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The Fugitive (1993)
Director: Andrew Davis
Cast overview: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones
Running time: 130 minutes
This 1993 thriller stars Harrison Ford as Richard Kimble, a doctor wrongly accused of murdering his wife who escapes from the prison van he is being transported in, and Tommy Lee Jones as US Marshal Samuel Gerard, the man leading the operation to recapture him. The plot itself is actually very well-thought out for a Hollywood thriller of this nature. It's not simply your typical run-of-the-mill Hollywood thriller with terrible acting and a paper-thin plot. There is a decent story behind this, and this is actually a good film, bordering on very good.
The acting from Ford and Jones particularly was excellent, as well as some great supporting performances from the likes of Jeroen Krabbe - whom I recognised from The Living Daylights six years earlier. Indeed, Jones won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance here - I wouldn't say it was quite that good myself, but it was certainly effective.
I've not seen the original series that this was based on, but I'm not sure if it could live up to this, which is surely one of the best thrillers of the 1990s, and only bettered in 1993 by Falling Down, of those that I've seen. Very good. Recommended. If only more modern-day thrillers could be as exciting and original as this rather than attempting to bamboozle and shock the audiences; good, old-fashioned entertainment with a solid story to back it up.
Quotes
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard: Alright, listen up, people. Our fugitive has been on the run for ninety minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground barring injuries is 4 miles-per-hour. That gives us a radius of six miles. What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area. Checkpoints go up at fifteen miles. Your fugitive's name is Dr. Richard Kimble. Go get him.
Dr. Richard Kimble: [Holding Gerard at gunpoint] I didn't kill my wife!
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard: I don't care!
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard: Newman, what are you doing?
Newman: I'm thinking.
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard: Well, think me up a cup of coffee and a chocolate doughnut with some of those little sprinkles on top, while you're thinking.
Trivia
Harrison Ford damaged some ligaments in his leg during the filming of the scenes in the woods. He refused to take surgery until the end of filming so that his character would keep the limp. The limp can be seen in any subsequent scene where Richard Kimble is running.
The wrecked train and bus remain a tourist attraction in Dillsboro, North Carolina.
According to producer Roy Huggins, Gerard's line in response to Richard Kimble's claim of innocence ("I didn't kill my wife") was originally read in the script as, "That isn't my problem." But at the request of Tommy Lee Jones, it was changed to, "I don't care."
Trailer
Director: Andrew Davis
Cast overview: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones
Running time: 130 minutes
This 1993 thriller stars Harrison Ford as Richard Kimble, a doctor wrongly accused of murdering his wife who escapes from the prison van he is being transported in, and Tommy Lee Jones as US Marshal Samuel Gerard, the man leading the operation to recapture him. The plot itself is actually very well-thought out for a Hollywood thriller of this nature. It's not simply your typical run-of-the-mill Hollywood thriller with terrible acting and a paper-thin plot. There is a decent story behind this, and this is actually a good film, bordering on very good.
The acting from Ford and Jones particularly was excellent, as well as some great supporting performances from the likes of Jeroen Krabbe - whom I recognised from The Living Daylights six years earlier. Indeed, Jones won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance here - I wouldn't say it was quite that good myself, but it was certainly effective.
I've not seen the original series that this was based on, but I'm not sure if it could live up to this, which is surely one of the best thrillers of the 1990s, and only bettered in 1993 by Falling Down, of those that I've seen. Very good. Recommended. If only more modern-day thrillers could be as exciting and original as this rather than attempting to bamboozle and shock the audiences; good, old-fashioned entertainment with a solid story to back it up.
Quotes
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard: Alright, listen up, people. Our fugitive has been on the run for ninety minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground barring injuries is 4 miles-per-hour. That gives us a radius of six miles. What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area. Checkpoints go up at fifteen miles. Your fugitive's name is Dr. Richard Kimble. Go get him.
Dr. Richard Kimble: [Holding Gerard at gunpoint] I didn't kill my wife!
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard: I don't care!
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard: Newman, what are you doing?
Newman: I'm thinking.
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard: Well, think me up a cup of coffee and a chocolate doughnut with some of those little sprinkles on top, while you're thinking.
Trivia
Harrison Ford damaged some ligaments in his leg during the filming of the scenes in the woods. He refused to take surgery until the end of filming so that his character would keep the limp. The limp can be seen in any subsequent scene where Richard Kimble is running.
The wrecked train and bus remain a tourist attraction in Dillsboro, North Carolina.
According to producer Roy Huggins, Gerard's line in response to Richard Kimble's claim of innocence ("I didn't kill my wife") was originally read in the script as, "That isn't my problem." But at the request of Tommy Lee Jones, it was changed to, "I don't care."
Trailer