Over the Top

"Some fight for money... Some fight for glory... He's fighting for his son's love."

1987 1h 34m EN

😐

6.5

MID

🥫

32%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.9

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 1,936🥫32%Rotten Tomatoes●40Metacritic★5.9IMDB · 64,693

ActionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Lincoln Hawk a hard-luck big-rig trucker takes us under the glaring Las Vegas lights for all the boisterous action of the World Armwrestling Championship. Relying on wits and willpower, Hawk tries to rebuild his life by capturing the first-place prize money, and the love of the son he abandoned years earlier into the keeping of his rich, ruthless father-in-law.

“Some fight for money... Some fight for glory... He's fighting for his son's love.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Sylvester Stallone
Lincoln Hawk
Robert Loggia
Jason Cutler
Susan Blakely
Christina Hawk
Rick Zumwalt
Bob "Bull" Hurley
David Mendenhall
Michael Cutler/Michael Hawk
Chris McCarty
Tim Salanger
Terry Funk
Ruker
Bob Beattie
Announcer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Menahem Golan
Writers: Sylvester Stallone, Stirling Silliphant, David Engelbach
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 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 64% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 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#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Giorgio Moroder. 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 Don Zimmerman 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

Sylvester Stallone and Robert Loggia and Susan Blakely carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Some fight for money... Some fight for glory... He's fighting for his son's love.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0093692 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Menahem Golan directs. David Gurfinkel behind the camera. Giorgio Moroder scores. Don Zimmerman cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 64% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Menahem Golan, shot by David Gurfinkel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Giorgio Moroder. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Don Zimmerman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Sylvester Stallone and Robert Loggia and Susan Blakely carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Some fight for money... Some fight for glory... He's fighting for his son's love.".
8IMDB entry: tt0093692 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 13 themes, including "underdog", "sports", "bad father-in-law", "father-in-law".
10Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: David Gurfinkel
Original score: Giorgio Moroder
Editing: Don Zimmerman
Production design: James L. Schoppe
Costume design: Tom Bronson
Stunt coordinator: Gary McLarty
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $16,057,580
Return: 64% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Over the Top (1987)
Rotten Tomatoes: 32% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 40/100
IMDB rating: 5.9/10 · 64,693 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

4 wins & 3 nominations total

Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star

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

Also by

Menahem Golan

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
I guess someone at Canon sat down and said "You know what, there are not enough movies about arm wrestling out there, we can pin the market on it." And they kind of did, I have never seen a movie about arm wrestling since... or before. In fact, this is the only one. But, it also as a decent soundtrack in an 80s action flick kind of way. And, it tells a good story about a kid trying to re-connect with his father, who is a truck driver... and an arm wrestler. And it manages to do it all in a very entertaining way, given the fact that it's about what a sport that you would think could only be boring, but the film manages to make look exciting... and I still have no idea how they did it using really nothing but a montague, and a typical 8os montage at that. But, hey, it actually works, so take that where you will... and watch it, because it's really a lot better than anyone would think.

Production companies