6.4
A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of a secret meeting held just after the start of the Vietnam War between Dell and the then President's most trusted advisors.
Burt Lancaster
Gen. Lawrence Dell
Roscoe Lee Browne
James Forrest
Charles Durning
President David T. Stevens
Joseph Cotten
Arthur Renfrew - Secretary of State
Melvyn Douglas
Zachariah Guthrie
Richard Jaeckel
Capt. Stanford Towne
William Marshall
William Klinger - Attorney General
Gerald S. O'Loughlin
Brig. Gen. O'Rourke
Richard Widmark
Gen. Martin MacKenzie - Commanding General SA
Paul Winfield
Willis Powell
Burt Young
Augie Garvas
Charles Aidman
Bernstein
Leif Erickson
Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director
Charles McGraw
Air Force Gen. Peter Crane
Morgan Paull
First Lt. Louis Cannellis
Simon Scott
Gen. Phil Spencer - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
William Smith
Hoxey
William Hootkins
Sgt. Fitzpatrick
Bill Walker
Willard
David Baxt
Sgt. Willard
Glenn Beck
Lieutenant
John Ratzenberger
Sgt. Kopecki
Shane Rimmer
Col. Franklin
Don Fellows
Gen. Stonesifer
Phil Brown
Rev. Cartwright
Ed Bishop
Maj. Fox
Gary Cockrell
Capt. Jackson
David Healy
Maj. Winters
Robert O'Neil
Briefing Officer
Robert MacLeod
State Trooper Chambers
Lionel Murton
Col. Horn
Garrick Hagon
Alfie/Driver
Director
Robert Aldrich
Novel
Walter Wager
Screenplay
Ronald M. Cohen
Screenplay
Edward Huebsch
March 22, 2020
8
Gentlemen, we are now a superpower.
Twilight's Last Gleaming is directed by Robert Aldrich and collectively written by Ronald M. Cohen, Edward Huebsch and Walter Wager (novel "Viper Three"). It stars Burt Lancaster, Burt Young, Richard Widmark, Roscoe Lee Browne, Joseph Cotten, Charles Durning, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Jaeckel and William Marshall. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Robert B. Hauser.
A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell (Lancaster), escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of what the Vietnam War was really all about...
Twilight's Last Gleaming is the sort of tight gripping politico thriller that we could do with more of these days. Aldrich, a damn fine director of ensemble casts, slips on his angry hat and gets subversive as he implores the U.S. Presidency of the 70s to make do on the promise of an open armed government.
At over two hours and twenty minutes in length, Aldrich asks his audience to buy into every single sentence being spoken. With so many characters involved in the story, we are treated to a number of split screen scenarios, this is where we can follow what is being said in the various key areas of the plot at the same time - and it's high quality. The pace never sags, and as the president (Durning) and his advisors sweat on Dell's very real threat, so too do we the audience as the paranoia of the story seeps out from every camera Aldrich uses.
Still relevant today, this demands to be seen and evaluated by more like minded film fans. With a cast responding in full to a shrewd director, and a story of great worth that builds to a crushing finale, Twilight's Last Gleaming is well worth your time. 8/10
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00