Product Details

• Actors: Richard Harris, Lindsay Wagner, James Coburn, Justin Henry, Karen Black
• Directors: Alan Gibson
• Writers: Allan Scott, Chris Bryant
• Producers: Richard F. Dalton, Roy Krost
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302658586
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,581 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Martin's Day still makes me cry...., November 26, 2004

By 

R. Rehak "R Dub!" (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Martin's Day [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I first saw Martin's Day when I was just 10 years old, at home, on The Movie Channel, and still remember the impact it made on my life. It touched me as no other film had touched me, and I remember balling my eyes out.

After the first time I saw it, I couldn't find it anywhere else. I would ask around and no one had ever heard of the film! I guess it was one of those more rare films that not many people knew about, because no one, and I mean no one, knew what I was talking about. I searched and searched throughout the years, checking video stores shelves and scanning cable TV listings, but always came up short. Finally, in 1996 I found out I could special order it, I did, and have probably watched it at least 50 times since--and it still makes me cry, everytime.

Martin's Day is about Martin Steckert, a man who is in prison (but ginuinely a good guy), who yearns to make it back to the special lake where he grew up as boy. This was a special place, where he lived off nature, spent time with his dog, and was left alone to enjoy life. Soon into the movie, he escapes and starts making his way back to the lake.

It isn't long before the cops find him, and Steckert grabs a child as a hostage to convince the police to back off. Soon Steckert and his hostage (the 2nd Martin) become best friends, and have many fun adventures together--from robbing a toy truck, to hi-jacking a train, all on the way to this special lake.

Throughout the movie, Steckert has great flashbacks of him at the lake as a boy.

I won't ruin the ending for you, but I will tell you, this movie is a must see.

I am, without a doubt, the biggest fan of this movie EVER! I managed to find the song that the two Martin's are singing throughout the movie ("I'm going back, to where I come from...). I'm even planning a trip to Canada to see the lake and cottage where Martin's Day was filmed. Crazy, I know--but that movie just means so much to me.

I'm working on a Martin's Day website...here's a sneak peak:

http://www.martinsday.com

http://www.power1490.com/martin.html

Here's my e-mail: [e-mail]

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LIBERTY IS WHERE IT CAN BE FOUND BY ODDLY MATCHED SOULMATES., November 25, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: Martin's Day [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A well-made and imaginative production, refreshingly free from cliché, this somewhat picaresque affair recounts a tale of a close friendship that develops between a man and a boy under less than ideal conditions: the man an escaped convict who has kidnapped the youth for his value as a hostage. Expertly directed by Alan Gibson with a fine sense for balanced narrative movement, the film provides freshness in nearly every scene, as felon Martin Steckert (Richard Harris), believing that his rejection for parole was particularly undeserved, contrives a convoluted but ultimately successful escape plan, following which his spontaneous nature comes to the fore as he flees to the lakeside residence of his childhood. Often bursting into song or dancing a few steps, the capricious Steckert gradually gains the trust and affection of his captive and, as police close in for an inevitable showdown, the tethered pair are seen to be a great deal alike in their responses to forms of rejection, as discerned by a psychiatrist (Lindsay Wagner) assigned to aid a zealous police lieutenant (James Coburn) who is in charge of the manhunt for Steckert and his "prisoner". This is an engrossing story, worth telling, a quickly-paced and novel adventure that profits from a capital performance by Harris, fine turns from Wagner, Coburn, and Karen Black, along with Justin Henry as the snatched lad, with an appropriately whimsical score contributed by Wilfred Josephs, and top-notch cinematography by Frank Watts, with all footage shot in a beautiful autumnal Ontario province.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The charm of this film continues to grow., December 16, 2008

By 

Alan M. Simmons "Simfilms" (Corinth, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Martin's Day [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I spoke with Richard Harris for about 30 minutes in 1984. Asking about
some of the forthcoming films in which he was to appear(films which had
already been shot but not yet released), this was the only one of which he
was justifiably proud. Filmed in the beautiful fall foliage of Canada,
it tells the story of a convict who holds a kid hostage and the respect
and friendship they develop for each other.
Bolstered with an excellent supporting cast including James Coburn, Lindsay Wagner, and John Ireland(whose last film I believe this was),
the film features a lovely, sentimental music score and a wonderful
performance by Harris.
His problem with alcohol had rendered him virtually unemployable in films
during most of the 1980's. This was due to the reluctance of the insurance companies(who guarantee completion funds to films) to insure
him. To his credit, he quit booze cold-turkey in the 80's and went on a
grueling, multi-year but immensely successful tour as King Arthur in the
traveling stage production of "Camelot". He made a huge film comeback
starting in 1990 with his Oscar nomination for the film "The Field".
I consider this one of his finer, if lesser-known, performances, and I would encourage anyone who appreciates his work to take a look.
Just for the record, he confided to me that the other pending-release
films he called "horrible" were "Triumphs of a Man Called Horse", and
"Highpoint". He was right. They were.