The Onion Field | John Savage, James Woods | Smart, Well Crafted, Real

The Onion Field | John Savage, James Woods | Best Role ever for James Woods

DVDs:

The Onion Field

	The Onion Field John Savage, James Woods MGM (Video & DVD), 2002 average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Smart, Well Crafted, Real - Truly Excellent

Released in 1979, The Onion Field never seems dated, (apart from seeing a VW bug swerve to avoid a Corvair). It moves with cold, clear-eyed deliberation, fueled by great writing, acting, and directing. Ex-cop Joseph Wambaugh, who wrote the book and screenplay, had been burned by the Hollywood studio system's adaptation of The Choirboys. Wisely, he and director Harold Becker funded much of The Onion Field themselves in exchange for total creative control. The result is a rich, textured masterpiece that looks far beneath the flash at the end of a barrel. From cop to criminal to collateral damage, the people in this film are so real you might easily pass them on the street.

Today's batch of filmmakers would be well served to revisit The Onion Field. One person is shot in this movie, that is the sum total of on-screen violence. Despite this, there is a tension and dread pervading every frame arising from the many levels of cruelty and injustice; it is simply impossible to turn away. Slaughtering one hundred cartoon characters with a sword registers zero on the emotional Richter scale, (it's a cheap device for a lazy and unimaginative slacker), but when one person dies and we care desperately, not just for him, but for those touched by the loss, now you are in the realm of art.

Gregory Ulas Powell, one of the most unsettling bad guys in all cinema, is the prototypical James Woods role. This is his masterpiece performance; in some ways it doomed him to a life of playing psychos and maniacs. (On the other hand, he never had much of a shot at those Robert Redford, Paul Newman parts.) Woods deserved an Oscar; he is simply perfect as the creepy but complex Powell, a sociopath who is brilliant, insane, manipulative, profoundly needy, naive, and incredibly stupid all at once. Powell's ability to corrupt and jigger the judicial system powers the back end of this film, and it is here that the unfairness and destruction become intolerable. Where a million lesser movies end with the steel door closing on the perp, The Onion Field takes us into the painful machinations of briefs and appeals that defer punishment so richly deserved. The toll is harrowing.

Detective Karl Francis Hettinger is the most visible casualty. He feels responsible for the death of his partner and spirals downward, almost to the point of suicide. There is one scene involving him and his infant daughter that is far more painful to watch than the killing. John Savage is faultless in this role, bringing a subtle process of emotional decomposition to the screen that is a testament both to him, and to Wambaugh's writing. In essence, the murder is a pebble in the water with ripples spreading far and wide. Jimmy Smith, who has the misfortune of being recruited by Powell, is brought to life by Franklyn Seales. Never has there been a more sympathetic crook, in Smith we see how some men do not choose evil but are simply too weak to resist the current.

The Onion Field is a masterwork on every level; it belongs in your collection.

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Best Role ever for James Woods

This movie is reminiscent of "In Cold Blood" because of the tragedy of it, and it's "duo" plot line, but is I think a much better rendition of the book, and Woods is outstanding in his role. You really get to where you like, but don't like this guy! You can see how he traps and sucks people in with his charm, but see his totally maniacal side as well. He really is a sick puppy in this!

It is a haunting movie that you will have scenes in your head for years, and certain lines will stay with you always if you are a true movie fan.

Ted Danson has a really good, if not brief (you'll see what I mean) part in the movie. It really is one that if you like this type of movie fare you will watch this one again and again on a Saturday afternoon curled up on the couch with the dog while your team is getting slaughtered on the gridiron!

One that I had to search out as part of my collection! A must see!

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Orchids for THE ONION FIELD

Based on the true crime story of the same title written by Joseph Wambaugh, this 1979 movie is really well done. It stars James Woods ("Ghosts of Mississippi") as a cold-blooded cop killer, a very young Ted Danson (a household word because of "Cheers") as the police office he brutally kills, and John Savage ("The Godfather Part III") as the survivng officer who is riddled with guilt to the point that he engages in petty theft in order to be punished and ultimately is fired from the LA Police Department.

While all the actors give fine performances, James Woods is outstanding as a manipulative killer. The title of the movie comes from a field of onions where the killers take the two police officers after they abduct them.

I never saw this film when it was first released. With all the publicity recently about the Clutter murders in Kansas because of the movie "Capote," perhaps "The Onion Field" will experience a much deserved revival.

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POWERFUL AND FITTING ADAPTATION

The studio brass finally got it right when they let Joseph Wambaugh write and supervise the production of his (then most) powerful non-fiction masterwork. THE ONION FIELD is one of 1979's best films and it's brutality, both socially and judicially, is stunning. Harold Becker was the right director for this labor of love, an "A lister" at the time would have screwed it up and the film's intensity would have been lost under the hype. The acting is the core of THE ONION FIELD: James Woods was robbed of an Oscar nod. John Savage plays his heart out as the tortured Carl Hettinger and Ronny Cox is solid as Pierce R. Brooks (Brooks later wrote OFFICER DOWN CODE 3, which is a staple in any police library). Christopher Lloyd has a small important role as The Jailhouse Lawyer. This was justice for Wambaugh after his studio war over THE CHOIRBOYS (1977). Put this one in the win column.

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A Family Movie

This is about my family Greg Powell is my adopted Uncle that I don't know and I am glad I watched the movie to learn more about him. I hope he served his time and got the help he needed.

reviews: 1, page 2, 3, 4

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