Bloodline (1979)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Laird Koenig (writer)
Sidney Sheldon (novel)

Release Date:

29 June 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The line between love and death is the bloodline.

Plot:

When her father is murdered, a cosmetics heiress becomes the next target of an unknown killer amid the international jet set.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Snuff Film | Heiress | Female Nudity | Nude Woman Murdered

Cast

Audrey Hepburn	...	Elizabeth Roffe
Ben Gazzara	...	Rhys Williams
James Mason	...	Sir Alec Nichols
Claudia Mori	...	Donatella
Irene Papas	...	Simonetta Palazzi
Michelle Phillips	...	Vivian Nichols
Maurice Ronet	...	Charles Martin
Romy Schneider	...	Hélène Roffe-Martin
Omar Sharif	...	Ivo Palazzi
Beatrice Straight	...	Kate Erling
Gert Fröbe	...	Inspector Max Hornung
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Julius Prager
Marcel Bozzuffi	...	Man in Black
Pinkas Braun	...	Dr. Wal
Wulf Kessler	...	Young Sam Roffe

Also Known As:

Blutspur (West Germany)
Sidney Sheldon's Bloodline

Runtime:

USA:116 min | West Germany:117 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English | Italian | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (video rating) | West Germany:16 | Australia:M | Australia:MA (DVD re-rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

NF Geria III-Produktion München

Trivia:

The part of Elizabeth Roffe was turned down by Candice Bergen, Jacqueline Bisset and Diane Keaton before Audrey Hepburn accepted, and the character's age was changed from 23 to 35.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Elizabeth Roffe and Rhys Williams are in the hotel room, she left the bathroom in a nightgown after a night of love, but he is in jacket-and-tie with a overcoat in the arm.

Quotes:

Elizabeth Roffe: [to Rhys as she flees Maxim's] You really and truly are a perfect bastard!

Very disappointing.

Very disappointing.

Nobody expects film based on Sidney Sheldon's book to be come art-house masterpiece but at least it could be made into enjoyable crime movie like Death on Nile. Well it was not. Despite the rather famous director (Young is not Fellini of course but most his previous films were enjoyable eye-feasts; would that be a spy adventure (2 Bond movies), eurowestern (Red Sun) or costume drama (Mayerling)) and all-star cast the film is very weak.

The plot is inconsistent and empty the idea to equip the Agatha Christy-like crime puzzle with subplots from other genres may seem not bad idea but it doesn't work at all

Subplot 1- (WWII -Jewish Tragedy with absolutely aimless trip to Poland) and Subplot 2 (French one - Schneider/Ronet story ) seem to be taken from the absolutely different film as well as the type-cast Shariff's line

Actually this all-star cast is the only reason to watch it, but its is painful to watch so much talent wasted. If Hupbern, Gazarra and Mason are at least is doing something during the boringly unveiling plot, the others are just fitting the empty space. especially annoying to see superb dramatic actresses like Papas and Schneider wasting their talent in this turkey.