Gorky Park | | Cast : | William Hurt, Lee Marvin | | Director : | Michael Apted | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | January 01, 1983 | | DVD Released Date : | December 19, 2000 | | Language : | Spanish (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | October 18, 2004 | | Summary | First Rate, Bittersweet, Effective | Content
 | It's winter and three corpses are found in Moscow's Gorky Park. They've had their faces and finger tips carved off. Arkady Renko, an honest, slightly obsessive Russian cop, is assigned to the case. He sets out to identify the bodies by reconstructing their faces, and as he gets closer he finds obstructions in his path. He finds a girl (Joanna Pacula) who was friends of the trio, a wealthy and ruthless American (Lee Marvin), an American cop (Brian Dennehy) out for blood, and more than he probably wants to know about sable coats and the animals they're made from. It becomes clear that corrupt higher-ups are involved in something with greater stakes than solving a triple murder. Hurt and Marvin do great jobs and are well matched.
This is a tight, very well constructed police procedural that is a little exotic, with the cops and functionaries being Russians. It's also a bit gloomy with a bittersweet ending, but it still works as a very watchable film. A lot of the outdoor shots were filmed in Helsinki, and the movie takes place in the winter. The atmosphere looks cold and oppressive. The contrast is striking with the scenes set in a pre-revolutionary bath and an expensive restaurant, both reserved for the use of privileged Soviet officials.
The book, by Martin Cruz Smith, is even better. Apted also directed Enigma, and I like both movies a lot. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 07, 2004 | | Summary | A great spy flick !!! | Content
| Lotsa great performances here - William Hurt, Lee Marvin, etc. It's a gripping mystery that follows the efforts of Hurt as a Russian police detective tracking down vicious murders. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 25, 2002 | | Summary | One of my favorite american movies about USSR | Content
| A murder mistery . In the middle of Moscow . 3 people are killed . One of them is American . Life smart Russian detective trying to figure it out ... and catch another American ( in Moscow ). But later he found out , that this one - is a COP from New York , looking for killers of his brother . You get everything in here : exellent actors , a plot , a culmination , love story , KGB , Russian militsia , Moscow views , a good guys and the bad ones too . What else do you need ? A good director ? They got that !
Highly recomended . |
| Rating | | | Date | July 13, 2002 | | Summary | Not Very Entertaining/Interesting--At Least In the Beginning | Content
| This is a cold war crime/spy procedural set in Moscow, Russia, based on the book. Three bodies are found in Gorky Park with their faces and finger tips expertly cut off. Right after the police show up, the KGB arrives. I couldn't finish the movie because everything was so contrary to what I imagined Russian society to be like.
Everything and everybody was too polite, clean and proper, from the streets to the policeman's uniforms and the rivalry between policeman and KGB officer. I felt like it was done as a British, almost PBS style detective story. The actors even sounded British. I did like the very noble Russian detective, an idealist, but he seemed more like a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer than anything Russian. The bottom line is I was hoping for something that seemed more authentically Russian. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 13, 2002 | | Summary | very good movie | Content
| I've read the book and although it, of course, was much better, I enjoyed the movie. I regret that the movie leaves out a large section at the end of the book that I particularly liked. Additionally, the movie misrepresents my favorite character, namely KGB Major Pribluda. On the flip side, William Hurt is very good as Arkady. Lee Marvin well portrays the slimy sable-selling American Jack Osbourne, and Brian Dennerhy does well as a rogue New York City cop who doesn't give a damn about getting killed or killing people, as long as he can avenge his brother. I really enjoyed this film. Oh- the DVD especially is good, because in the movie it is difficult to make out what is happening in some of the darker scenes. |
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