Product Details

• Actors: Kevin Dillon, Andrea Roth, J.T. Walsh, Christopher Plummer, Michael Wincott
• Directors: Iain Paterson
• Writers: Iain Paterson, Jerrold W. Lambert
• Producers: Adam J. Shully, Hank Levine, Jerrold W. Lambert, John Fremes
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Spartan
• VHS Release Date: October 26, 1999
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630561024X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #527,226 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

When Dave Mclean(Kevin Dillon)arrives to meet his brother Michael in Berlin, he is stunned to discover Michael has been killed-the victim it seems of a fatal accident. Unconvinced by the offical line on his brother's death, the young American's suspicions are further aroused when a mysterious young woman approaches him offering to buy a computer disk that belonged to Michael. Convinced the disk may hold the answers he is looking for, David refuses to give it up and at once finds himself drawn into a world of espionage and murder, involving the CIA and former agents of the STASI-Berlin's notorious secret police.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The truth isnt always murder, April 16, 2001

By 

Peter Shelley "petershelley" (Sydney, New South Wales Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hidden Agenda [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This thriller is supported by uncluttered and steadily paced direction by writer/director Iain Paterson and Kevin Dillon in the leading role of the brother of an American killed in re-unified Berlin. The opening sequence of a clandestine deal shattered by betrayals of loyalty tells us that Paterson hasn't chosen his locale as Berlin for naught, and soon we're mired in the webs of the US embassy, the German police, and the STASI, the former East German secret police. Whilst he occasionally falls back on formula with the I forgot something in my office routine, and the scream of a maid who discovers a corpse gets a laugh because of the cliche, Paterson also shows some originality. The crying of horses in a stable whilst guns are pointed is relieved by the use of a horseshoe as a weapon, we immediately know someone is an hitman because he stubs out a cigarette on the floor of a church, there is an unusual eye torture, and a love scene is interrupted by an external assassination attempt. The water from a puddle splashed onto the camera by a motorbike in a chase is a bit too self-conscious, but I liked a cut from a business name on a letter to the same name on the building. Paterson's script can sometimes be rudimentary, with characters repeating questions as their answer, but there is an amusing "just say no" joke in response to an offer of drugs. One can have fun projecting onto the brother plot considering the casting of Dillon, who shares Matt's semi-stupid personage, but Kevin's polite likeability overcomes the need for him to be an action hero. There is an end credit tribute to JT Walsh who presumably died post-production. Whilst his role doesn't set off fireworks he does get to wear a silly fut hat, and he plays well off Christopher Plummer doing his charming old man act as the head of police.

3.0 out of 5 stars S0-S0 MOVIE, January 9, 2011

By 

Michael Ledo (Windsor, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hidden Agenda (DVD)

With all the over the top action spy thrillers out there, this one seems a bit pale by comparison. It is not that there is anything bad about the movie, it just lacks a good hook. There are plot twists which seem to be there because they are expected. The action scenes lack action. The token torture scene, as seen on the box, reminds us of Clockwork Orange, and how much better a movie that was. The item everyone is looking for is a disk which contains the names of former secret police and their informants, something everyone seems to want, yet claim is really immaterial. So we end up with what appears to be a made for TV movie with minimum action, some predictable plot twists, in which everyone is getting killed over something that doesn't really matter. It is almost as if they intended to make a lame movie.