Paramount. Director Ted Kotcheff; Producer John Milius, Buzz Feitshans; Screenplay Joe Gayton; Camera Stephen H. Burum; Editor Thom Noble, Mark Melnick; Music James Horner; Art Director James L. Schoppe
Gene Hackman
Robert Stack
Fred Ward
Reb Brown
Randall 'Tex' Cobb
Patrick Swayze
All of the top talent involved - especially Gene Hackman - is hardly needed to make Uncommon Valor what it is, a very common action picture.
Hackman does as much as he can as a grieving father obsessed with the idea that his son remains a prisoner 10 years after he was reported missing-in-action in Vietnam. Financed by oil tycoon Robert Stack, whose son is also missing, Hackman puts together his small invasion force and two-thirds of Valor is consumed introducing the characters and putting them through various practice drills for the rescue which will predictably be tougher than they planned on.
True to a long tradition of war films, by the time the tough really get going it's only a question of who won't come back from the dangerous mission. But at least each of the main characters in Valor does his best to make you care whether it's him.
(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1983. Running time: 105 MIN.
Contact Variety Staff at
news@variety.com