nyp01 I remember seeing this movie at a seedy downtown LA theater, the second film of a double bill that I almost walked out on before it began. I was glad I stayed. I don't remember what the feature film was, but I have never forgotten this movie.Jack Nicholson plays a on-the-take border patrol cop trying to go straight, but surrounded by corruption on both sides of the fence. He finally has to choose between fitting in by being a dirt bag, and being true to himself and cutting his ties with his buddies and his family.The border is not only a fence between two countries, it's a moral line between decency and indecency, between moral compromise and being a truly humane and compassionate person regardless of the consequences.The acting is superb, and the the plot could not be more timely. So give this box office bomb a go soon! It's a real diamond in the rough.

lastliberal There are two things about this movie that make it a must-watch: Jack Nicholson in one of his best performances, and the issue of immigration.Nicholson is a border guard who tries to resist the money available but his crazy wife (Valerie Perrine) just spends, spends, and spends like he was a Rockefeller. He finally joins with his neighbor and partner (Harvey Keitel) and runs some Mexicans across the border.Charlie (Nicholson) still has some morals and that causes problems for his partner. He is also taken with Maria (Elpidia Carrillo), and that causes problems for their Mexican contact, so he sets him up to control him.However, he can't control Charlie, and now even the boss (Warren Oates) is mad at him.Tony Richardson's film has a lot of elements of Sam Peckinpah. Exciting to the end.Music by the great Ry Cooder.

merklekranz "The Border" has a powerhouse cast in it's favor. Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Warren Oates, are uniformly good. What is not so good is the script, and editing. The script seems somewhat redundant, and the editing is seasickness inducing choppy. Despite these flaws, the film is watchable, but I doubt repeat viewings would be necessary. The corruption that is shown, certainly portrays the United States Border Patrol in a most negative way. The plight of the Mexicans is not a very pretty picture, and is exploited throughout the movie. Is it a political statement or entertainment, I am not certain? As a movie I would call it marginally successful at best. - MERK

psychorobotape this film is superb on many levels. while jack nicholson and harvey keitel both have an impressively long list of masterly performances, I believe this film ranks near the tops of their oeuvres with a handful of their other performances in films like "the shining" and "the passenger" for nicholson or "the duellists" and "bad timing" for keitel. all of the supporting cast members deliver excellent performances as well. the scenery is beautiful and is shot well. both the story and the dialogue are superlative. The plot progresses dramatically yet plausibly, at no point is the viewer obliged to suspend her disbelief as nicholson's character is backed into a corner by the circumstances developing around him. The action sequences are both dramatic and believable. go watch this film.