Against All Odds (1984)

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writers:

Daniel Mainwaring (1947 screenplays)
Eric Hughes (writer)

Release Date:

2 March 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

She was a beautiful fugitive. Fleeing from corruption. From power. He was a professional athlete past his prime. Hired to find her, he grew to love her. Love turned to obsession. Obsession turned to murder. And now the price of freedom might be nothing less than their lives.

Plot:

A gangster hires an ex-football player to find his girlfriend. When he finds her, they fall in love, and the twists start to appear.

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Beautiful Woman | Neo Noir | Remake | American Football

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Rachel Ward	...	Jessie Wyler
Jeff Bridges	...	Terry Brogan
James Woods	...	Jake Wise
Alex Karras	...	Hank Sully
Jane Greer	...	Mrs. Grace Wyler
Richard Widmark	...	Ben Caxton
Dorian Harewood	...	Tommy
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Edie
Saul Rubinek	...	Steve Kirsch
Pat Corley	...	Ed Phillips
Bill McKinney	...	Head Coach Stassen
Allen Williams	...	Bob Soames
Sam Scarber	...	Assistant Coach Sam
Jon St. Elwood	...	Ahmad Cooper
Tamara Stafford	...	Kirsch's Girlfriend

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1984) | Peru:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Jane Greer, who played the "mother" in this movie, played the "daughter," Kathie Moffat, in the original version, Out of the Past (1947). The daughter in this version was renamed Jessie Wyler and played by Rachel Ward. Paul Valentine, who played Councilman Wienberg, played Joe Stephanos in the original.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the race scene between Terry Brogan and Jake Wise, Jake's dog, who is riding in the front seat with him, disappears during the high speed scenes and then reappears at the very end of the race scene. Also, as Jake prepares to pass a motor home, a rear hatch is open on the motor home and then suddenly it is closed.

Quotes:

Jessie Wyler: I think about you.
Terry Brogan: I think about you too lady. Let's leave it at that.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Retrosexual: The 80's" (2004) (mini)

Soundtrack:

MY MALE CURIOSITY

An effective neo-noir that gets a little convuluted towards the end

Just recently discovering this on dvd, I'm actually suprised I haven't heard much about it before. A modern film noir that's a very loose remake of "Out of the Past" with Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas. The film instead focuses on gorgeous, sunny locations like Mexico and the finer locations of L.A. instead of the dark and grungy look that most film noir's follow. Jeff Bridges stars as a pro L.A. football player that gets cut because of a mild injury. Upset because he has some good years left in him, he attempts to sue the team to no avail. Broke and looking for a job, a shady past friend played by James Woods shows up with a job offer: find his girlfriend who split on him and headed to Mexico. This girlfriend also happens to be the daughter of the woman who owns the L.A. pro football team, a ruthless business woman who is primarily interested in real estate and inherited the team from her late husband. When he decides he needs a vacation and the money, he takes Woods up on his offer. After a couple days of useless searching, he finally finds her...and immediately falls in love. The femme fatale is played by Rachel Ward, a hot commodity back then, coming off of The Thornbirds. A spoiled rich princess-type, she eventually succumbs to him and the following scenes are some of the most beautiful sequences put on film. The only commercial movie that has filmed scenes in the gorgeous ancient ruins of Chichen Itza and Tulum, these sequences make the film. The sex scene is one of the best I've seen, really putting a passion on the screen without becoming too...late night cinemax. Unfortunately, from here, the film plummets into a convuluted mess trying to deal with issues that seem out of place with the film: The L.A. business elite, gambling, real estate, etc. I think the film is definitely worth a watch for the first two-thirds alone. Also, dvd fans are encouraged to listen to the cast commentary. One of the better commentaries I've heard, there is a lot of great anecdotes from a rare track by Jeff Bridges and James Woods. The two leads really seem to come off as real friends joking and ribbing each other, unlike some of the stuffy professional actor commentaries that are usually the case.