Pursuit

1972 "The ultimate weapon is about to be unleashed!"

Pursuit

5.7 | 1h13m | en | Action

What begins as a routine investigation quickly escalates into a heartstopping race to save millions from certain death in this taut and gripping thriller. Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, ER) "makes an impressive directorial debut" (The Hollywood Reporter) in this deadly cat-and-mouse game in which the stakes couldn't be higher! When government agent Steven Graves (Ben Gazzara) investigates political extremist James Wright (E.G. Marshall), he uncovers a diabolical plot to blast lethal nerve gas into San Diego during the Republican Convention. What's worse, a computer hacker (Martin Sheen) has provided Wright with a psychological profile to help him outwit Graves. As Wright ingeniously eludes Graves, can Graves find a way to stop him before the ultimate nightmare begins?

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5.7 | 1h13m | en | Action , Thriller , TV Movie | More Info

Released: December. 12,1972 | Released Producted By: 20th Century Fox Television , Country: Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

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Cast

Ben Gazzara , E.G. Marshall , Martin Sheen

Director

Robert Emmet Smith

Producted By

20th Century Fox Television ,

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Trailers & Images

Cast

Ben Gazzara

as Steven Graves

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E.G. Marshall

as James Wright

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Martin Sheen

as Timothy Drew

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Reviews

GUENOT PHILIPPE I am surprised that no one has noticed that this film may have inspired 24 series, that's my own opinion at least. I appreciated this TV movie, very well paced but unfortunately too much foreesable, predictable. Good job anyway, no problem.

Wizard-8 The made for TV thriller "Pursuit" has some interest in not only is it based on a Michael Crichton novel (written under a pseudonym), but that Michael Crichton directed it, making his directorial debut. But there is additional interest to be found here. What will strike many modern day viewers is that despite the subject matter, the tone of the movie is significantly restrained. There isn't a swift pace or a feeling that things are going to really fall apart at any second. Though that may not sound like the right tone, it actually is convincing; we see that the government agents are well trained and professional, so they of course are conditioned not to panic. The movie also works well because of its short length (74 minutes) - there's no padding on display here, and the story moves briskly as a result. The only real flaw the movie has is that it doesn't hide the conspiracy very well - most viewers will have a reasonable guess as to what is being planned long before the government agents find out. But even though you will probably guess what is happening early on, the movie remains very effective.

JoeB131 Okay, who knew Nixon was going to turn out to be a crook, besides anyone who watched his career.Actually this isn't bad for an early 70's made for TV movie. Personally, I've always wondered why 1970's TV was so fond of brown cars and dull colors. It seems in the 1960's, they discovered color was this new thing and were very flamboyant about it, but in the 1970's, they went with "earth tones" and got bored wit the thing.The plot is that an eccentric millionaire steals some Army Nerve gas, so potent they have to store it in binary form. Realizing a clever FBI agent is on to him, he sets up a series of contingencies to make sure his weapon goes off in San Diego when Richard Nixon (never specifically mentioned but obviously implied) is making his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.The battle of wits between these two guys is very interesting, and this is before Hollywood learned how to milk such scenarios for every ounce of suspense.

mrwizard1000 I saw this movie on TV when I was 12 years old...missed the start of it but couldn't stop watching it once started. I never new the name, or have seen it since. BUT, I forever wanted to see it again from start to finish. I saw enough of the plot and *especially the ending* to make me a lover of action thrillers for life! *****spoiler!!!*****The ending occurs in a hotel room with the binary nerve gas stored in compressed air cylinders and the cylinders are ingeniously painted with *explosive paint* so that when the device explodes, the two harmless gases are mixed and will be blown out of the nearby window. I clearly remember the race by the agents to get to the device in the booby-trapped room (two police officers were laying dead outside the door already from unknowingly setting off the door-tamper mechanism) A truly most-excellent thriller--especially for TV at that time! As was said in other comments, I'm really surprised that no one has remade this into a modern movie with all of the new special effects available now as opposed to the early 70's. If you can rent this or if it comes on again, I highly recommend viewing--just don't be eating popcorn at the end--you might choke while holding your breath!--happy watching!