The Osterman Weekend (1983) on Netflix
R19831h 43mActionDramaThriller
John Tanner anchors an investigative news program and each year gathers three old friends for a weekend in the country. The CIA's Lawrence Fassett tells him the men are Soviet agents.
- Netflix3.0/5
- IMDb5.8/1010,265 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes45%
Trailer
Plot summary
Lawrence Fassett, a CIA agent, reports to his superiors that he has found Omega, a Soviet spy network. Three men are named as part of it: Bernard Osterman, who produces television; Richard Tremayne, a plastic surgeon; and Joseph Cardone, who trades stocks. Fassett proposes turning one of them into a double agent. He approaches John Tanner, who anchors an investigative news program, has known the three men since their college days, and every year brings them together for a weekend they call The Osterman. Tanner often criticizes the government and does not believe the accusation, so Fassett plays him recordings of his friends meeting with a KGB agent. Tanner agrees to help, on the condition that CIA Director Maxwell Danforth answers his questions on his program.
Cast
- Christopher Starras Steve Tanner
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Osterman Weekend (1983)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- When Sam Peckinpah refused to re-edit The Osterman Weekend, and after he had shot satirical scenes ridiculing the product, producers William N. Panzer and Peter S. Davis effectively fired him and re-edited the film themselves.
- Sam Peckinpah hated Robert Ludlum's novel and disliked the screenplay; he was allowed to work on the script himself, but the producers forbade any more rewrites after he submitted his first few pages.
- The Osterman Weekend was the final film Sam Peckinpah directed; the director died less than two months after its premiere.
- John Hurt, Burt Lancaster and Dennis Hopper were among the actors who took less than their usual salaries for the chance to work with Sam Peckinpah, and Rutger Hauer, fresh from Blade Runner, was chosen by the producers for the lead role.
- Producer William Castle bought the film rights and asked Robert Ludlum to write the script; Ludlum was reluctant and said, "I didn't leave that crowd of ocelots to go back into it."
