Ransom (1996)

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers (WGA):

Cyril Hume (story) and
Richard Maibaum (story) ...

Release Date:

8 November 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Someone is going to pay.

Plot:

When a rich man's son is kidnapped, he cooperates with the police at first but then tries a unique tactic against the criminals.

Plot Keywords:

Ransom | Money | Bounty | Police | E Mail

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Tom Mullen
Rene Russo	...	Kate Mullen
Brawley Nolte	...	Sean Mullen
Gary Sinise	...	Det. Jimmy Shaker
Delroy Lindo	...	Agent Lonnie Hawkins
Lili Taylor	...	Maris Conner
Liev Schreiber	...	Clark Barnes
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Cubby Barnes
Evan Handler	...	Miles Roberts
Nancy Ticotin	...	Agent Kimba Welch
Michael Gaston	...	Agent Jack Sickler
Kevin Neil McCready	...	Agent Paul Rhodes
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Wallace
Allen Bernstein	...	Bob Stone
José Zúñiga	...	David Torres

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic, bloody violence and strong language.

Runtime:

121 min | USA:139 min (laserdisc)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1997) | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:R16 | Italy:VM14 | Hungary:16 | UK:15 (original rating) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 (w) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R (certificate #34835) | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Bergen County, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Imagine Entertainment

Trivia:

This film was based on an episode of "The United States Steel Hour" (1953) called "Fearful Decision" that first aired live on June 22, 1954. It was so well received it was restaged on May 10, 1955. A film was made from the drama called Ransom! (1956) that was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: If you study a Bergen County, NJ map, you would notice that Route 4 does not have any major connecting highway to the tunnels to New York. Route 4 was flashed briefly has he exited to Saddle River Road. The quarry is on the Southnound side of I-287, near Wayne, NJ. Mel's character uses Route 4, which only leads to the George Washington Bridge.

Quotes:

Kate Mullen: You paid off to save your airline. Why won't you pay off to save your son?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Nanny: Fransom (#5.4)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Spiders

Mixed results

After the terrific APOLLO 13, I thought Ron Howard was ready to move on to even bigger things, Mel Gibson is good when he's given the chance to act, Richard Price is one of my favorite writers, Lili Taylor is one of my favorite actresses, and the trailer really rocked, so I was primed to see this. But it's somewhat disappointing. The filmmakers try to make a flawed hero, and Gibson certainly is that, not afraid to make his character unlikable, and we even get the psychology of a man used to having his way not having his way, and how he reacts to that. And most of the rest of the cast is good(with one exception I'll get to in a moment). As a fan of Taylor, I was especially pleased at how she was used. While she doesn't have a lot of dialogue, she gets to develop her character in a way her fellow villains don't because Howard has her on camera a lot, and she expresses a lot with her face.

But the other villains aren't well-developed. The one wrong performance(not bad, wrong) is by Gary Sinise; he tries, but he's just not convincing here, mostly sounding forced. And the last 15 minutes are melodramatic and unconvincing. The elements were all there, but it doesn't deliver.