The Delta Force

"They don't negotiate with terrorists... they blow them away!"

1986 2h 9m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🥫

14%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.7

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 548🥫14%Rotten Tomatoes●37Metacritic★5.7IMDB · 23,747

ActionThrillerWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A 707 aircraft jetliner, en route from Athens to Rome and then to New York City, is hijacked by Lebanese terrorists, who demand that the pilot take them to Beirut. What the terrorists don't realize is that an elite team of commandos have been called in to eliminate all terrorists on the jetliner.

“They don't negotiate with terrorists... they blow them away!”

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Cast

Chuck Norris
Major Scott McCoy
Lee Marvin
Colonel Nick Alexander
Martin Balsam
Ben Kaplan
Joey Bishop
Harry Goldman
Robert Forster
Abdul
Lainie Kazan
Sylvia Goldman
George Kennedy
Father O'Malley
Hanna Schygulla
Ingrid

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Menahem Golan
Writers: Menahem Golan, James Bruner
Languages: Arabic, Greek, 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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Arabic, Greek, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Delta Force Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Menahem Golan, shot by David Gurfinkel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin and Martin Balsam carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They don't negotiate with terrorists... they blow them away!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Menahem Golan directs. David Gurfinkel behind the camera. Alan Silvestri scores. Alain Jakubowicz cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Arabic, Greek, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

140 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Arabic, Greek, English.
3Part of the "The Delta Force Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Menahem Golan, shot by David Gurfinkel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Alain Jakubowicz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin and Martin Balsam carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "They don't negotiate with terrorists... they blow them away!".
9IMDB entry: tt0090927 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 21 themes, including "rescue", "martial arts", "airplane", "war veteran".

The technical file

Cinematography: David Gurfinkel
Original score: Alan Silvestri
Editing: Alain Jakubowicz
Production design: Luciano Spadoni
Costume design: Tami Mor
Makeup / hair: Vittorio Biseo
Sound: Gary Alexander
Stunt coordinator: Don Pike
Runtime: 129 min · 2h 9m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $9,000,000
Box office: $17,768,900
Return: 197% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Delta Force (1986)
Rotten Tomatoes: 14% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 37/100
IMDB rating: 5.7/10 · 23,747 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 nomination total

Part of

The Delta Force Collection

The Delta Force is a 1986 American action film starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin as leaders of an elite squad of Special Forces troops based on the real life U.S. Army Delta Force unit. It was directed by Menahem Golan and featured Martin Balsam, Joey Bishop, Robert Vaughn, Steve James, Robert Forster, Shelley Winters, and George Kennedy. The film was produced in Israel. Two sequels were produced entitled Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection and Delta Force 3: The Killing Game. The Delta Force was Lee Marvin's last film.

Also by

Menahem Golan

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-01-08
★ 6/10
Delta Damage! The Delta Force is directed by Menahem Golam and Golam co-writes the screenplay with James Bruner. It stars Chuck Norris, Lee Marvin, Joey Bishop, Robert Forster, George Kennedy, Robert Vaughn and Shelley Winters. Music is by Alan Silvestri and cinematography by David Gurfinkel. Film is a very loose working of the real life TWA Athens hijacking in 1985, done in a pure fantastical Hollywood style. It would prove to be the final movie of hard man actor Lee Marvin who would sadly pass away a year later, unfortunately this didn't prove to be a fitting swansong for him. All the elements were there, a star name cast fronted by one of the 1980s action movie stars and a hot topic story ripe for serious drama and thrills. Sadly the pic doesn't deliver on its promise of something substantial. However, if you are an action movie fan who isn't the kind to get in a twist about political correctness, sloganeering and overt flag waving, then there's lots of fun to be had. Stripped back from the political aspects (rah rah rah) it's a Norris cartooner, while Marv gets one final decent pay day. The action is well put together, all bonkers, gloriously so, none more so than when Norris is at the forefront. Be it hand to hand butt kicking or indulging in motor cycle mayhem (rocket launchers, oh my!) , it's excessively joyous. Yep! There's cheese aplenty, especially once the human drama of the first hour gives way to macho marauding, whilst Silvestri's musical score is irritating and irritatingly catchy - sounds more like it should have been in an 80s Brat Pack movie - and you can't help but be annoyed that pretty much all the big names in the supporting cast are badly wasted! Also sad to see a frail Marvin in this, ravaged by years of nicotine and alcohol this is not how we want to remember him and therefore we are duty bound not to. Still, forgive it its failings and embrace the thrilling corn, for there's still a good time to be had here. That is on proviso you happen to have a bent for such movies in the first place! 6/10
Chandler Danier2024-08-12
★ 7/10
Lots of stunts in this. Lots of wheelies. Very nice feature of rope on shoulders as an accessory as well as rope with knots in it to get into hard to reach areas. That's the best stunt. It does seem like the wheelies are just for show and not even all that good. My buddy growing up could wheelie about that good. He was really good at wheelies though. The way people act, it's funny to imagine them in the military at times. Those people running in the water do not seem professional let alone elite. It is charming in its earnestness. They really believed in this project. A little long. Oui, oui. Radio Canada.