Gorky Park 1983

Murder In Moscow

6.308 / 10   268 vote(s)
R
Thriller Crime Drama Mystery

Police Inspector Renko tries to solve the case of three bodies found in Moscow's Gorky Park but finds his attempts to solve the crime impeded by his superiors. Working on his own, Renko seeks out more information and stumbles across a conspiracy involving the highest levels of the government.

Release Date 1983-12-15
Runtime 2h 8m
Directors Ralf D. Bode, Michael Apted, Vesa Tapola, Peter Childs, Anders Hedin, Pirjo Hokkanen, Dan Kolsrud, Chris Thompson, Lauri Törhönen, Henrik von Sydow, Peter Waller
Producers Hawk Koch, Bob Larson, Gene Kirkwood
Writers Dennis Potter, Martin Cruz Smith

When "Insp. Renko" (William Hurt) is called to investigate a rather gruesome find in Moscow's Gorky park, he is soon embroiled in a conspiracy that leaves him unsure whom he can trust. The KGB are involved as are the Americans - and soon it all points to the enigmatic furrier "Osborne" (Lee Marvin) who has a nifty line in sable hats. What now ensues is a rather dry and procedural mix of thriller and romance with the very presence of Marvin as much of a dead giveaway as you are ever going to get. Marvin brings a certain screen presence, but that just serves to illustrate just how much Hurt is going through the motions - he usually underwhelmed I found. Here the supporting cast led by Brian Dennehy and the occasional contribution from Ian Bannen as the slightly duplicitous prosecutor "Iamskoy" don't really add up to very much either. It all just lacks any sense of intrigue and the plot takes far too long to build up steam. It's very wordy, too - far too much dialogue that actually drags the story down to a almost glacially slow pace. A tighter edit and less verbiage might have made it more attractive, but as it is - well, it's all just bit dull. Chilly, but dull.

CinemaSerf