F/X

"Murder by illusion."

1986 1h 49m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 525

ActionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A movies special effects man is hired by a government agency to help stage the assassination of a well known gangster. When the agency double cross him, he uses his special effects to trap the gangster and the corrupt agents.

“Murder by illusion.”

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Cast

Bryan Brown
Roland 'Rollie' Tyler
Brian Dennehy
Lt. Leo McCarthy
Diane Venora
Ellen
Cliff DeYoung
Lipton
Mason Adams
Col. Mason
Jerry Orbach
Nicholas DeFranco
Joe Grifasi
Mickey
Martha Gehman
Andy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Mandel
Writers: Robert T. Megginson, Gregory Fleeman
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

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "F/X Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Mandel, shot by Miroslav Ondříček. 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 Bill Conti. 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 Terry Rawlings 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

Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy and Diane Venora carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Murder by illusion.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0089118 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Mandel directs. Miroslav Ondříček behind the camera. Bill Conti scores. Terry Rawlings cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

140 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "F/X Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Robert Mandel, shot by Miroslav Ondříček. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Bill Conti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Terry Rawlings shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy and Diane Venora carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Murder by illusion.".
8IMDB entry: tt0089118 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 18 themes, including "new york city", "assassin", "showdown", "corruption".
10Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Miroslav Ondříček
Original score: Bill Conti
Editing: Terry Rawlings
Production design: Mel Bourne
Costume design: Julie Weiss
Makeup / hair: Allen Weisinger
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,000
Box office: $20,603,715
Return: 206% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: F/X (1986)

Part of

F/X Collection

Rollie Tyler is a world-class movie effects expert whose latest gig (staging a mobster's fake assassination for the Justice Department) makes him a target for a deadly conspiracy. Now with only his mastery of illusion to protect him, he must go underground and team up with a skeptical, street-smart NYPD detective to turn the tables on his treacherous hunters.

Also by

Robert Mandel

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522022-01-30
★ 7/10
Seen this one a few times over the years, not great and Bryan Brown is a bit limited with the dramatic stuff but still an all around entertaining suspense-thriller. 3.5/5
CinemaSerf2024-12-07
★ 6/10
Have you ever seen the classic that is "I Dismember Momma"? It's a belter - all down to the amazing creative skills of visual effects man "Rollie" (Bryan Brown). At least, the US Government think so and so they engage him to help out faking some evidence of murder for a man they are subsequently going to put into witness protection. Meantime, New York's finest "McCarthy" (Brian Dennehy) is investigating that very crime, but he can't quite get to grips with why his federal colleagues are being less than helpful. As the story develops, it becomes quite clear that none of this is on the level and there is blackmail, extortion and real-life murder on the cards and pretty swiftly our faker is having to use all his skills and wits to keep himself alive as he hasn't a clue whom to trust. The audience knows a little more about who is pulling the strings than he does, but that doesn't really matter as the whole thing sort of splutters from the far-fetched to the downright silly, especially towards the end when his handler "Col. Mason" (Mason Adams) shows his true colours. Brown fitted the bill in "Breaker Morant" (1980) but otherwise I never quite knew why, aside from his looks, Brown made it on the big screen at all. He has a glint in his eye, but his acting is about as papier-mâché as many of his props and he delivers the pedestrian dialogue just as statically. It's a fantasy adventure in all but name - just add a few bullets, a fake moustache or two and lots of rain. Maybe next time don't opt for witness protection, just go sit in the Colosseum - it'd be safer, and certainly more fun to watch.