JohnDoe
Bryn
Brenton
Wrong is Right (1982) - Footage Included
Wrong is Right - Available on DVD
Writer/Director: Richard Brooks
Starring: Sean Connery, Robert Conrad, Leslie Nielsen, Katherine Ross, Henry Silva, John Saxon, Dean Stockwell, Ron Moody, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Released under the name The Man with the Deadly Lens in Australia and the UK to mislead viewers into thinking this was a James Bond espionage thriller. Wrong is Right is instead a pitch black political satire based on the Charles McCarry novel The Better Angels.
Failing at the box office upon release for a seemingly over the top media send up ironically seen as implausible, current events have since proven the film to be prophetic. Set in a world where suicide bombers and political corruption are manipulated by the media to justify a war for oil. What was once a farcical 80’s comedy, ridicules present day reality TV and terrorism to be disturbingly accurate in content.
Sean Connery lampoons his super spy alter ego as a superstar journalist named Patrick Hale. That familiar brogue opens in voice over to report on the network of Reagan era spy satellites designed to invade citizen’s privacy, snag enemy secrets and broadcast radio and television signals around the world.
Fighting for ratings in a violent, tabloid obsessed America, Hale’s latest expose reports on the irresponsible fad where for a price you can poison your useless parents or grab a shotgun and blow away your sports loving, beer guzzling husband on camera.
Never standing still, Hale has been assigned to interview a Middle Eastern Arab sheik and this is where the real story begins. Heading to Saudi Arabia, a series of covert assassinations illuminate a conspiracy designed to invoke a U.S. occupation of the black gold reserves and triggers the threat of nuclear Armageddon.
Sean Connery and Henry Silva in a scene from the film.
John Doe Says:
Armed with the tagline, "Dr. Strangelove for the 80's", Wrong is Right is difficult to view through of-its-time eyes. This scathing cry for common sense may have a clumsy narrative and an uneven tone, or it may just be that the lines of comedy are blurred by hindsight. Despite this or perhaps because of it, this is an insightful and entertaining film that should not be forgotten.
Writer/Director Richard Brooks was a legend by the time he made this, his second last film. Responsible for the masterpiece adaptations of Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, Elmer Gantry and In Cold Blood, Brookes had a skillful eye for performance and a social conscious that made him an independent filmmaker before the phrase was even coined.
Obviously the subject matter was very personal to the aging Brooks and the critical message was one he wanted to shout from the rooftops. As a spoof he plays fast and loose, keeping the pace at comedic speed. The elements of a thriller are treated with skill and the humor delivered with an extroverted, haphazard aplomb.
The screenplay is a cornucopia of precise observations on the rules of the game and many lines echo into the new millennium with more power than could have possibly been intended. The hypocrisy of the system treated like a radioactive contaminant that is hidden in plain sight.
The technical aspects are handled capably with quality editing and cinematography. The cast all embrace their roles and mine potential laughs while balancing dramatic strengths.
Breaking the mold that had been cast for him, Sean Connery eagerly put his tongue in cheek as the cynical Hale. There is even a burlesque quality that comes through when he breaks into song during a heated rant about journalism being reduced to pure entertainment with no moral imperative. Taking on the shedding of his tabloid baggage without ego, he rips off his toupee in the final scenes to highlight the illusions of his sex symbol image.
Robert Conrad (The Wild, Wild West) as the gag named General Wombat elevates his parts war mongering desires to perfect pitch. His “push the button” pleading while consuming hard liquor honestly competes with George C Scott’s classic turn in Strangelove to rank as his best.
As an oil baron with political aspirations on the big job Leslie Nielsen (The Poseidon Adventure, Flying High) is a straight faced amusement park. Henry Silva (Ghost Dog) has fun as the easily swayed Islamic fundamentalist who seeks a pair of atom bomb loaded suitcases.
From a fan perspective it is also nice to see Jennifer Jason Leigh’s (The Hitcher, Existenz) brief 3rd feature film appearance.
As you can tell John Doe is uncertain if the film works as originally intended. The laughs are often masked by the eerie truth of 9/11. The pleasure really comes from the then and now of it all making this an essential fatalistic footnote rather than a must see gem. For proof look no further than the discovery of the A-Bombs that are holding America siege, hidden on a flagpole atop the World Trade Center.
The unknowing Reality TV parody from Wrong is Right
A mash up of scenes from Wrong is Right.
A disorganized Q&A session with Joe Dante introducing John saxon after a rerelease screening of the film.
You could have entitled Your superb review as, 'Then is NOW'
-d'ya think the "chicken hawks" got their ideas from this gem?
cheers
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Horrorphile
Screen Adventure
P.S. while I love 'In Cold Blood' - you thought ELMER GANTRY was a masterpiece??? Why???
Film & TV on DVD
I think that those with their finger on the pulse back in the 70's and 80's saw it coming a mile off. All the signs were there.
Film & TV on DVD
it isn't a masterpiece but a very satisfying curio and a must for Connery fans. His work in the 80's was eclectic for sure and many seem to ignore the period despite his efforts to try and remove himself from the image he was burdened with and deliver performances that stretched his range.
Film & TV on DVD
As I said it was released as "The man with the Deadly lens" in Oz. It even had a bond style poster with Connery posing with a camera held in the mold of 007 and scantily clad women at his feet.
I actually saw it in cinemas as a lad and was disappointed because I was expecting more spy action. Now it juts seems ahead of its time.
i was always a fan of Brooks and see a real similarity in tone to some of Sidney Lumet's best work. I always liked Lord Jim and Battle Circus predates MASH by 20 years for its black comedy in a war hospital.
My favourite though is certainly The Professionals which seems a warning sign for The Wild Bunch.
here is the only copy of the poster I could find online. lousy quality but you can see what i mean.
Film & TV on DVD
Yep i liked Elmer Gantry a lot! Leap of Faith starring Steve Martin covered similar ground but what the film had to say about religion and its followers was right up my alley.
Have you seen The Professionals with Lee Marvin? I didn't mention it in my review but it could certainly be described as a western masterwork that predates the Wild Bunch and has the same attitude.
Interesting to note that Brooks was good buddy's with our man Sam Fuller and they were news reporters in NY around the same time.
Film & TV on DVD
psychocinemapath
YESSS!!! Even though I don't remember this film as a whole, I remember seeing it twice and being both fascinated and revolted by the violence depicted, such as the suicide bombings (which, considering how they've ratcheted up the level of violence in movies since then, are pretty tame). The sequence in which a nuclear attack on Manhattan is envisioned also stuck in my mind, although it didn't give me nightmares until much later.
With 9/11, the advent of reality TV, and the preponderance of sensationalistic journalism, WRONG IS RIGHT is definitely prophetic. No wonder it was ignored.
Alex
Screen Adventure
Film & TV on DVD
It really is an interesting film to revisit in the current climate.
The suicide Bombers and the NY nuclear scenes both suffer from dated effects, but carry so much weight now that it evens out to resonate.
Great to have you drop by.
Film & TV on DVD