Martin Bradley Despite the thick-ear dialogue, lack-lustre performances from most of the cast, (Charles Durning being the notable exception), and the frankly ridiculous premiss of a renegade general taking over a nuclear missile silo and holding the US government to ransom, Aldrich's dip into the Cold War paranoia genre is surprisingly good, working both as a highly suspenseful thriller, (Aldrich makes great use of split screens), and as a reasonably serious picture on American foreign policy. It's also funny enough to work as political satire and I'm not sure that Aldrich took it all that seriously. It may not be in the same class as either "Seven Days in May" or "Fail Safe" and television dramas such as "The West Wing" and "House of Cards" are much closer to the mark on what goes on in the Oval Office than anything here but it's also far from negligible and if it's hardly Aldrich's best film it's still well worth seeing.

orbitsville-1 Things are far too strange here to just say "so bad it's good". Far, far too strange.Instead, let's say there are three ways to make a film out of a Walter Wager novel. First we have the Telefon example: do a straight-up, linear, by-the-numbers thriller that is so straightforward and escapist that you get a rather wooden, unmemorable--if somewhat entertaining--potboiler. Nothing risked, nothing lost nothing gained. That's Telefon.Or, there's the 58 Minutes/Die Hard 2 model: change main-character Malone to John McClane, keep the airport-in-jeopardy setting while massively rewriting the novel so it works as a movie sequel to something it wasn't even connected to in the first place, and make sure it's more exciting than Telefon. Your cinematic thriller has soul, and is safely attached to a successful franchise. And for goodness sakes, stay away from polemic, political commentary or deep meaning.This brings us to our third case of filming a Walter Wager escapist thriller tome: attach thought-provoking socio-political concerns to the escapism. Try to address some lingering bitterness or cynicism in the US macro-psyche over, say, the Viet Nam war. Homegrown terrorists as anti-heroes, trying to out the government's secrets over a futile conflict that lingered on as a political peeing contest that cost too many lives, by way of a captured missile base. Rogue Major Burt Lancaster tries to stare down US President Charles Durning with nine nuclear warheads set to ferment, unless some dirty laundry is aired right quick. Of course it's previous administrations' decisions that Durning's version of the President is getting slapped around for, but that's all part of the...fun? Uh, no, sorry, all part of the moral conundrum. The fun is somewhere else in the movie...and quickly seeping out of the movie, the more director Robert Aldrich decides this is not just going to be escapist thrills.Personally, I feel the movie gets most obviously unwieldy, and dangerously over-ambitious, once it starts to abandon Burt Lancaster, in favor of Charles Durning. There's a big shift in focus as soon as we start hanging out with Durning and his boardroom full of mucky-mucks--and shut-in Lancaster becomes sort of a bit player in the proceedings, even though he's got nine nuclear missiles. This switch in character focus directly corresponds to the diminishing thrills, and the emphasis on deeper questions and concerns that Robert Aldrich decided were in tune with the USA zeitgeist of 1977. Less booby-traps, ambushes, shoot-outs, torture sessions and stealth attacks gone wrong--more talk, talk, talk, by suits, suits, suits, sitting comfortably in chairs, chairs, chairs, who wants more coffee? Meanwhile, the split-screen effect used deftly during action sequences (much in the way of the TV show 24 years later) gives way to less suspenseful split-screen sequences showing Burt Lancaster almost looking bored while the President dithers.Then the ending comes along and finds a really unexpected and daring way to combine stark cynical commentary with a shockingly brutal final confrontation such as you would find in only a truly bold and cutting-edge thriller. And so, I'm going to do what the movie does: I'm going to end a review of what sounds like a bad movie deserving its flop status by shifting gears and saying Bravo! Why? Well, 8 out of 10 for this because--despite everything wrongheaded about the project- -I can honestly say that there is no other thriller, or quasi-thriller stuffed with deep thoughts and dark commentary, quite like it. It's a glorious misfire. I didn't take it seriously, but it had me trying. More lively than Telefon, less cheesy fun than Die Hard 2, and a unique experiment: sort of Inside Man meets Sum Of All Fears meets Point/Counterpoint. Crashes and burns in one of the most compelling ways I've ever seen, and that ain't hay!

Woodyanders A band of dangerous escaped convicts led by bitter, disgraced and determined renegade former Strategic Air Force General Laurence Dell (superbly played by Burt Lancaster) take over a nuclear missile silo. They demand ten million dollars, the release of a top secret document which gives the true reason why America fought in the Vietnam war, Air Force One as a getaway plane, and affable, moral President David T. Stevens (an outstanding performance by Charles Durning) as a hostage. If Dell's demands aren't met, he'll launch the missiles and start World War III. Director Robert Aldrich, working from a bold, hard-hitting and incisive script by Ronald M. Cohen and Edward Huebsch, relates the arresting premise at a constant headlong pace, stages several stirring action set pieces with rip-roaring gusto, and builds a tremendous amount of nerve-wracking suspense. This film further benefits from terrific acting from a first-rate cast: Lancaster and especially Durning both excel in their meaty roles, with fine support from Paul Winfield as the antsy, reluctant Willis Powell, Burt Young as the grubby, excitable Augie Garvas, Richard Widmark as Dell's austere nemesis General Martin McKenzie, Melvyn Douglas as the pragmatic Secretary of Defense Zachariah Guthrie, William Marshall as the equally wise Attorney General William Klinger, Joseph Cotten as the weaselly Secretary of State Arthur Renfew, Gerald S. O'Laughlin as Stevens' loyal right-hand man Brigadier General O'Rourke, and Richard Jaeckel as the disillusioned Captain Standford Towne. William Smith makes a brief, yet chilling appearance as vicious unstable psycho Hoxey. Robert B. Hauser's polished cinematography makes inspired frequent use of split screen. Jerry Goldsmith supplies a tense, rattling, rousing score. The devastating downbeat ending packs a strong sucker punch to the gut. But what really makes this film so effective and impressive is the potent and provocative statement it bravely makes about the unnecessary wastefulness of the Vietnam war. An absolute powerhouse.

thinker1691 America developed the Atomic Bomb in the 1940's and terrified the world with it's use on Japan. Ever since, the weapon has undergone enormous transformation from it's inception to the nightmarish mega-tonnage of today. Created to fly only once, these weapons of Mass destruction have been in hibernation waiting for someone lunatic enough to give them flight. Such a man is General Lawrence Dell (Burt Lancaster) who with the passionate fervor of a man with a mission expertly hijacks a missile complex. With the help of three escape convicts (William Smith, Paul Winfield and Burt Young) threaten to start World War III if their demands are not met. Such is the scenario of Twilight's Last Gleaming. The film contains a run-away-script which ignites the fears of the world and confront the President of the United States (Charles During, one of his finest roles to date) and his cabinet with the reality of World Destruction. The high drama and tense nail-biting excitement is one of the bi-products of this heart pounding film. All in all, a classic confrontation between a deceptive, administration and a general out to expose their callous indifferent nature towards war. Excellence performances by Joseph Cotton, William Marshall, and Richard Jaeckel. *****