Lethal Weapon
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| Lethal Weapon | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Richard Donner |
| Produced by | Richard Donner Joel Silver |
| Written by | Shane Black |
| Starring | Mel Gibson Danny Glover Gary Busey Mitchell Ryan Tom Atkins Darlene Love |
| Music by | Michael Kamen Eric Clapton David Sanborn Bruce Babcock (uncredited) |
| Cinematography | Stephen Goldblatt |
| Editing by | Stuart Baird |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | March 6, 1987 (USA) |
| Running time | 110 min. 117 min. (director's cut) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000,000 US (est.) |
| Followed by | Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 action film, the first in a series of American movies that were released in 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1998, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives. These movies fall into the action-comedy, thriller genre (though the first is less of a comedy), and are generally considered to typify the "buddy cop" plot device.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound.
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[edit] Plot
The story begins on the night of December 14, 1987 with the apparent suicide of Amanda Hunsaker (Jackie Swanson), the daughter of Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins), an old friend and former army buddy of LAPD Detective Sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). A veteran cop of 20 years, Roger Murtaugh gets stuck with a new partner on his 50th birthday. That partner is 37-year-old Detective-Sergeant Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), whose wife was killed in a car accident three years earlier. As a result, Riggs is a suicidal, borderline alcoholic, who has become so reckless and violent that he is considered a "lethal weapon". Sergeant Murtaugh first believes that his new partner is "trying to draw a psycho pension" and is horrified to learn that he genuinely is "crazy." However, he is soon indebted to his new partner for saving his life.
While investigating Amanda Hunsacker's death, the two uncover a heroin-smuggling operation run by Vietnam War special forces troops, known as 'Shadow Company' (see Air America). The scheme is masterminded by a ruthless retired General, Peter McAllister (Mitchell Ryan) - the former commander of Shadow Company - and his chief enforcer, Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey). Murtaugh and Riggs - also Vietnam War veterans - discover that Michael Hunsacker was laundering the profits through his bank. McAllister had ordered the murder of his daughter to keep his laundryman under control. As Riggs and Murtaugh confront Michael Hunsacker, Mr. Joshua makes a surprise appearance in a helicopter and shoots him in the back with a sniper rifle.
As Riggs and Murtaugh discover more about Shadow Company's network, the increasingly violent members of Shadow Company make an attempt to kill Riggs, then kidnapping Murtaugh's daughter (Rianne) after Riggs and Murtaugh discover her boyfriend was killed by Shadow Company. Despite their best attempt to free Rianne by using Riggs presumed dead status to their advantage, the three are captured. Using Rianne, Joshua pressures Murtaugh to reveal which of their drug shipments have been compromised. Riggs, though initially captured by McAllister and brutally tortured with electric shocks, frees himself and then liberates both Murtaugh and Rianne. The pair then declare war on Shadow Company, gunning down most of its members. McAllister is caught in a car accident by Murtaugh and is blown up by a live hand grenade (along with his heroin shipment). Both Riggs and Murtaugh shoot Mr. Joshua after Riggs beats him with a Triangle Choke in an unarmed combat fight on Murtaugh's front lawn.
Murtaugh and Riggs are now solid friends, and Riggs spends Christmas Day at the Murtaugh home with Roger's family; Riggs brings his dog Sam to be a friend to the Murtaugh family cat, Burbank. Riggs also gives Murtaugh a symbolic gift, the unfired hollow point bullet which he had been saving to commit suicide.
[edit] Production
[edit] Development
Recent UCLA graduate Shane Black wrote the screenplay in mid-1985. His agent sent it to producer Joel Silver, who loved the story and worked with Black to further develop the script. After they took it to Warner Bros. in early 1986, studio production executives offered it to director Richard Donner, who also loved it. Leonard Nimoy was one of the choices considered for directing, but he didn't feel comfortable doing action movies, and he was working on Three Men and a Baby at the time. With those key elements in place, the search began for the right combination of actors to play Riggs and Murtaugh.
Casting director Marion Dougherty first suggested teaming Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. She arranged for Gibson to fly in from his home in Australia, while Glover was flown in from Chicago, where he was appearing in a play, to read through the script. According to a June 2007 Vanity Fair article, Bruce Willis was considered for the Riggs role.
According to Donner, "It took about two hours and by the time we were done, I was in seventh heaven. They found innuendoes; they found laughter where I never saw it; they found tears where they didn't exist before; and, most importantly, they found a relationship -- all in just one reading. So if you ask about casting... it was magical, just total dynamite."
Explains Gibson, "This particular story was a cut above others I had passed on, because the action is really a sideline which heightens the story of these two great characters. I picture Riggs as an almost Chaplinesque figure, a guy who doesn't expect anything from life and even toys with the idea of taking his own. He's not like these stalwarts who come down from Mt. Olympus and wreak havoc and go away. He's somebody who doesn't look like he's set to go off until he actually does."
The draw for Danny Glover was equally strong. Fresh from his success as Mister in The Color Purple, he felt the role of Roger Murtaugh offered a whole new range of character expression and experience. "Aside from the chance to work with Mel, which turned out to be pure pleasure, one of the reasons I jumped at this project was the family aspect. The chance to play intricate relationships and subtle humor that exist in every close family group was an intriguing challenge, as was playing a guy turning 50. Murtaugh's a little cranky about his age until everything he loves is threatened. His reawakening parallels Riggs'."
Danny Glover's character, Sergeant Roger Murtaugh, is 50 years old in the movie, but Glover was actually 40 years old when the movie was filmed in 1986. Martin Riggs was 37 years old in the movie, while Mel Gibson was 30 during filming.
Both actors were signed by early spring, '86. Gibson and Glover then flew home to pack, and, returning to Los Angeles, began an intensive two months of physical training and preparation. Meanwhile, the crucial role of the ruthless Joshua was settled when Gary Busey asked for a chance to read for the part. An established star since his Oscar-nominated performance in The Buddy Holly Story, Busey hadn't auditioned for longer than he could remember. "I had butterflies," he realized. "I'd never played a bad guy. And no one had seen me since I'd lost 60 pounds and got back into shape. But I decided to take the initiative in order to have the opportunity to work with Dick, Joel, Mel and Danny. I'm constantly looking for someone to pull the best performance out of me and any of those guys could. They even talked me into dying my hair!" In his E! True Hollywood Story bio, Gary Busey says he was hired to play Joshua because they were looking for someone big and menacing enough to be a believable foe for Mel Gibson. Busey also credits the film for reviving his failing movie career.
Stunt coordinator Bobby Bass planned and supervised all phases of Gibson's and Glover's intense pre-production training; physical conditioning, weight workouts, and weapons handling and safety. Bass administered the latter category according to the strict guidelines of the National Rifle Association. Bass also used his own military experiences to bring a greater depth of understanding to the Riggs character. To familiarize the actors with the specialized skills and sensibilities acquired by undercover cops, arrangements were made for Gibson and Glover to spend time in the field accompanying working L.A.P.D. police officers. Throughout filming, technical advisors from the L.A.P.D. as well as the Sheriff's Department worked closely with Donner and the actors to ensure authenticity.
[edit] Filming
Lethal Weapon began principal photography on August 6, 1986, shooting on locations throughout the Los Angeles area, as well as on the backlot facilities of Burbank Studios. Filming began in Long Beach, with helicopter camera work that would set the tone for the opening title sequence and the first spectacular stunt of the movie. The company then moved to Palos Verdes, Santa Monica, Studio City, West Hollywood, and Inglewood with one week out-of-town in El Mirage, an enormous dry lake bed outside Victorville, California.
From the early pre-production stages of Lethal Weapon, Richard Donner wanted Mel Gibson's final fight sequence to be unique, yet also to make a strong statement about the characters involved. Coincidentally, assistant director Willie Simmons had an avid interest in unusual forms of martial arts, and he invited several practitioners to the set to demonstrate for Donner. The result was the hiring of three technical advisors, each a master of a particular martial arts style.
Cedric Adams was the first expert brought in. "Adams thought the best possible way to show just how lethal Riggs really is -- is to show his mastery of a form of martial arts never before seen onscreen," said Donner. Adams taught the actors the movements of Capoeira. A second technical advisor, Dennis Newsome, brought Jailhouse rock to the fight sequence. The third technical advisor was Rorion Gracie, who specialized in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
The filming was spread over four complete nights, shooting from dusk to dawn, resulting in an edited sequence that would last minutes on screen. Principal photography was completed in mid-November 1986. Hollywood city officials hung Christmas decorations on Hollywood Blvd. a few months early so that the scenes shot for this film, particularly the action scenes near the end of the picture, looked like they happened at the end of the year.
Legendary stunt man Dar Robinson was killed in a motorcycle accident shortly after principal photography was finished. Director Richard Donner dedicated the film to him. Jackie Swanson performed the high fall on her own. She was trained by Dar Robinson. Richard Donner's directing credit appears after Amanda Hunsacker leaps to her death. This is a reference to a joke that Richard Donner films often has sequences of people falling in his films (Lee Remick in The Omen and Margot Kidder in Superman (film)).
One sequence shows a theatre marquee advertising The Lost Boys, a film Richard Donner was producing at the time.
[edit] Music
Michael Kamen, who just completed work on Highlander, composed the score for Lethal Weapon. The guitar, part of Riggs' theme, was performed by Eric Clapton. The saxophone, part of Murtaughs' theme, was performed by David Sanborn. The Christmas song, "Jingle Bell Rock", is played during the film's opening credits. Honeymoon Suite's song, "Lethal Weapon," is played during the film's end credits.
[edit] Reception
Released on March 6, 1987, Lethal Weapon was #1 at the box office for three weeks before Blind Date supplanted it. It grossed $120 million worldwide and was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound. It is widely considered to be one of the best buddy cop films of all time, influencing numerous "buddy cop" films such as Tango & Cash, Bad Boys and the Rush Hour series.
Franco Zeffirelli reportedly decided to offer Mel Gibson the role of Hamlet after seeing his suicide contemplation scene in this film.
In 2007, Entertainment Weekly named it the #24 greatest action movie of all time. It scores 89% at Rotten Tomatoes.
[edit] Alternative versions
An alternate opening and ending were both filmed and are available on the Lethal Weapon 4 DVD. The alternate opening featured Martin Riggs drinking alone in a bar where he is accosted by a couple of thugs who want his money. Riggs claims all of his is in the bank and tells the thugs "not to fuck with him." The thugs attack him, but Riggs easily subdues them. He is then allowed to take a free bottle of booze from the bar in exchange for never returning. Director Richard Donner felt the movie should open with a brighter look at Riggs and filmed the scene with Riggs awakening in his trailer to replace it. The alternate ending featured Riggs and Murtaugh saying good-bye to one another. Murtaugh tells Riggs he's thinking of retiring, but Riggs tells him not to.
In addition to the theatrical release of the film, an extended "Directors Cut" version was released later on DVD. The Directors Cut version is longer (117 minutes) than the original theatrical release version (110 minutes), and features additional scenes. One notable extended scene is where Riggs confronts a sniper who has been shooting at children in a playground. Riggs walks into the playground, seemingly without any fear, and shoots the sniper who is hiding inside a building.
[edit] See also
- Lethal Weapon – soundtrack album
- Lethal Weapon – video game
- Lethal Weapon 2
- Lethal Weapon 3
- Lethal Weapon 4
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Lethal Weapon at the Internet Movie Database
- Lethal Weapon at Rotten Tomatoes
- Lethal Weapon at Box Office Mojo
| Preceded by A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors |
Box office number-one films of 1987 (USA) March 8, 1987 – March 29, 1987 |
Succeeded by Blind Date |
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