the assignment 1997 download

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The Assignment

An American naval officer is recruited for an operation to eliminate his lookalike, the infamous terrorist Carlos The Jackal. An American naval officer is recruited for an operation to eliminate his lookalike, the infamous terrorist Carlos The Jackal. An American naval officer is recruited for an operation to eliminate his lookalike, the infamous terrorist Carlos The Jackal.

• Christian Duguay
• Sabi H. Shabtai
• Aidan Quinn
• Donald Sutherland
• Ben Kingsley
• 73 User reviews
• 22 Critic reviews

• Annibal Ramirez …

• Jack Shaw (Henry Fields)

• Maura Ramirez

• KGB Head Officer

• Carl Mickens - CIA
• Joey Ramirez

• KGB Technician
• Nigerian Oil Minister

• Venezuelan Oil Minister

• OPEC Receptionist
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia Based upon a true story.
• Goofs Ramirez's training appears to take place on Mount Royal, particularly around the Belvedere (during the remote snowmobile scene). This whole area is a well-known city park as well as a popular tourist area, which offers a great view of Montreal's skyline that has been captured in many photographs. This makes it a very unlikely area to hold a covert training operation.

Annibal Ramirez : What do you think is out there, Maura? A safe little world with your shopping malls, you little league and ballet lessons? Hey! People are killing, Maura. And I'm one of them. Not neat and surgical like firing a missle from some sub but close enough so his brains splattered on me. And they weren't even the enemy Maura. It was to keep from blowing a cover. I've killed men, I let a friend die, I betrayed everything I've ever believed in. And yes, I've fucked other women. And you know what's worse? I've made you and the children a target because someone out there is going to kill you unless I kill him first. That's my job, Mona. And if you don't mind, I'm late for work.

• Connections Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Peacemaker/Soul Food/The Edge/The Ice Storm/The Assignment (1997)
• Soundtracks The Most Wonderful Time of the Year Performed by Andy Williams Written by George Wyle and Eddie Pola Courtesy of Barnaby Records Inc. By Arrangement with Celebrity Licensing Inc.

User reviews 73

• bob the moo
• Sep 25, 2001
• How long is The Assignment? Powered by Alexa
• September 26, 1997 (United States)
• Dead Sea, Israel
• Triumph Films
• Allegro Films
• Allegro Film Productions V
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• Sep 28, 1997

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 55 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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The Assignment

• Laramie Movie Scope Robert Roten A non-formula spy thriller without the glitz and romanticism usually associated with this genre.
• Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert Intelligent and gripping.
• Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Dennis Schwartz Like for most action pics, character development is the first casualty.
• Capital Times (Madison, WI) Rob Thomas Stylish spy flick with a surprisingly good cast.
• Boxoffice Magazine Shlomo Schwartzberg Melodramatic pap.
• San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle A film of real finesse, style and intelligence, an espionage thriller of the old school, with some modern technical embellishments.
• New York Times Stephen Holden If you believe that Elvis still lives or that a millennial invasion of flying saucers is imminent, you might buy the bogus premise.
• Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt The plot raises the keenly important question of whether professionals who fight evil may be corrupted by the ruthless means they employ; but the movie takes too much pleasure in sensationalistic digressions to explore this issue very thoroughly.
• JoBlo's Movie Network JoBlo Great premise is executed with enough style and thrills to keep the piece interesting throughout its close to two-hour runtime.
• Film Journal International Glenn Slavin Quinn gives a commanding performance as both Ramirez and Carlos.
• Compuserve Harvey S. Karten An intelligent, imaginative bit a fiction about suggesting one way the killer may have been captured.
• San Francisco Examiner Walter V. Addiego A mediocre action-thriller combination that revolves around a preposterous plan for the same reason that most pot-boilers do; it's just the nature of the beast.
• E! Online The assignment, should you choose to accept it, does pay off in potent thrills.

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Rotten Tomatoes® Score

In its low-rent way, it aims for every frisson, reversal and shock-tactic -- and mostly succeeds.

Like for most action pics, character development is the first casualty.

Stylish spy flick with a surprisingly good cast.

A non-formula spy thriller without the glitz and romanticism usually associated with this genre.

If there's a small saving grace to this crude thriller, it is the work of Montreal-born director Christian Duguay, who shows flashes of real flare.

The plot raises the keenly important question of whether professionals who fight evil may be corrupted by the ruthless means they employ; but the movie takes too much pleasure in sensationalistic digressions to explore this issue very thoroughly.

Quinn is excellent in the dual roles of Jackal and Ramirez.

Additional Info

• Genre : Thriller, Action
• Release Date : September 26, 1997
• Languages : English
• Captions : English, Spanish
• Audio Format : 5.1

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• 1 hr 59 min
• 6.8   (9,913)

The Assignment from 1997 is a thrilling crime movie directed by Christian Duguay. The movie stars Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland, and Ben Kingsley, who deliver strong performances throughout the film. The film opens with a scene of an international terrorist group led by a notorious criminal, Carlos "The Jackal" Sanchez. He is pursued by an American agent, Anna Lewis (Aidan Quinn), who has been assigned to catch him by any means necessary. However, things take an unexpected turn when Lewis is captured by Carlos and subjected to a controversial experiment that will change her life forever.

Carlos and his team of scientists have devised a plan to turn Lewis into a man. They surgically alter her body to make her more masculine and then give her hormones to alter her voice and body hair. They also give her a new identity as a man, Frank Kitchen. The idea is that Frank Kitchen will infiltrate the American government and spy on their activities.

However, things don't go according to plan. Once Frank Kitchen is created, he becomes the target of a group of people seeking revenge on him for past transgressions. These people take advantage of Frank's new identity to try and kill him, and he finds himself on the run from both his own government and those seeking his death.

The story becomes even more complex when both Carlos and Lewis's employer, Dr. Rachel Jane (Donald Sutherland), begin to question their own motives and the morality of their actions. As the film progresses, the audience is left to wonder who will succeed in the end and what the ultimate outcome will be for Frank Kitchen.

The Assignment explores themes of identity, gender, and morality in a way that was groundbreaking for the time of its release. The film is thought-provoking and full of intense, action-packed moments that keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

One of the film's strengths is its excellent cast. Aidan Quinn delivers a superb performance as both Anna Lewis and Frank Kitchen. He manages to convey the complexity of the character's journey and brings both authenticity and depth to the role. Ben Kingsley is also impressive as Carlos "The Jackal" Sanchez, bringing a sense of danger and intrigue to the character that is compelling to watch. Donald Sutherland delivers as always, bringing his acting chops to the table as the conflicted Dr. Rachel Jane.

Another aspect of the film that stands out is its cinematography. The film is shot in a way that emphasizes the grit and violence of the story, with dark and shadowy visuals that add to the film's overall tone of danger and intrigue.

Overall, The Assignment is an intense and thought-provoking film that is well worth watching. Its exploration of complex themes and the excellent performances by its talented cast make it a standout in the genre.

The Assignment is a 1997 thriller with a runtime of 1 hour and 59 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.8.

• Genres Thriller Action Crime
• Cast Aidan Quinn Donald Sutherland Ben Kingsley
• Director Christian Duguay
• Release Date 1997
• MPAA Rating R
• Runtime 1 hr 59 min
• Language English
• IMDB Rating 6.8   (9,913)

The Assignment

Film details, brief synopsis, cast & crew, christian duguay, aidan quinn, donald sutherland, ben kingsley, claudia ferri, celine bonnier, technical specs.

Cuban-American navel officer Annibal Ramirez is a dead ringer for Carlos "The Jackal" Sanchez. His features are so close to those of Sanchez that he is brutally interrogated as a terrorist while on vacation in Israel. American counter-intellegence agent Jack Shaw and his Israeli counterpart Amos realize they can use Ramirez as bait for "The Jackal." Wanting to serve his country, Ramirez is unsure he can survive the physical and psychological trials he must endure to become like Sanchez. By the end of the training, however, Ramirez knows Sanchez better than anyone alive and enters the world as "The Jackal."

Vlasta Vrana

Liliana komorowska, mitchell david rothpan, gregory hlady, gabriel marian oseciuc, frederic desager, kliment denchev, yonathan gordon, ndiouga sarr, manuel aranguiz, leni parker, jacques lavallée, david francis, daniel pilon, richard jutras, hisham zayed, ted whittall, francis del vecchio, lisa wegner, lucie laurier, neil kroetsch, matthew dupuis, paul stewart, claude genest, michael caloz, david franco, heinz becker, louis bouchard, mark knoeffel, andres lange, martin morf, marcello adatto, benoit alarie, francois allard, pierre allard, alec anderson, michael annett, georges archambault, itzik ben aroya, henri aubertin, jean-paul auclair, nancy auclair, cheryl bainum, mihaly balasko, sandor balo, gyula balogh, itzhak bareli, krisztina barkoczky, franco battista, marc h beaulieu, louise bedard, benoit begin, marc bélanger, novek belanger, richard belanger, caroline beliveau, jocelyne bellemare, christian bergeron, sylvain bergevin, josee bernard, jacques f bernier, michel bernier, mickey binyamini, brian black, andras bogdan, jean boivin, michel bolduc, michel b bordeleau, philippe bosse, diane boucher, virginie boudreau, claude boulet, mary bradley, anderson chet bradshaw, cecile braemer, karoly braunner, michel brohez, michel brouillette, joseph lang browns, joseanne brunelle, frances calder, andrew d campbell, jean-francois campeau, helene canse, alain caporicci, johanne caporicci, annie carignan, claudine carpentier, tim j carroll, denis caspar, yves castonguay, jason cavalier, michel cerro, guylaine chagnon, stephane charron, jean chasse, jozsef cirko, steve clark, steven clark, alain clouatre, guy cloutier, gary coates, joseph n cohen, didier communaux, stephane connolly, sam coppola, normand corbeil, ryal cosgrove, francis covan, mike cozons, donna croce, gabor csakovics, zsolt csutak, denise d'amours, francois daignault, louis dandonneau, gary daprato, james darling, luc deguise, jean-yves denis, louise deschenes, marc desourdy, melina dicristo, robert ditchburn, kristen dolenko, jacques dorion, marion doucet, pascal dufaux, gina duhamel, paul dupont, yanick dusseault, john dykstra, bram eisenthal, shimon elimelech, zsolt feher, attila feherhegyi, bruno ferland, deak ferrand, natalie fleurant, raoul fortin, martin fournier, charlene francique, sassi franco, monika frankl, mario fraser, rene frechette, michel frenette, zoltan fulop, yiftach gabai, daniel gagnon, francine gagnon, sylvie gagnon, paul-emile gallant, gilbert garcia, jean-francois garcia, patrick garcia, benoit gauthier, francois gauthier, michel gauvin, sebastien gervais, nimi getter, michel ghorayeb, michel ghoyareb, stephen gilbert, natalie ginat, suzanne gingras, manon girard, moshe gissis, johnny goar, shai goldenberg, francois gosselin, melany goudreau, anne grandbois, jennifer-lys grenier, naama halperin, johnny harkala, avidan hatuka, terry hawkins, claude hazanavicius, simon hebert, r j henning, roger hewett, mark hoffman, julie houle, monika hufnagel, daniel huysman, france hyman, silvi imbeault, yehuda sar israel, pierric jouvante, michael joy, daniel juneau, boaz katzenelson, nick kerridge, shabtai kimhi, yaacov kimmelfeld, bobe kiraly, attila kiss, pini klavir, michael konydes, daria korolus, agota kovacs, balazs kovacs, gabor kovacs, tamas krausz, yohannan kredo, maurice krouche, brigitte labelle, helene lafrance, eric lafrance st-pierre, stephen laidlaw, miscellaneous notes.

Released in United States Fall September 26, 1997

Limited Release in United States September 26, 1997

Released in United States on Video March 17, 1998

Based upon a true story.

Completed shooting June 27, 1996.

Began shooting February 11, 1996.

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"The Assignment'' is a canny, tricky thriller that could serve as an illustration of what this week's similar release, "The Peacemaker,'' is not. Both films involve an international hunt for a dangerous terrorist, but "The Peacemaker'' is a cartoon and "The Assignment'' is intelligent and gripping--and it has a third act! Instead of an action orgy, it has more than enough story to see it through to the end and keep us absorbed the whole way. Yes, it ends with a deadly struggle, but as the setting for another stage of the movie's web of deceit.

The film is centered on a CIA plot to discredit and kill Carlos, the feared terrorist who operated for years, despite the best efforts of the free world's security agencies to capture him. Donald Sutherland plays Fields, the CIA agent for whom Carlos has become an obsession, and when he finds a U.S. Navy officer named Ramirez ( Aidan Quinn ) who's a dead-ringer for the terrorist, he devises a risky scheme: He'll train Ramirez to impersonate Carlos, then use the double to convince the KGB that their attack dog is disloyal. As a result, Carlos will either be dead or, almost as good, discredited in the eyes of his sponsors.

Fields works with an Israeli named Amos ( Ben Kingsley ) in training Ramirez, after first using psychological tactics to persuade the reluctant Navy man to leave his wife and family and become a counter-terrorist. (The scene where Fields shows Ramirez a dying child in a hospital is a direct echo of " The Third Man ".) Then the false Carlos, is sent into the field to work the deception, which I will not describe.

"The Assignment'' is fascinating because its characters can be believed, because there is at least a tiny nugget of truth in the story, and because from the deceptive opening credits, this is a film that creates the right world for these characters to inhabit. Sutherland's CIA man is especially well drawn: "I don't have any family,'' he says, "and I don't have any friends. The only people I've ever cared about were the ones I've killed.'' Quinn plays a dual role, as Ramirez and Carlos, and has some tricky scenes, especially one in which a former lover of Carlos helps train him sexually so that he will be a convincing bedmate for another of the terrorist's lovers.

The screenplay, by Dan Gordon and Sabi H. Shabtai , has action scenes that grow from the story and are not simply set pieces for their own sake. It's impressive the way so many different story threads come together all at once near the end.

The director, Christian Duguay , is new to me. What he has is a tactile love of film, of images. He and the cinematographer, David Franco, don't use locations so much as occupy them; we visit Jerusalem, Paris, Vienna, Washington, Tripoli and Moscow (or sets and effects that look like them) and yet the movie's not a travelogue but a story hurtling ahead.

I have seen so many lazy thrillers. They share the same characteristics: Most of the scenes involve the overpriced star, the villain is underwritten, and the plot is merely a set-up for the special effects, the chases and the final action climax. "The Assignment'' gives us ensemble work by fine actors, it has a villain of great complexity (developed through the process of imitating him), and at the end there is a tantalizing situation for us to unravel as we leave the theater.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The Assignment (1997)

Rated R For Strong Violence, Sexuality and Language

115 minutes

Aidan Quinn as Annibal Ramirez/Carlos

Ben Kingsley as Amos

Claudia Ferri as Maura Ramirez

Celine Bonnier as Carla

Directed by

• Christian Duguay
• Sabi H. Shabtai

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Jack Shaw has experienced the terror first-hand. He's a top CIA agent who's tracked international killer-for-hire Carlos "The Jackal" Sanchez for over twenty years and barely survived Carlos' devastating bombing of a Parisian cafe. Now, he finally gets a break when he discovers Carlos' dead ringer: American naval officer and dedicated family man Annibal Ramirez.

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