The Presidio

"He didn't want to share the murder investigation. There's no way he's going to share his daughter."

1988 1h 37m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 387

ActionCrimeMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jay Austin is now a civilian police detective. Colonel Caldwell was his commanding officer years before when he left the military police over a disagreement over the handling of a drunk driver. Now a series of murders that cross jurisdictions force them to work together again. That Austin is now dating Caldwell's daughter is not helping their relationship.

“He didn't want to share the murder investigation. There's no way he's going to share his daughter.”

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Cast

Sean Connery
Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell
Mark Harmon
Jay Austin
Meg Ryan
Donna Caldwell
Jack Warden
Sgt. Maj. Ross Maclure
Mark Blum
Arthur Peale
Dana Gladstone
Col. Paul Lawrence
Jenette Goldstein
Patti Jean Lynch
Marvin J. McIntyre
MP Zeke

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Hyams
Writers: Larry Ferguson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Hyams, shot by Peter Hyams. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bruce Broughton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Diane Adler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Sean Connery and Mark Harmon and Meg Ryan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He didn't want to share the murder investigation. There's no way he's going to share his daughter.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0095897 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Hyams directs. Peter Hyams behind the camera. Bruce Broughton scores. Diane Adler cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

138 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Peter Hyams, shot by Peter Hyams. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Bruce Broughton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Diane Adler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Sean Connery and Mark Harmon and Meg Ryan carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "He didn't want to share the murder investigation. There's no way he's going to share his daughter.".
7IMDB entry: tt0095897 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Hyams
Original score: Bruce Broughton
Editing: Diane Adler
Production design: Albert Brenner
Makeup / hair: Stephen Abrums
Sound: Michael J. Kohut
Stunt coordinator: Glenn R. Wilder
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $20,324,096
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Presidio (1988)

Also by

Peter Hyams

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-04
★ 5/10
Mark Harmon is "Jay", a former military policeman turned cop who is called upon to investigate a series of murders that reintroduce him to his former CO "Col. Caldwell" (Sean Connery) with whom he doesn't especially get along. It doesn't help when he starts to date the colonel's independently minded daughter "Donna" (Meg Ryan) but can they put their differences aside long enough to find out what's going on and stop any more killings? Well, of course they can - this film has precisely no jeopardy at all. Though the motive for the crimes remains a mystery for a while, the rest of this follows a well travelled line that is disappointingly predictable. Harmon is never a particularly strong or convincing actor, Connery - and his traditional, wry, smile - clearly just wanted his fee and not for the first time Meg Ryan adds very little as this plods along. It's watchable on the television over a glass or two, but it's all very unremarkable.
GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
Occasionally my mother would really get into a movie, choose a quote as a favorite, and then repeat it constantly in a cartoonish exaggeration of whoever said it in the film. The Persidio is one of those films she latched onto, and for years after we were subjected to her Sean Connery impression as she threatened to beat us up using only her thumb. So now every time I see it, heck, every time I'm in Frisco, that is the quote that gets stuck in my head for days after. But, in her defense, it was a very good scene and actually does deserve to be remembered and quoted more. It's my go to Sean Connery impression... when I'm not impersonating Johnny Lee Miller impersonating Sean Connery. Or the Untouchables, but I kind of feel that one is over used. Everyone goes there when they do Connery. Or, you know, I could just live in Chicago. Maybe the rest of the country and the world just does James Bond. The point is, you have a quotable Sean Connery scene. And that alone is worth it. And you have the San Francisco chase scene, and I really hate Frisco, but I do really love movies that are set there and any chase through San Francisco streets is fun if for no other reason than it makes you instantly think of Bullet. The multi-jurisdictional cliche thing is here, and tragically underused in a lot of movies. But you get a good dynamic of military and civilian cop bumping heads with one another. It's a situation that is made worse by bad blood and a bit of history, and then made even worse by a blooming romantic interest. And it's the 80s, so you know that the romantic interest is going to be Meg Ryan, no spoiler there. And all of that with an actual compelling case that the two cops have to solve. It's kind of all over the place, but in the best possible 80s cliche kind of way.
kevin20192024-09-13
★ 5/10
"The Presidio" is an interesting diversion that has an immediately intriguing and literally explosive opening gambit which is eye catching and it easily grabs your full attention, but then the pace quickly eases up out of pure necessity and the murder of Patti Jean Lynch loses all sense of urgency and it is eventually relegated to becoming a secondary consideration as the main focus of the film now concentrates upon the complex and argumentative character dynamics of Lieutenant Colonel Caldwell, his daughter Donna, and Inspector Jay Austin although all of this is nicely juxtaposed with the ongoing murder investigation. However, this film is much too pedestrian for the talented cast involved, but at least the action sequences are superb and the pace is extremely well maintained throughout.