It's entitled THE ONION FIELD, a film based on a book by LA cop turned writer, Joseph Wambaugh. It's a true story of 2 cops and two bad guys. The cops, played by Ted Dansen and John Savage, have a run in with the two bad guys, James Woods and Franklyn Seales. Woods is an outright psycho and because he misunderstood the true meaning of the Lindbergh Law, he executes Ian Campbell ( Danson's character). Karl Ettinger, Savage's character, escapes in the darkness of an onion field. The killers are caught and what follows is the real crime.
Ettinger is castigated by his superriors because he gave up his gun. And from that point on, we see Ettinger descend into his own living hell of shame, remorse and guilt because he survived. To make matters worse, he has to live and re-live the crime because the two killers ( though we are never sure if Franklyn Seales character really pulled the trigger) make a mockery of due process of law. That is the real crime.
Tremendous acting in this film by all four main characters. AND THOUGH DANSON'S PART WAS SMALL, HIS ROLE WAS PIVOTAL TO EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS LATER.
This is a disturbing film, more so because it is true. By the time he wrote Onion Field, Wambaugh had already written a couple of other books that were filmed, but The Onion Field was his most important project and the exrtra documentary deals with how he wrote it.
I have seen this film many times since its release in 1979, but it was usually on vhs tape or tv, so seeing it again in widescreen was a pleasure. This is MGM so don't expect reference material, but you get so caught up in the drama and tragedy of the story that PQ really won't be an issue.
:45:
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Ettinger is castigated by his superriors because he gave up his gun. And from that point on, we see Ettinger descend into his own living hell of shame, remorse and guilt because he survived. To make matters worse, he has to live and re-live the crime because the two killers ( though we are never sure if Franklyn Seales character really pulled the trigger) make a mockery of due process of law. That is the real crime.
Tremendous acting in this film by all four main characters. AND THOUGH DANSON'S PART WAS SMALL, HIS ROLE WAS PIVOTAL TO EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS LATER.
This is a disturbing film, more so because it is true. By the time he wrote Onion Field, Wambaugh had already written a couple of other books that were filmed, but The Onion Field was his most important project and the exrtra documentary deals with how he wrote it.
I have seen this film many times since its release in 1979, but it was usually on vhs tape or tv, so seeing it again in widescreen was a pleasure. This is MGM so don't expect reference material, but you get so caught up in the drama and tragedy of the story that PQ really won't be an issue.
:45:
My Homepage!
