Product Details

• Actors: Andrew McCarthy, Sharon Stone, Valeria Golino, John Pankow, Mattia Sbragia
• Directors: John Frankenheimer
• Writers: David Ambrose, Michael Mewshaw
• Producers: Edward R. Pressman, Eric Fellner, Robert L. Rosen
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, Italian
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: September 17, 1996
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302320763
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #365,459 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In 1978 Italy, anarchy is in the air as the Red Brigades keep the country in a state of terror. Reporter David (Andrew McCarthy) moves blithely among the mayhem; after all, he's an American citizen and untouchable, right? When the manuscript for his political novel, patterned after the Brigades, falls into the wrong hands, it draws the unwelcome attentions of the Brigades, the police, and aggressive American photojournalist Allison (Sharon Stone) and lands David in hot water. Director John Frankenheimer took an overworked plot and made the best of it, though McCarthy is a bit puny as David. As would be expected in a Frankenheimer effort, though, the action segments shine with lithe editing and Frankenheimer's instincts for composition and camera work. The riots and chase segments make use of Rome's cityscape, calling to mind Euro-thrillers of the period. Stone is compelling as the foolhardy photographer, with some torrid sex scenes with McCarthy. Though not on a par with The Manchurian Candidate or Seven Days in May, Year of the Gun is a decent action film that goes a long way toward capturing the political and social chaos that was '70s Italy. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Caution!, November 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Year of the Gun (DVD)

This DVD does not have english subtitles for the Italian dialogue. Some minor plot points are not clearly expressed because of this (Unless of course you are fluent in Italian). The old VHS versions have the english translations.
The film itself suffers from its flaws. The plot is a bit convoluted but still acceptable. Andrew McCarthy, John Pankow, and Sharon Stone all deliver somewhat lifeless performances. The already bland script is diminished by the poor delivery from the actors, and some questionable editing. The cinematography vacillates between bland and wonderful.
Despite all of its problems, I still manage to like this film. It is a must for any Frankenheimer devotee, also for any admirer of the wonderful Valeria Golino.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Frankenheimer's better later films - but a frustrating DVD, February 15, 2008

By 

Trevor Willsmer (London, England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Year of the Gun (DVD)

The latter years of John Frankenheimer's career were mostly a downward spiral with only occasional rare steps in the right direction, but Year of the Gun is certainly one of his better late entries thanks to a terrific premise. A less annoying than usual Andrew McCarthy is an American writer in Rome secretly working on a Day of the Jackal-style novel about a Red Brigade plot to kidnap Aldo Moro, only to end up in their bad books in a very big way when it turns out to be a virtual blueprint for the real-life crime they're on the verge of committing. Sharon Stone, in the best of her pre-Basic Instinct films, plays the pushy freelance photo-journalist after his story who gets down to her trademark horizontal gymnastics (sans icepick this time) for good measure, while no-one else is what they seem to be.

The plot creates its own momentum, leaving Frankenheimer free to evoke the chaotic Italian political landscape and the shocking violence of the Red Brigade's outrages in a series of convincing set-pieces. The action is well-handled - especially a bank getaway and a prolonged chase sequence - the story engrossing and for once the ending catches you off-guard. Not up to the standard of Frankenheimer's earlier classics, this is still a superior thriller, though the lack of English subtitles for the Italian dialogue is a bit frustrating - they're not to be found on the UK DVD or the widescreen German DVD (which cuts one sex scene from the US and UK versions but includes it as a deleted scene) either.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent film, awful DVD, February 13, 2007

By 

James Luckard (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Year of the Gun (DVD)

This is a moderately entertaining late work from John Frankenheimer. The basic premise - a young journalist writes a novel about the Red Brigade in 1970's Italy, only to have it stolen and mistaken for the truth, causing him and his friends to be hunted for murder - is strong. The film itself is hampered by an obviously low budget and a lackluster leading man, though Stone and Golino are quite good. Even with schlocky stuff like this, Frankenheimer's talent with the camera and his actors shines through.

The DVD, however, is a complete disaster. Many scenes are in Italian, but Sony has left off the original subtitles, as another reviewer mentioned. Scenes going on for five minutes at a stretch become incomprehensible. In addition, though the case says the film is in 1.66:1 widescreen, it is actually fullscreen.

The film is not a masterpiece by any means, but it deserved better treatment than this.