Missing

"Ed Horman thought that being an American would guarantee his safety. His family believed that being Americans would guarantee them the truth. They were all wrong."

1982 2h 3m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 445

DramaMysteryThriller

Synopsis

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Based on the real-life experiences of Ed Horman. A conservative American businessman travels to Chile to investigate the sudden disappearance of his son after a military takeover. Accompanied by his son's wife he uncovers a trail of cover-ups that implicate the US State department which supports the dictatorship.

“Ed Horman thought that being an American would guarantee his safety. His family believed that being Americans would guarantee them the truth. They were all wrong.”

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Cast

Jack Lemmon
Ed Horman
Sissy Spacek
Beth Horman
Melanie Mayron
Terry Simon
John Shea
Charles Horman
Charles Cioffi
Captain Ray Tower
David Clennon
Consul Phil Putnam
Richard Venture
U.S. Ambassador
Jerry Hardin
Colonel Sean Patrick

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Costa-Gavras
Writers: Costa-Gavras, Donald E. Stewart
Languages: Spanish, 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 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Costa-Gavras, shot by Ricardo Aronovich. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek and Melanie Mayron carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Ed Horman thought that being an American would guarantee his safety. His family believed that being Americans would guarantee them the truth. They were all wrong.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0084335 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Costa-Gavras directs. Ricardo Aronovich behind the camera. Vangelis scores. Françoise Bonnot cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Spanish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

144 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.
3Directed by Costa-Gavras, shot by Ricardo Aronovich. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Vangelis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Françoise Bonnot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek and Melanie Mayron carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Ed Horman thought that being an American would guarantee his safety. His family believed that being Americans would guarantee them the truth. They were all wrong.".
8IMDB entry: tt0084335 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "journalist", "corruption", "based on novel or book", "coup d'etat".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ricardo Aronovich
Original score: Vangelis
Editing: Françoise Bonnot
Production design: Peter Jamison
Costume design: Joe I. Tompkins
Makeup / hair: Esperanza Gómez
Runtime: 123 min · 2h 3m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $9,600,000
Box office: $14,000,000
Return: 146% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Missing (1982)

Awards

Writers Guild of America Award
Palme d'Or
Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

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Costa-Gavras

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-06-08
★ 7/10
This is quite an intense political thriller from Oscar winning Costa-Gavras that sees "Ed Horman" (Jack Lemmon) and his daughter-in-law "Beth" (Sissy Spacek) travel to Chile to try to find his writer son who has become caught up in the coup that has deposed President Allende. It is soon clear that the inherently patriotic Horman couple are not getting the support they would have expected from their consular officials and as the story develops we discover how little they actually knew their son and also how the confidence in their own government can be shaken to the core. Lemmon's frustration is palpable as he becomes more and more desperate. Both he and Spacek were deservedly Oscar nominated for their performances in this gripping drama. I could have done with more of a conclusion, but perhaps it is better as it is...?

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