Who Dares Wins (film)

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Who Dares Wins

DVD cover for the film
Directed by Ian Sharp
Produced by Chris Chrisafis
Euan Lloyd
Raymond Menmuir
Written by Reginald Rose
Starring Lewis Collins
Judy Davis
Richard Widmark
Music by Roy Budd
Cinematography Phil Meheux
Editing by John Grover
Distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Company
Release date(s) Flag of United Kingdom August 1982
Flag of Germany August 26
Flag of Finland December 3
Flag of France January 12, 1983
Flag of Norway January 18
Flag of United States September 23 (New York City, New York)
Running time 125 min.
Country UK/Switzerland
Language English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Who Dares Wins is a 1982 British movie starring Lewis Collins, Judy Davis and Edward Woodward. The title is the motto of the elite Special Air Service (SAS). In the U.S. it was re-titled The Final Option.

The film is loosely adapted from James Follet's novel, The Tiptoe Boys. The plot is largely based on the Iranian embassy siege, in which the SAS stormed the building to rescue those being held hostage inside.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The British security forces learn that a militant group attached to the anti-nuclear movement plans a significant act of terrorism, however their plant is unmasked and publicly killed during a protest march. To find out what is being planned, they recruit the services of the SAS. SAS officer, Capt Peter Skellen (Lewis Collins) is picked for the mission. After faking his dismissal from the SAS for beating two visiting counter-terrorist officers in a mountain training exercise, he goes under cover to infiltrate the militant group by seducing its leader. Despite his convincing efforts, he is detected meeting his wife. Knowing this, the terrorists decide they can use Skellen as a part of their plan and do not let him know that he has been found out.

The group kills the secret service go between after tailing Skellen to a meeting and later take his wife and child hostage. Before he can report what he has learned to his superiors, the group hijacks a coach carrying a military band and use their uniforms to gain access to the American ambassador's residence. They take over the building and demand that a nuclear weapon be fired at the Holy Loch submarine base in Scotland. When it becomes clear that negotiations will not work, the SAS is sent in to deal with the terrorists. During the siege, Skellen is disarmed, but manages to send a Morse code light signal through a bathroom window. The SAS leader signals back that a raid will begin at 10 a.m., so Skellen can to be prepared when the power is cut.

At the appointed time, Skellen disarms a terrorist. He kills several more in the dining room before rejoining his SAS colleagues who have now entered the house. At the end, he comes face to face with the group's leader. As he hesitates, she goes to kill him, but is killed by SAS soldiers.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Reviews

Who Dares Wins was savaged by the press for both the quality of its production and its political subtext. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times said, "There are so many errors of judgment, strategy, behavior and simple plausibility in this movie that we just give up and wait for it to end. You know you're in trouble when the movie's audience knows more about terrorism than the terrorists do".[1]

[edit] Trivia

  • Original music for the film was written by Roy Budd, who also created the famous score for Get Carter
  • The location for the fight at the rock concert is the Union Chapel in Islington. The chapel is little changed today.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ebert, Roger. "The Final Option (review)", Chicago Sun-Times, 1983-10-03. Retrieved on January 10, 2007.

[edit] External links

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