"The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper" is a film that was inspired by the real life hijacking and robbery of an American 727 airliner back in 1971 by a guy who called himself Dan Cooper. The robber was never caught and considering how insanely dangerous it was jumping from the back of such a plan, many assume he was killed in the jump. A bit of the money was found along the Columbia River...but apart from that, the trail for the guy went cold. This film is set just after the robbery and makes one assumption after another after another after another. In other words, while the robbery/hijacking was real, pretty much everything in the movie was fiction.
The film lost a fortune at the box office. Part of this might be because the robbery took place a decade earlier and so the public's interest was cold by 1981. Part of it could be that the public didn't want a film which, in many ways, made Cooper seem 'cool'. Part of it might also be because it was a troubled production, with three different directors. And, part of it might be because there were no 'big name' actors in the film. While today Robert Duvall is more well known, he was not seen as a top-tier actor at the time nor were the others in the cast. Since then, he's proven himself to be an extraordinary talent. All I know is that the film only earned back about 30% of its cost...and that's very bad.
The film is a cat and mouse story where an ex-sergeant (Duvall) chases after the guy claiming to be Cooper (Treat Williams) because he somehow guessed that the guy he knew from his military years was the man who later called himself Dan Cooper. Again and again, the ex-sergeant nearly catches him but is thwarted by the likes of the wanted man's ex-wife and father.
The way I see this film is that it is an okay time-passer IF you don't consider it to be about Cooper. As a complete work of fiction, it's okay. As a 'what if film', it's far less okay. I think a score of 4 is reasonable...especially since folks who helped Cooper evade capture surely would have been sent to prison for their part in this...and yet you assume from the film that it was no big deal.
It's sad, as if they'd just made a film about the robbery and had it stop after Cooper made the jump, it would have been a much, much better movie. More interesting AND not a work of complete fiction.
The film lost a fortune at the box office. Part of this might be because the robbery took place a decade earlier and so the public's interest was cold by 1981. Part of it could be that the public didn't want a film which, in many ways, made Cooper seem 'cool'. Part of it might also be because it was a troubled production, with three different directors. And, part of it might be because there were no 'big name' actors in the film. While today Robert Duvall is more well known, he was not seen as a top-tier actor at the time nor were the others in the cast. Since then, he's proven himself to be an extraordinary talent. All I know is that the film only earned back about 30% of its cost...and that's very bad.
The film is a cat and mouse story where an ex-sergeant (Duvall) chases after the guy claiming to be Cooper (Treat Williams) because he somehow guessed that the guy he knew from his military years was the man who later called himself Dan Cooper. Again and again, the ex-sergeant nearly catches him but is thwarted by the likes of the wanted man's ex-wife and father.
The way I see this film is that it is an okay time-passer IF you don't consider it to be about Cooper. As a complete work of fiction, it's okay. As a 'what if film', it's far less okay. I think a score of 4 is reasonable...especially since folks who helped Cooper evade capture surely would have been sent to prison for their part in this...and yet you assume from the film that it was no big deal.
It's sad, as if they'd just made a film about the robbery and had it stop after Cooper made the jump, it would have been a much, much better movie. More interesting AND not a work of complete fiction.