Narrow Margin

"It will take you to the edge of suspense."

1990 1h 37m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 243

ActionThrillerCrimeMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An L.A. District Attorney attempts to take an unwilling murder witness back to the United States to testify against a top-level mob boss. Frantically attempting to escape two deadly hitmen sent to silence her, they board a Vancouver-bound train only to discover that the killers are onboard with them. For the next 20 hours, as the train hurls through the beautiful but isolated Canadian wilderness, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues in which their ability to tell friend from foe is a matter of life and death.

“It will take you to the edge of suspense.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Gene Hackman
Robert Caulfield
Anne Archer
Carol Hunnicut
James B. Sikking
Nelson
Harris Yulin
Leo Watts
J.T. Walsh
Michael Tarlow
M. Emmet Walsh
Sergeant Dominick Benti
Susan Hogan
Kathryn Weller
Nigel Bennett
Jack Wootton

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Hyams
Writers: Martin Goldsmith, Jack Leonard, Peter Hyams
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 62% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

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#03

4 / 8

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#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor James Mitchell 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

Gene Hackman and Anne Archer and James B. Sikking carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It will take you to the edge of suspense.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0100224 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Hyams directs. Peter Hyams behind the camera. Bruce Broughton scores. James Mitchell 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 62% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
236 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Peter Hyams, shot by Peter Hyams. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Bruce Broughton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor James Mitchell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Gene Hackman and Anne Archer and James B. Sikking carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It will take you to the edge of suspense.".
8IMDB entry: tt0100224 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Hyams
Original score: Bruce Broughton
Editing: James Mitchell
Production design: Joel Schiller
Costume design: Ellen Mirojnick
Makeup / hair: Leslie Ann Anderson
Sound: Michael J. Kohut
Stunt coordinator: Glenn R. Wilder
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $17,500,000
Box office: $10,900,000
Return: 62% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Narrow Margin (1990)

Also by

Peter Hyams

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

John Chard2014-12-01
★ 6.5/10
Narrow Margins and Wide Loads. Director and writer Peter Hyams took the bold decision to reimage one of the best film noir crime pictures of the 1950s, and all things considered it’s not half bad. Without getting close to the greatness of Richard Fleischer’s 1952 claustrophobic suspenser that is. Having Gene Hackman and Anne Archer heading up your two principal characters is a good foundation. As the district attorney employee and witness to a mob killing respectively, both actors come up trumps for their director as they are thrust into a game of cat and mouse aboard a speeding train. As the Canadian wilderness outside the train’s windows soothes the eyes, the cramped interiors make for good suspense as Hackman plays the calm to Archer’s panic. There’s nothing new here in terms of thriller conventions, and the pitfalls and familiarity of the plot’s ideas keep it from hitting better heights: people still do dumb things – important details are all too quickly swept aside – laws of gravity non existent and etc. But refreshingly Hyams resists the chance to insert a cloying romance, while his staging of suspense scenes are very well handled. But of course he’s got Hackman being as cool as a cucumber. 6.5/10
JPV8522025-09-29
★ 7/10
Second time watching this and still a solid thriller with a great finale that, save for one shot, looked practical which was great and today would've been done with visual effects. Good performances from Hackman and Archer and at only 94-minutes, a quick but entertaining way to spend a weekend night. 3.5/5