The Package (1989 film)

The Package is a 1989 American political thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy, Tommy Lee Jones, John Heard, and Dennis Franz.

The Package
Directed by	Andrew Davis
Produced by	Beverly Camhe Tobie Haggerty
Written by	John Bishop
Starring	Gene Hackman Joanna Cassidy Tommy Lee Jones John Heard Dennis Franz
Music by	James Newton Howard
Cinematography	Frank Tidy
Edited by	Billy Weber Don Zimmerman
Distributed by	Orion Pictures
Release date	August 25, 1989
Running time	108 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$18 million
Box office	$10,647,219

Set during the Cold War, the film depicts the U.S. and Soviet governments as they are about to sign a disarmament treaty to completely eliminate nuclear weapons. However, elements within each country's military are vehemently opposed to such a plan, and determined to stop it at all costs.

Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars out of four, calling it "smarter than most thrillers".[1]

Plot

Gene Hackman stars as Johnny Gallagher, a United States Army Special Forces Master Sergeant who is assigned to escort a prisoner, an Army deserter named Thomas Boyette (Tommy Lee Jones), from West Berlin back to the United States. When Boyette escapes, Gallagher pursues him and discovers that Boyette is actually a professional assassin hired to kill the leader of the Soviet Union (clearly resembling Mikhail Gorbachev) after a meeting in Chicago with the President of the United States. Gallagher is joined by his ex-wife Eileen (Joanna Cassidy), a lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S. Army, and Chicago police Lt. Milan Delich (Dennis Franz) with whom Sgt. Gallagher served in Vietnam. Sergeant Gallagher is later confined to the base. Later, when one of his ex-wife's people is killed and fearing that she's in danger, the sergeant escapes and saves her just as some people are trying to kill her. The sergeant and his ex-wife learn that something is happening in Chicago. They travel to the city and Sergeant Gallagher asks a cop he knows to help him. Sergeant Gallagher finds out that disarmament talks are taking place in Chicago.

Cast

• Gene Hackman as Master Sergeant Johnny Gallagher
• Joanna Cassidy as Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Gallagher
• Tommy Lee Jones as Thomas Boyette
• John Heard as Colonel Glen Whitacre
• Dennis Franz as Detective Lieutenant Milan Delich. Chicago Police.
• Pam Grier as Lieutenant Ruth Butler
• Kevin Crowley as Segreant Walter Henke
• Ron Dean as Karl Richards
• Nathan Davis as the Soviet Press Secretary
• Chelcie Ross as Lieutenant General Tom Hopkins
• Thalmus Rasulala as, Secret Service Commander
• Gregory Alan Williams as Colonel Woods
• Joe V.Greco as General Carlson
• Reni Santoni as a Chicago Police Lieutenant
• Marco St. John as Master Sergeant Marth
• Boris Leskin as Soviet Foreign Minister
• Gene Barge as Secret Service Agent
• Danny Goldring as Tony Maruss, Undercover Bum
• Ike Pappas as himself
• Harry Lennix as Segreant Thompson, Johnny's Field Soldier
• Nicholas Kusenko as General Carlson's Aide
• Joe Guzaldo as Rogers, White House Press Secretary

Production notes

Although the story takes place in Germany, Washington, D.C., Arlington, Virginia, and Chicago, the film was shot entirely in Chicago and at the Soviet War Memorial in Tiergarten, Berlin.

Reception

The Package holds a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews.[2]

Home video

The film was first released on VHS by Orion Home Video in 1989. It was re-released by MGM Home Entertainment in 1999, under the MGM Movie Time series. The film was released on DVD on January 18, 2000.

References

1. Roger Ebert (August 25, 1989). "The Package". rogerebert.com.
2. The Package (1989), Rotten Tomatoes

External links

• The Package at IMDb
• The Package at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Package at Box Office Mojo
• The Package at the American Film Institute Catalog