Lethal Weapon (1987)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writer:

Shane Black (written by)

Release Date:

6 March 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

If these two can learn to stand each other... the bad guys don't stand a chance.

Plot:

A veteran cop, Murtough, is partnered with a young homicidal cop, Riggs. Both having one thing in common, hating working in pairs. Now they must learn to work with one and other to stop a gang of drug smugglers.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Suicidal | Drugs | Death | Vietnam

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Sergeant Martin Riggs
Danny Glover	...	Sergeant Roger Murtaugh
Gary Busey	...	Mr. Joshua
Mitch Ryan	...	General Peter McAllister (as Mitchell Ryan)
Tom Atkins	...	Michael Hunsaker
Darlene Love	...	Trish Murtaugh
Traci Wolfe	...	Rianne Murtaugh
Jackie Swanson	...	Amanda Hunsaker
Damon Hines	...	Nick Murtaugh
Ebonie Smith	...	Carrie Murtaugh
Bill Kalmenson	...	Beat Cop
Lycia Naff	...	Dixie
Patrick Cameron	...	Cop #1
Don Gordon	...	Cop #2
Jimmie F. Skaggs	...	Drug Dealer #1

Also Known As:

Arma mortal (Argentina) (Mexico) [es]
L'arme fatale (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Arma Mortífera (Portugal) [pt]
Arma letal (Spain) [es]
Arma letale (Italy) [it]
Arma mortala (Romania) [ro]
Cehennem silahi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Dödligt vapen (Sweden) [sv]
Dødbringende våben (Denmark) [da]
Dodelijk wapen (Netherlands) [nl]
Foniko oplo (Greece) [el]
Halálos fegyver (Hungary) [hu]
Lethal Weapon - Zwei stahlharte Profis (West Germany) [de]
Máquina Mortífera (Brazil) [pt]
Neshek Cutla'nee (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Smrtonosná zbran (Czechoslovakia) [cs]
Smrtonosno oruzje (Yugoslavia: Serbian title) [sr]
Tappava ase (Finland) [fi]
Zabójcza bron (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

110 min | Germany:108 min (cut version) | USA:117 min (director's cut) | Turkey:104 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 (director's cut) (DVD version) | Finland:K-18 (1987) | Brazil:16 (1999 re-rating) | Brazil:18 (original rating) | New Zealand:M | Hungary:16 | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:16 | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Ireland:18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | South Korea:18 (director's cut) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | West Germany:16 (director's cut) | West Germany:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

2817 Via Segovia, Palos Verdes Peninsula, California, USA

Company:

Silver Pictures

Trivia:

Hollywood city officials hung Christmas decorations on Hollywood Blvd. a few months early so that the scenes shot for this film, particularly the action scenes near the end of the picture, looked like they happened at the end of the year.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Riggs starts to chase after Joshua you can clearly see an obvious stunt man jumping on top of a car.

Quotes:

Roger Murtaugh: What do you do, sleep with that thing under your pillow?
Martin Riggs: I would if I slept.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Robot Chicken: A Day at the Circus (#2.17)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

College Football Game

The best action/buddy film

LETHAL WEAPON (1987) ***1/2 Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe. One of the best action/comedy/buddy films of all time with Gibson as suicidal loose cannon maverick cop Martin Riggs mismatched with partner Roger Murtaugh (Glover in one great comic role), who is constantly reminded of his age and the danger he's constantly in: solving a drug-linked homicide of Murtaugh's friend's daughter. Busey is memorable as an albino mercenary, Mr. Joshua, unsusceptible to pain. Some great stunts and lots of thrills thanks to helmsman Richard Donner (who also directed the sequels).