Brilliant police novelist Joseph Wambaugh, whose earlier work "The Choirboys" became warped in the screenplay adaptation process and, as a result, got turned into an occasionally funny but ultimately unsatisfying movie in 1977 (in which James Woods, not coincidentally, had appeared), made sure this time that he had complete control over the screenplay for THE ONION FIELD. In doing so, the film version remains faithful to the events described in the book, as it recounts the slow build-up to the terrible crime in parallel scenes; one showing the criminals, and the other showing the police officers before their fateful meeting. It also shows the slow psychological breakdown that is suffered afterwards by the surviving officer, who is tortured by a seemingly endless cycle of trials as well as the derision of his police superiors who felt that he could have done more to prevent the tragedy.
The only major fault that I find in the film is its irregular chronology of the aftermath; it provides no dates for each scene, which is bad because a scene that takes place days after the previous one will be followed by a sudden jump of ten or more years into the future. This gets confusing to the viewer, who will suddenly--an unexpectantly--find a longhaired 1970's Gregory Powell spouting out prison law to a fellow inmate following a scene where the crewcut '60's Powell is defending himself in court. Also, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that (temporarily) outlawed capital punishment, thereby instantly commuting Powell and Jimmy Smith's death sentences to that of life imprisonment, is barely even mentioned, despite its obvious significance. Nevertheless, THE ONION FIELD is a compelling, and faithful, dramatization of one of the most shocking murder cases of the 1960's. It is just another small piece of American history, and is recommended for anyone who wants more insight into the development of our modern legal and law enforcement systems. Of course, I also recommend it for everyone who considers themselves to be film buffs. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
