Alistair MacLean's enjoyable novel is noticeably rushed through in this rather average thriller. Optimum UK R2 DVD.
The Film
"Two seconds. Only two seconds. Two seconds to take from me all this life held dear for me, two seconds to leave me alone in an empty and desolate and meaningless world."
Alistair MacLean - Fear is the Key
From
a small hut on an airport field, John Talbot talks to his wife and
brother as they fly their plane, and is forced to listen in helpless
terror as they are shot down and crash into the ocean. Years later,
Talbot is arrested in a bar and brought before a judge, but after
shooting a police officer he escapes and takes a young woman as a
hostage as he flees across the state being perused by police. He
escapes the cops, but finds himself at gunpoint when an ex-cop known as Jablonsky
tracks him down to claim the reward posted for their
capture. Jablonsky takes the pair to the house of the very wealthy
local businessman General Ruthven, whose daughter was the hostage.
Ruthven pays Jablonsky for the rescue of his daughter, but instead of
turning Talbot over to the police, seems to have other plans for this
former salvage expert...
Writer
Robert Carrington gets the job of adapting Alistair MacLean's exciting
and near-nihilistic sixth novel, and sadly does not do a very good job.
Possibly inspired by the previous year's When Eight Bells Toll
(1971) for which MacLean successfully adapted his own novel, Carrington
attempts to follow the same formula by following the book closely,
removing a few subplots and characters to keep it to 90 minutes, and
adding in a couple of scenes to replace sequences we learn of through
inner monologues in the book. As far as the latter goes, the included
scene at the start, with Talbot getting himself arrested works very
well. However, Carrington completely fails with the task of trimming
down the story and the script emerges as a hopeless mess of storylines
with anyone unfamiliar with the book, having real trouble following. A
lot of important themes are missing - notably, Talbot's hopeless
romantic feelings for Sarah, and hers for Kennedy who never even
appears here and the whole notion of
Larry as a psychotic drug addict is completely ignored; while the lengthy oil-rig search sequence is retained,
that could very easily have been written out. Even the ending doesn't
work as well, missing out the poignant epilogue.
Fortunately
the film is held together by some impressive direction from Michael
Tuncher, most notably in the extended car chase sequence that forms the
action highlight of the film. Although quite small in scale (only a few
police cars get wrecked), with some great stunt driving, and a complete
absence of rear-projection effects, this certainly ranks among the best
cinematic car chases. Unfortunately optical effects do rear
their ugly head in the grim and insanely claustrophobic finalé, and
rather ruin what should be the film's best sequence - made even more
annoying by the fact that they could have been easily removed without
affecting the scene at all, by simply not having the actors sat in
front of a window. Roy Budd, composer of the celebrated score for Get Carter (1971) takes care of the soundtrack with a fitting Jazz theme to accompany the deep South locations.
Vanishing Point (1971)
star Barry Newman takes the lead role here, playing the anti-hero role
to perfection and a decent match for the character MacLean envisaged
(although presumably the producers felt that the "reddest
hair and blackest eyebrows... a permanent limp and a scar that ran from
the corner of my right brow to the lobe of my right ear" wouldn't suit him too well). Attractive English star Suzy Kendall, inbetween her Giallo
roles, plays the General's daughter, although she doesn't get very much
to do. Big American actor John Vernon is perfectly cast as the menacing
Vyland, while Ben Kingsley makes his film debut as the calmly efficient
assassin, Royale.
Suffering from a mismanaged script, Fear is the Key
does gain from some good acting, and becomes entertaining thanks to a
very impressive car chase, and some generally good direction from
Michael Tuncher. Probably worth seeing for the car chase alone, the
film comes partly recommended - probably best for those who have read
the book, as they will know what is going on.
In brief:
Anyone famous in it?
Barry Newman - best known for Vanishing Point he has gone on to appear in a variety of films since.
Directed by anyone interesting?
Michael Tuncher - a little known British director who also helmed Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith comedy Wilt (1989), and the British crime film Villain (1971).
Any gore/violence?
Nothing vivid.
Any sex?
None.
Who is it for?
Fans of 1970s action thrillers, and car chases should enjoy this.
The DVD
Visuals
Original Aspect Ratio - 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colour. The print is superb, with vivid colours, strong detail and almost no grain.
Audio
English mono. Sounds good throughout, the dialogue and all important music come through very clearly.
Subtitles
None.
Extras
None.
Region
Region 2 (UK, Europe) - PAL
Other regions?
No other releases.
Cuts?
Believed
to be fully uncut. English language print.
Summary
The storyline doesn't get much
to recommend it, certainly not compared to the novel, but the direction
is superb, and the car chase is worth the price of admission alone.
Partly recommended.
A great looking and sounding print, but a complete lack of extras.
