Slipstream Review

Slipstream


Release Date: 22nd June 1989 - Australia


Production Companies

Entertainment Film

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: PG

Runtime: 102 minutes


Box Office Gross: $66,836
(Australia)

Plot Summary

In the not-too-distant future,

natural disasters have

ravaged Earth, man's

pollution has devastated it,

and giant winds now rule

the planet. A small-time

arms dealer, Matt, kidnaps

a murderer from the hands

of two policemen and plans

to collect the bounty

himself. They, in turn, try

to track down the two men.

Cast

Mark Hamill - Will Tasker

Kitty Aldridge - Belitski

Bill Paxton - Matt Owens

Bob Peck - Bryon

Susan Leone - Abigail

Alkis Kritkos - Cook 'Petrois'

Tony Alleff - Bartender

Ricco Ross - 1st Man at Table

George Camiller - 2nd Man at Table

Diana Defries - Woman Construction Worker

Gay Baynes - Rosie

Robbie Coltrane - Montclaire

Paul Reynolds - Travis

Eris Akman - Blind Boy's Father

Eleanor David - Ariel

Rita Wolf - Maya

Maiser Ashgar - Little Girl

Ben Kingsley - Avatar (Cameo)

Bruce Boa - Guard Supervisor

Roshan Seth - George

Richard Huggett - Emery

Deborah Leng - Girl on Swing

F. Murray Abraham - Cornelius (Cameo)

Jennifer Hilary - Girl's Mother

Alan Polonsky - Committee Member

Trevor Laird - Committee Member

Roberta Fox - Committee Member

Judith Hibbert - Committee Member

Murray Melvin - Man on Stairs

Heathcote Williams - Man on Stairs

Crew

Director - Steven Lisberger

Based on Story Material - Bill Bauer

Screenplay - Tony Kayden

Executive Producers - William Braunstein,

Nigel Green and Arthur H. Maslansky

Producer - Gary Kurtz
Co-Producer - Steve Lanning

Production Designer - Andrew McAlpine

Supervising Art Director - Malcolm Stone

Assistant Art Director - Ricky Eyres

Draftsmen - Tom Brown,

Charlie Leon and Kevin Phipps

Construction Coordinator - Michael Redding

Production Buyer - Peter Walpole
Costume Designer - Catherine Cook

Makeup Supervisor - Naomi Donne

Hairdressing Supervisor - Colin Jamison

Hairdresser - Jan Jamison

Director of Photography - Frank Tidy

Camera Operators - Mike Brewster

and Peter Versey (Uncredited)

Clapper Loaders - Fraser Taggert

and Will Willis

Location Manager - Steve Harding

Assistant Director - David Trigham

Second Assistant Directors - Peter Heslop

and Ian Hickinbotham

Stunt Coordinator - Eddie Stacey

Helicopter Pilots - David Paris

and Marc Wolff

Senior Special Effects Technicians: Model Unit -

Ron Hone and Andrew Kelly

Senior Special Effects Technicians: Production

& Mechanical Effects - Phil Knowles,

Alan Poole, Steve Cullane, Neil Swan,

Peter Skehan and Roger Nichols

Visual Effects Supervisor - Brian Johnson

Motion Control Cameraman: Optical Effects -

Dennis Lowe

Film Editor - Terry Rawlings

Production Sound - Ivan Sharrock

Re-Recording Mixers - Dean & Gerry Humphreys

Original Music - Elmer Bernstein

Review

Conceived by Tron director Steven Lisberger and Star Wars producer, SLIPSTREAM was unsuccessful when the film came out in the UK and Australia and received scathing reviews (except in America, where it was not released). The movie is much like the Mad Max series, except it has planes instead of land-based vehicles. Considering the feature has a fair production value, it wasn't a typical B-grade movie, which is often the case in a low-grade DVD release. After watching SLIPSTREAM, I didn't quite understand the plot of this film. Given the inconsistency of the setting and characters, I wonder what the film is about. However, there is enough information about the characters to keep you interested.

The cast is well-placed, especially Mark Hamill, who I'm amazed to see portraying a ruthless lawman who is edgier than his previous role of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. It is an attempt to kill off his typecasting. Hamill gives his best performance in this sci-fi feature. Before his supporting role in Jurassic Park, Bob Peck portrays a firmly polite and well-dressed character who hides a mystery about his identity, being a killer. Bill Paxton plays an arms dealer who runs on the opposite side of the law and gets into a relationship with a female officer actively pursuing him. The design, remarkable music score by Elmer Bernstein and incredible aerial scenes are among the film's highlights.

The bottom line is that SLIPSTREAM is an overlooked gem and has yet to be re-discovered by those who have watched the previous movies from the two filmmakers.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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