Bat★21

"Trapped behind enemy lines. A whole army after him... And only one man can save him."

1988 1h 45m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 227

ActionWarDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Lt. Col. Iceal "Ham" Hambleton is a weapons countermeasures expert and when his aircraft is shot over enemy territory the Air Force very much wants to get him back. Hambleton knows the area he's in is going to be carpet-bombed but a temporary shortage of helicopters causes a delay. Working with an Air Force reconnaissance pilot, Capt. Bartholomew Clark, he maps out an escape route.

“Trapped behind enemy lines. A whole army after him... And only one man can save him.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Gene Hackman
Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton
Danny Glover
Capt. Bartholomew Clark
Jerry Reed
Col. George Walker
David Marshall Grant
Ross Carver
Clayton Rohner
Sgt. Harley Rumbaugh
Erich Anderson
Major Jake Scott
Joe Dorsey
Col. Douglass
Michael Ng
Vietnamese Man (as Rev. Michael Ng)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Markle
Writers: William C. Anderson, George Gordon
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 Markle, shot by Mark Irwin. 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 Christopher Young. 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 Stephen E. Rivkin 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

Gene Hackman and Danny Glover and Jerry Reed carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Trapped behind enemy lines. A whole army after him... And only one man can save him.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0094712 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Markle directs. Mark Irwin behind the camera. Christopher Young scores. Stephen E. Rivkin cuts. 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 Markle, shot by Mark Irwin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Christopher Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Stephen E. Rivkin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Gene Hackman and Danny Glover and Jerry Reed carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Trapped behind enemy lines. A whole army after him... And only one man can save him.".
7IMDB entry: tt0094712 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Mark Irwin
Original score: Christopher Young
Editing: Stephen E. Rivkin
Production design: Vincent M. Cresciman
Costume design: Audrey M. Bansmer
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $3,966,256
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Bat★21 (1988)

Also by

Peter Markle

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Community reviews

What people are saying

kevin20192024-01-24
★ 10/10
"BAT*21" is above all an exceptionally well made and very worthwhile film based upon a remarkable true story. The action sequences have been brought to the screen with the deliberate intention of not glamourising the necessary depiction of violence (to do otherwise would have been a lethal miscalculation). This film is also able to depict Hambleton's rescue as being a far from easy proposition and you constantly find yourself wondering if the mission will have a successful resolution at all, especially in light of the fact Hambleton is about to find himself caught in an area which is going to be blanket bombed by the Strategic Air Command.

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