Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Guy Hamilton
Produced by Larry Spiegel
Screenplay by Christopher Wood
Based on The Destroyer
by Warren Murphy
and Richard Sapir
Starring
Music by Craig Safan
Cinematography Andrew Laszlo
Edited by Mark Melnick
Production
company
Distributed by Orion Pictures
Release dates
  • October 11, 1985 (1985-10-11)
Running time
 116 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Box office $14.4 million[2]

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, also released as Remo: Unarmed and Dangerous, is a 1985 American action-adventure-thriller film directed by Guy Hamilton. The film featured Fred Ward, Joel Grey, Wilford Brimley and Kate Mulgrew.

The character is based on The Destroyer pulp paperback series. The movie was the only adaptation featuring the character Remo Williams, and fared poorly in theaters. It received mixed reviews from critics, although it did earn Joel Grey a Golden Globe nomination. The film and a Remo Williams television pilot[3] both credited Dick Clark as executive producer. The film was supposed to be the first of a series based on The Destroyer series of novels.[4]

A significant setpiece within the film takes place at the Statue of Liberty, which was surrounded by scaffolding for its restoration during this period.

Plot

Sam Makin is a tough Brooklyn, New York City street cop and Vietnam-era Marine Corps veteran. He is unwillingly recruited as an assassin for a secret United States organization, CURE. The recruitment is through a bizarre method: his death is faked and he is given a new face and a new name. Rechristened "Remo Williams" (after the name and location of the manufacturer of the bedpan in Makin's hospital room), his face is surgically altered and he is trained to be a human killing machine by his aged, derisive and impassive Korean martial arts master Chiun.

Though Remo's training is extremely rushed by Chiun's standards, Remo learns such skills as dodging bullets and running on water. Chiun teaches Remo the Korean martial art named "Sinanju". Remo's instruction is interrupted when he is sent by CURE to investigate a corrupt weapons procurement program within the US Army.

Cast

Production

Ward claimed in the news magazines that he performed most of the stunts himself including the scene on the giant Ferris Wheel shot on Deno's Wonder Wheel located at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park at Coney Island, in Brooklyn. Screenwriter Wood claimed he wrote a climax with more action that was discarded for budgetary reasons.[5]

Filming

For the Statue of Liberty scenes, a replica of the Statue's torso, head and arm was built in Mexico. The shots of the replica were intercut with footage shot at the real Statue of Liberty.

Music

The soundtrack features an instrumental score written by composer Craig Safan, released by Perseverance Records on CD on August 7, 2006 and later reissued by Intrada Records. However, the title song, Remo's Theme (What If), written and sung by Styx member Tommy Shaw, is not included on that album. Shaw released the song as a solo artist on his 1985 album What If.

Release

Box office

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins... opened on October 11, 1985 and earned $3,376,971 in its opening weekend, ranking #4 at the United States box office.[6] By the end of its run, the film grossed $14,393,902 in the domestic box office.[2]

Critical reception

The film received mixed responses from critics.[7][8][9]

Accolades

The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Makeup at the 58th Academy Awards but lost to Mask.

References

  1. ↑ "REMO UNARMED AND DANGEROUS (15) (!)". British Board of Film Classification. February 13, 1986. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  3. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0236677/
  4. ↑ Mathews, Jack (October 18, 1985). "Will The Adventure Go On For Remo Williams?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  5. ↑ Shatterhand007.coù
  6. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for October 11-13, 1985". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. October 14, 1985. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  7. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (1985-10-11). "Movie Review 'Remo Williams' Lets Fun (slam-bang) Begin". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  8. ↑ "Remo Williams': A Flawed Mix Of Rambo, Bond And Bruce Lee Movie Review". Morning Call. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  9. ↑ "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins". Variety. 1984-12-31. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
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