there is something about this film that keeps me coming back to watch it every few years. William Hurt, the odd and kind, is at his best in this role as a young Soviet officer struggling against the legend of his father. His boyish good looks make his pragmatic character far more interesting than he actually may be. I like peering into the window of life in Soviet Russia back in the 80's. the US was so busy with its issues with the secret police we did not have time to imagine what its own people thought of its KGB. The American Lee Marvin is, as always, a terrible villain, his rugged face making it easy to imagine a rugged interior. Personally, I love him best in Cat Ballou. He is an accomplished and under discussed actor, who played humor with the best of them. .. too bad he didn't get a chance to do it more often. As a cliche capitalist pig bringing his pigdom to the unsuspecting and innocent communists, Marvin enjoys the ruthless path his character is tearing. . Gorky Park respects the Russian culture of the time, imagining the villians of the US in the same way the Americans imagined the villanry of Soviet Russia. Here in the USSR we are trying to solve a murder, but we must be careful not to get in KGB's way, or the many random elements of society that put us at as much risk as the victims to whome we are trying to bring resolution and justice. a small love story and betrayal on all sides make this one great spy/detective film. no, its not dated in any way. enjoy!

After seeing the movie, certainly one of the most enthralling detective films ever, you still wonder what you missed. So you charge over to the library and grab the book.

But this is a very involved story in print as well. Like LeCarre but with lots of characters and tricky-to-decipher inter-relationships. I was only half done when it came due, so I ordered the hardcover from Amazon allowing me to finish at my own pace. Very happy to have it in my collection of Smith's novels. Eventually I'll re-read it as I have with most of that collection. You can't get tired of the masterful writing, intricately conceived characters, settings that take hold of your imagination.

"Gorky Park" is to date the only one of Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko novels to make it to the silver screen. Perhaps too much of the stories depended on Renko's stubbornly hopeless status as the only honest cop in a hopelessly corrupt Soviet Union. No matter. "Gorky Park" has held up well as an entertaining movie, with a good mystery and a better look at the Soviet system in its waning days.

A young William Hurt is Militia Chief Investigator Renko; his opponent is well played by Lee Marvin. Brian Dennehy has an excellent supporting role. Joanna Pacula does her very decent best to be mysterious and alluring. A mostly British cast covers the rest of the roles. Sweden and Finland stand in nicely for a wintertime Russia. The movie, which centers on the investigation of the deaths of three young people in Moscow's Gorky Park, is a bit slow in places, but it's still good entertainment, and well recommended.

It is a shame that this is the only movie produced about the series of books by Martin Cruz Smith with the Chief Investigator Arkady Renko as the main character. William Hurt was probably exactly the wrong choice to play this character, because Renko is somewhat depressive, but does not act like he's had a frontal lobotomy, which is what Hurt's portrayal reminded me of. Renko is clever enough to put people on their guard. The KGB officer is also all wrong, because he's a tough character but has a passionate spirit, unlike the character actor here. Lee Marvin and Brian Dennehy are the only actors in fact who are really good for their roles. The script closely follows the book in the main, but in the end I felt very let down. A decent, but not very good movie from a story that deserves much better treatment.

I have watched this movie several times since it was released and have enjoyed it each time. I find the acting to be good, the direction to be good and the overall quality to be good. I especially like the acting of William Hurt who realistically plays the role of a dedicated Russian police officer.

Quality of Blu-ray is excellent. A good "whodunnit" set in former Soviet Union. Good acting by William Hurt and Lee Marvin. Guess who the actor is that reconstructs the faces of the victims?

I can't stand when an actor is asked to use an accent they do not do well. William Hurt is good, but this was not a good role for him. At all. And at the very least, get an actor that can do a Russian accent.

The story is pretty damn good. The cast is phenomenal; Bryan Denehy, Lee Marvin, William Hurt and a few others. The acting and line delivery is suspect at times. The scenes are good and the locations are really neat.

well acted and directed adaptation of the book. An honest Moscow policeman has to tread the narrow path between crime, corruption and politics in post Stalinist Russia to solve the gruesome murders of three people whose bodies are discovered in Gorky Park in the winter.