapidly unravelling drug dealer.

Skip the useless scenes between Tim Hutton and a confused-looking Lori Singer and what remains is a memorable film really worth owning.

This is one of those movies that made a large impression on me when I was in High School.

It is like "Midnight Express" in that you are supposed to identify with a person who did something very wrong, but gets more than they barginned for in the end.

Timothy Hutton is a somewhat under-rated actor. This film, in my opinion, shows that is one of the better actors of our time.

This is the type of character-driven movie you can really get lost in!

This movie is expertly acted and the partnership of Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton literally define "chemistry".

The ONLY part of the movie that didn't ring true, for me, was the Russian connection- the gentlemen would go from screaming at Sean Penn, quite convincingly, to talking to Timothy Hutton with a not-so-convincing, barely audible low toned voice.

The book had a sequal, and I was hoping the movie would too.

The scenes with Tim Hutton and Pat Hing;e as father and son are especially moving.

As a matter of fact, this movie is so good, you wish it wouldn't end.

THIS FILM IS BASED ON THE TRUE STORY OF CHRISTOPHER BOYCE AND DAULTON LEE,TWO FRIENDS ARRESTED FOR SELLING SECRETS TO THE RUSSIANS. THEY BOTH HAVE DIFFERENT MOTIVES FOR THIS ACT OF TREASON. THIS FILM IS VERY POWERFUL AND SAD (THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THE PLAYING OF PROCOL HARUM'S "WHITER SHADE OF PALE" IN ONE SCENE THAT MAKES THIS FILM EVEN SADDER). AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE.

An idealistic young man leaves the Catholic seminary and his retired Dad, a former FBI employe, gets him a job with a company which provides equipment and resources to the National Security Agency and the CIA. The young man loses faith in the USA when he comes to believe his country is misusing its powers to undermine democratically elected governments, such as Allende's Chile. The catayst for his turning is the sacking of the Australian Whitlam Govt in November 1975. He starts selling classified info using his drug using buddy as courier. It all goes wrong. THey both get gaoled for a VERY long time. Sean Penn is great. Lyle Mays sound track is good. Worth a watch. Based on a true story.

The book by the same name allows you to understand a bit more about the characters, but this is a well done film that does bring the story to life. Not all scenes are gripping, but the overall story is thought provoking. Christopher Boyce was either naive or cunning when he began his saga. By the time he went to prison he was simply a well-manipulated informer. The book and this film show that transformation well.

Read the follow-up book, The Flight of the Falcon about Christopher Boyce's escape from prison, and recapture. It would make an even better movie I think. Incidentally, when Daulton Lee got out of prison in 1998, Sean Penn hired him as part of his staff. Christopher Boyce was released a few years ago.

Christopher Boyce a young All-American man whose job as a guard for sensitive documents shatters his faith in his country and leads him to a sometimes comic, sometimes chilling sideline as a spy for the Soviets, aided by his scruffy buddy, Daulton it can't last, though, and the consequences are tremendous for Boyce and his family. This movie is a true thriller/drama. There is no eye candy to speak of, but the story is so compelling and the acting so superb, you wouldn't want to miss it. Dark, disturbing, and outstanding.

Two adolescents dare to play hard with a Top Security dossier. In their infinite immaturity, they think it is a piece of cake to get in and get out from this circle of espionage and betrayal. But this is far to be a simple game, once you cross the line forget it; you are inside and there is no way out; it's a real deep end where you will have t assume your own responsibilities of your own decisions. It is not a simple choice for make some money and then get out.

So once the first step has been done they will begin to deal with a double pressure of both sides; conspiracy and betrayal for one and major information requirements for the other.

A fascinating exploration about the final consequences of a trivial decision that will become for them a true mortal boomerang.

John Schlessinger with his firm hand made an unforgettable and high caliber tension thriller with a very young Sean Penn and the consecrated Timothy Hutton .