IMDb RATING
7.3/10
159K
YOUR RATING
In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth.In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth.In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 6 nominations total
Siobhan Fallon Hogan
- Maggie
- (as Siobhan Fallon)
Leonard L. Thomas
- Allen
- (as Leonard Thomas)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film was largely based on the events surrounding the St. Louis pension fund scandal of 1988. In the 1988 case, the ex-policeman, Anthony D. Daniele, had just been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing from the police and fire department pension fund via a kickback scheme that cost the fund $333,000. The scheme involved the paying of artificially high commissions to a brokerage firm and receiving kickbacks. The sentence also required Daniele to pay back $200,000. The attorney with the firm was sentenced to nine years and the other participants, who pleaded out, were sentenced to serve between six months to three years.
Although he was not a negotiator, Daniele, like the Danny Roman character, had been a member of the police hostage-response team. The day after sentencing, he went to the office of the man who exposed him, John Frank, vice president of the city police board, and took him hostage. As with the film, this standoff took place on a high floor of a high-rise office building. The stand-off lasted 15 hours before Daniele gave up.
- GoofsPolice negotiators and entry teams conduct their activities independent of one another so that the negotiator doesn't inadvertently let the hostage taker know what the entry team is doing.
- Quotes
Lieutenant Danny Roman: When your friends betray you, sometimes the only people you can trust are strangers.
- Alternate versionsIn the Blu-ray, the 75th anniversary variant of the Warner Bros. Pictures logo is plastered at the beginning with the silent version of the 2003 variant. However, closing 1992 variant is retained at the end of the film.
Featured review
Samuel L. Jackson is probably one of the most awesome actors that ever lived, and his pure uncut awesomeness is captured perfectly in this well thought-out thriller. He's angry. He's looking for justice. Don't get in his way. The plot moves at a breakneck pace, and the length of the running time will probably go completely unnoticed because the direction looks so compact. This movie is over two hours long? I really have a hard time believing that. It just flies by, even though most of it happens in and around one location. With a build-up this exciting, the conclusion is usually a disappointment, but even that's not the case here. This is a rush of adrenaline captured on celluloid.
- Sandcooler
- Jul 31, 2009
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Người Thương Thuyết
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $50,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $44,547,681
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,218,831
- Aug 2, 1998
- Gross worldwide
- $44,547,681
- Runtime2 hours 20 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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