- Format: PAL
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: MGM Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: 12 Sep 2005
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B0009Y8U9A
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 57,071 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Nice wide screen copy no extras.
Interesting thriller that shows it's age a bit these days, but still worth watching.
Fine performances from the two main stars although Nicole Williamson does steal the show.
I'm sure at the time it was a comment on the South African situation of apartheid, although some things may of changed, maybe not everything?
Worth viewing but maybe no top of the list.
Interesting thriller that shows it's age a bit these days, but still worth watching.
Fine performances from the two main stars although Nicole Williamson does steal the show.
I'm sure at the time it was a comment on the South African situation of apartheid, although some things may of changed, maybe not everything?
Worth viewing but maybe no top of the list.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
While it's nothing particularly special, The Wilby Conspiracy is the kind of thriller that was once a 70s staple, uniting a couple of mismatched stars in an exotic location to give a fairly formulaic plot a fresh coat of paint. This time the pair are Sidney Poitier's South African political activist who is no sooner freed from ten year's in Robin Island by Prunella Gee's lawyer with a dodgy Afrikaans accent and almost as dodgy hairstyle than he finds himself on the run with another white man (though he's not handcuffed to him this time), Michael Caine's visiting British mining engineer. Except that even though Nicol Williamson's convincingly direct security man knows where they are every step of the way, he never makes a move to arrest them, clearly having something else in mind...
There's not much in the way of thrills or tension and once the Maguffin is revealed the film does lose a bit of its spark and descend into silliness (especially when Gee distracts some border patrolmen by riding a jeep in her underwear), but if the plot twists are predictable Caine and a typically excellent Poitier make a good team thanks to some decent comic dialogue, and the film sketches a fairly vivid picture of apartheid South Africa. It even, unusually, acknowledges the divide-and-conquer friction between blacks and Indians there. But engaging as they are, it's Williamson's show, his poisonous pursuer driven by a self-righteous ideology and unquestioning sense of purpose rather than the pure brutality of his cohorts ("It's history and not our fault. We're a civilised Christian minority and we've got to be able to defend ourselves"), making him the kind of character where understanding him only makes him more relentlessly unpleasant. It's to his credit that as the plot requires him to become an ever-bigger bastard he still manages to keep his character credible.
Rutger Hauer also pops up as Gee's smarmy ex-husband, as well as Saeed Jaffrey as an idealistic but none too competent Indian dentist/political activist and Persis Khambatta as his assistant, but it's mostly a three man show, with Williamson coming out on top even if his character doesn't. It's not a great movie by any means, but it's certainly one of Caine's better ones from the period and more than adequate for a late night slot.
MGM/UA's UK DVD has no extras but has a decent 1.66:1 widescreen transfer.
There's not much in the way of thrills or tension and once the Maguffin is revealed the film does lose a bit of its spark and descend into silliness (especially when Gee distracts some border patrolmen by riding a jeep in her underwear), but if the plot twists are predictable Caine and a typically excellent Poitier make a good team thanks to some decent comic dialogue, and the film sketches a fairly vivid picture of apartheid South Africa. It even, unusually, acknowledges the divide-and-conquer friction between blacks and Indians there. But engaging as they are, it's Williamson's show, his poisonous pursuer driven by a self-righteous ideology and unquestioning sense of purpose rather than the pure brutality of his cohorts ("It's history and not our fault. We're a civilised Christian minority and we've got to be able to defend ourselves"), making him the kind of character where understanding him only makes him more relentlessly unpleasant. It's to his credit that as the plot requires him to become an ever-bigger bastard he still manages to keep his character credible.
Rutger Hauer also pops up as Gee's smarmy ex-husband, as well as Saeed Jaffrey as an idealistic but none too competent Indian dentist/political activist and Persis Khambatta as his assistant, but it's mostly a three man show, with Williamson coming out on top even if his character doesn't. It's not a great movie by any means, but it's certainly one of Caine's better ones from the period and more than adequate for a late night slot.
MGM/UA's UK DVD has no extras but has a decent 1.66:1 widescreen transfer.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
To be honest, I bought this film for the lovely Prunella Gee, it marked her debut on the silver screen. She was charming in it as well and played the female lead.
However, there is much more to love about his fast paced thriller starring household names Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine whose's characters strike up a winning partnership. The movie moves along quickly from crisis to crisis ending in a complete surprise.
I personally enjoyed the whole story and it kept me entertained throughout. It's a good political melodrama with plenty of action.
However, there is much more to love about his fast paced thriller starring household names Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine whose's characters strike up a winning partnership. The movie moves along quickly from crisis to crisis ending in a complete surprise.
I personally enjoyed the whole story and it kept me entertained throughout. It's a good political melodrama with plenty of action.
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