Synopsis
A thriller, released 1st November 1978, based on the non-fiction book Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook by Edward N. Luttwak.
1978 Directed by Martyn Burke
A thriller, released 1st November 1978, based on the non-fiction book Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook by Edward N. Luttwak.
Peter O'Toole David Hemmings Donald Pleasence August Schellenberg Barry Morse Harvey Atkin George Touliatos Alberta Watson Chuck Shamata Michael Ironside Peter Sturgess John Granik Marcella Saint-Amant Gary Reineke Eli Rill Dick Cavett David Calderisi Doug Lennox Robert Goodier John Bayliss Warren Van Evera Sandra Scott Gino Marrocco Bridget McCann Terry Doyle Eugene Amodeo George R. Robertson Peter Jobin Frank Praino Show All…
Dwayne McLean John Stoneham Sr. Terry Martin Keith Wardlow Marcel Bérubé Richard Ayers G.A. Winnington-Ball
Söldnerkommando Powerplay, Asalto al poder, Power play: il gioco del potere, Le jeu de la puissance, 权力游戏, Conspiração Total
What bloody idiot let Peter O'Toole drive a tank?!
Surprisingly agreeable political drama about the planning and staging of a coup d'etat in a fictional European country. One of those films that very carefully plays its political cards close to its chest, and I'm actually fine with that as it's clearly more interesting in its character motivations and the procedural aspects of the plans here.
Great cast and a superb last 15 minutes or so cover up for a slightly boggy middle and an underuse of Donald Pleasence as the super cop trying to get to the bottom of it all. Features one hilariously brutal death by tank, a surprisingly violent torture scene of a young Alberta Watson, and a terrific end twist.
Based on an actual book on how to stage a coup. Ahh, the 1970s. Bless 'em.
The 1978 British-Canadian political thriller Power Play has the almost certainly unique distinction of being a movie inspired by a military instruction manual - Edward N. Luttwak's 1968 non-fiction book Coup d'Etat: A Practical Handbook to be precise; essentially a how-to guide on overthrowing a nation's government by the staging of a military coup. Indeed, it is said that prior to inspiring this movie, Luttwak's book had also inspired General Mohammed Oufkir's ultimately unsuccessful overthrow of the Moroccan government and King Hassan II in 1972.
Shot in West Germany and Canada (one of the first movies made under that nation's tax concessions) and set in generic country with no specific geography or culture, Power Play depicts a nation in turmoil, with…
A thriller starring Peter O’Toole and David Hemmings, focusing on a coup carried out by jaded top military leaders in a fictional country ruled by a repressive dictatorship. It was interesting for the way that it showed how a coup was organised and carried out, and having it set in a non-specific location allowed the film to make good points about revolutions and the state, although the violence was quite brutal and most of the characters were a bit underdeveloped.
Never released theatrically in the US and rarely seen even when it hit VHS in the '80s, this Canadian tax shelter political thriller is kind of a tough sell, based on what's basically a 1968 textbook instructional manual on staging a coup d'etat. It takes place in an unnamed European country where several military officers--among them Peter O'Toole, David Hemmings, Barry Morse, and Canadian character actor ringers like George Touliatos, Harvey Atkin, Jon Granik, Gary Reineke, and Chuck Shamata--plot to overthrow the government, while keeping it from intensely loyal government national security head Donald Pleasence.
POWER PLAY doesn't go into the specifics of *why* these military lifers are doing what they're doing, but it's more about the methodology, and in…
Martyn Burke’s action thriller. Angered and frustrated by corruption and repression, military officers decide to overthrow the current regime. Starring Peter O’Toole and Donald Pleasance.
Adapted from the non-fiction book ‘Coup d’État: A Practical Handbook’ by Edward Luttwak, which was published a decade earlier, the movie takes place in an unnamed eastern European nation, inundated by an immoral government, violence and military law.
Really fed up of what they see occurring to their country, a retiring colonel and his pals are forced to put together a bold and hazardous military revolution d’etat.
Peter O’Toole gives an okay performance as Zeller, the colonel who doesn’t show a great deal of determination in attempting to put together this daring coup that comes…
A group of home grown terrorists murder the government minister of a fictional country exposing the corruption of its leaders and it's the last straw for some leading army men who begin to plan a coup d'etat. We swing back and forth between the two sides: the plotters led by an about to retire Colonel and an activist professor as they try and recruit fellow army colonels so they have the military might required, and the government's secret service who begin to suspect something is afoot and are desperately trying to find out more details.
Telling this in flashback following ten minutes of the current state of play was a mistake as it gives away that there's a big twist at the end and it doesn't take a genius to work it out but despite that it's well worth a watch with the triple threat of Hemmings, Pleasance & O'Toole all magnificent.
Damn… showing the harsh intricacies of a Coup D’Etat has me questioning the possibility of my own one I have planned in a couple of weeks…
There's a channel on UK freeview (basic cable if you speak American first) called Talking Pictures that shows films from 1935-1980 that did nothing commercially. They're all between 2-3 stars when you boil it down, but in this world where everything looks like colour-graded Netflix piss I find I'd rather watch stuff like this where Donald Pleasence acts inscrutably over some 4k murky green/black thing with Basic Ambient Keyboard over it. Also this film was weirdly bleak and brutal (see: short and entirely unnecessary scene where man attaches car battery and electrodes to woman's breasts) and shooting for some kind of gritty le Carre ideal.
"Söldnerkommando PowerPlay" beruht auf dem Sachbuch "Coup d'Etat" (Edward N. Luttwak 1968) und schildert ausführlich die Vorbereitung und Durchführung eines Staatsstreichs. Vor allem damals aktuell, da es zu dieser Zeit immer wieder zu Machtübernahmen durchs Militär in afrikanischen, arabischen und südamerikanischen Ländern kam, erzeugt der Film durch den politschen Bezug ein gewisses Maß an Spannung. Allerdings vergisst er, eine Identifikationsfigur aufzubauen, sodass man kaum einen persönlichen Bezug zum Geschehen aufbauen kann und den Film mit einer gewissen Distanz, die in dieser Form nicht von den Filmemachern beabsichtigt scheint, sieht.
Solid if unchallenging production gives way to an electrifying final ten minutes... “Janitor?”
Well cast movie. I am a Canadian who grew up in the 1970's and it was a blast to recognize so many actors from the past. This is a story about a planned coup by the army in some unnamed dictatorship. Well written and full of tension. The ending was clever and appropriate and I enjoyed this film quite a bit. It was filmed at Camp Borden in Ontario, which I am familiar with because I was an army brat back then. This movie should be more well known.
Peter O'Toole did this movie just so he could ride in a tank and I don't blame him