| In the Line of Fire | |
|---|---|
 "An assassin on the loose. A president in danger. Only one man stands between them..." | |
| Directed By | Wolfgang Petersen |
| Written By | Jeff Maguire |
| Cast | Clint Eastwood, Rene Russo, John Malkovich, Gary Cole |
| Produced By | Jeff Apple, Gail Katz |
| Cinematography By | John Bailey |
| Film Editing By | Anne V. Coates |
| Music By | Ennio Morricone |
| Studio | Castle Rock Entertainment |
| Distributed By | Columbia Pictures |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Release Date | July 9, 1993 |
| Runtime | 128 Minutes |
| Rating | R |
| Budget | $40,000,000 |
| Gross | $187,343,874 |
Overview[]
In the Line of Fire is a 1993 American produced political action-thriller film starring Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich. It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan is an aging dinosaur. A relic who spends his days tracking down counterfeiters and crank threats to the President. Busy work until his inevitable retirement. But once upon a time, it was very different. Once, he was the Service's best and brightest.
Once, Horrigan was the Lead Agent on the Detail; personally protecting President John F. Kennedy. But mostly he is now remembered as the agent who leapt onto the limousine after the fatal shot to belatedly try and shield the President that fateful day in Dallas. Horrigan remembers that day as his greatest failure, believing that if he had reacted just a split second sooner ... he might have saved JFK's life. Now, another President is in danger and Frank is determined not to fail again.
Mitch Leary is an obsessed and bitterly disillusioned former CIA assassin. Once, he was their best and deadliest. Now, he wants to be heard. Now, he wants the CIA to recognize what they did to him, for the government to regret betraying him. To make a statement like no other. He has the means, the training, and the determination. And he is determined to kill the President.
Now these two driven men will face each other down in a final showdown. One trained to protect, even at the cost of his own life and body. The other, trained to kill. Both of them in the line of fire to see which of them is better at their job...
Plot[]
Cast[]
- Clint Eastwood as Frank Horrigan
- John Malkovich as Mitch Leary
- Rene Russo as Lilly Raines
- Dylan McDermott as Al D'Andrea
- Gary Cole as Bill Watts
- Fred Thompson as Harry Sargent
- John Mahoney as Sam Campagna
- Gregory Alan Williams as Matt Wilder
- Jim Curley as President of the United States
- Sally Hughes as First Lady of the United States
- Tobin Bell as Mendoza
- Clyde Kusatsu as Jack Okura
- Steve Hytner as Tony Carducci
- Patrika Darbo as Pam Magnus
- John Heard as Prof. Riger
- Joshua Malina as Agent Chavez
- Steve Railsback as David Coppinger
Production[]
Reception[]
In the Line of Fire was released on July 9, 1993 in the United States, premiering alongside Rookie of the Year and Weekend at Bernie's II. It debuted in 1,903 theaters nationwide and earned a total gross of $15,269,388 in its opening weekend where it climbed to the 3rd top ranked in most popular films, failing to displace front runners The Firm and Jurassic Park. It did ascend to the 2nd ranked spot by the second weekend and held onto this placement for three weeks before dropping to 3rd once more and would swiftly drop further in the rankings afterwards thanks a number of other films being released for the summer for its total 13-week run in the box office.
Overall, In the Line of Fire earned a total of $102,314,823 domestically and $74,682,345 internationally and was deemed a considerable financial success.
The Rotten Tomatoes website gave it a 96% "Certified Fresh" approval rating with Metacritic scored it with a "74 out of a 100". It was given almost universally positive reviews and acclaimed by a number of critics including Roger Ebert who enthusiastically endorsed it by proclaiming that "most thrillers these days are about stunts and action. 'In the Line of Fire' has a mind."
Co-star John Malkovich in particular was praised for his performance and was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Film Award, Chicago Film Critics Award, and a Golden Globe but failed to win any.
In the Line of Fire was subsequently released commercially in two DVD formats; one regular and a special edition with additional features and Blu-Ray. It was later released as a paired DVD with the 1997 film The Devil's Own.
Trivia[]
- Clint Eastwood actually performed his own piano playing scene in the film as he is an accomplished jazz pianist.
- The gun prop that was used by Mitch Leary (John Malkovich) that was designed to be 'undetectable' by a standard cursory search was subsequently destroyed per regulation of the United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 ( 18 U.S.C. § 922(p) ) which makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detectors, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology.
Associated Pages[]
Teams & Groups[]
- CIA
- United States Secret Service
Locations[]
- Dallas, Texas
- Los Angeles, California
- Washington, D.C.