Two-Minute Warning

While Two Minute Warning had it's moments, one should look at how it could have done a profesional insult to the members of the elite S.W A.T teams. Too many of the SWAT guys got shot, SWAT would never be that careless, these guys portraying the SWAT team looked like a bunch of reckless soldiers dressed like cops. They probably should have called Steve Forrest's SWAT team from the TV show in the 70's (at least they didn't get shot).Heston's character got in the way until the end and it never ceases to amaze me how movies insult professionals this way, such a similar insult occured in a movie released in the 1990's about atomic war started by an accidental firing of a stolen nuclear missile,launched into Russian territory from Turkey and it was blamed on the U.S. and the Russians automatically retaliated and better than 85 percent of the alert nuclear forces of the U.S were anihilated on the ground. I don't remember it's name but it had Martin Landau, Powers Boothe and Rebecca DeMornay, anyhow it was an insult to the alert forces of the U.S. Two minute warning shows how badly security issues were back then as compared to now, when any idiot could walk in and take refuge with a rifle and start shooting while the law spends too much time fumbling about,they took too long trying to set up and outflank this guy. What gets me is the individuals the sniper shot, they were (in the story line) NOBODIES. They got randomly picked out of over 95 thousand persons ,what odds? Still that guy could have been taken out if they shot him correctly and nobody can withstand that many gunshot wounds and live. The only advantage was that many budding stars got to be seen in thier youth as opposed to the fact they either are dead today or too old to act on screen. Granted the 70's was a time era when disaster, action and suspense films were good and now are classics, without using computer animations to save an otherwise bad script, but the story lines were original and basically are what keeps these films alive 30 plus years later. What should be noted is the short but obvious movie career of the GOODYEAR Blimp, which appears in this film as well as in" Black Sunday", years later we don't see too much of it in the sky but it ,like the Hindenburg ,made a lasting impression at least until someone blows them up ! Now a days if such a sniper existed at a ball game, its more likely he'd shoot the refs or the team coaches for bad plays or bad judgement calls. Also if you're able to afford to go see a sporting event,(Especially at today's prices) always remember this, it's not what's on the scoreboard, but what's behind it!

Underrated 70s disaster movie with another all-star cast. The story is simple: there's a football playoff game in the 90,000+ capacity LA Coliseum and a sniper is on the loose. When the blimp-cam spots him, it's up to the stadium security chief (Charlton Heston) and the SWAT-team leader (John Cassavettes) to stop him before he starts shooting. Who is the sniper? What does he want? Who is the target?The rest of the characters, predictably, exist to get blown away (or not) by the madman shooter, who remains mysterious throughout the film. (The sniper is limited to first-person shots and long shots as he waits in his nest.) The tension builds...and you know how this is gonna end.What to say? It was the 1970s, the ratings code was still relatively new, and movies were pushing it. Portrayals of mass murder were becoming more common, and here we have a rather cynical film...quite cynical even by today's standards. We know where it's going. You know the random characters at the stadium---the priest, the gambler, the pickpocket, the bickering couple, the cop---exist as mere sketches before they are relegated to flesh and blood spattering. Even when a fan (a young Beau Bridges) notices the sniper up in his perch, his attempt to warn someone results in an icy confrontation with suspicious and uncaring cops. Even those charged with stopping the killing cannot agree on how to do so, as Heston and Cassavettes bump heads over methods. These scenes, depicting disparity between authority figures either too soft, too gung-ho, or too uncaring, give the film a chilling edge that other entries in the genre either missed or purposely avoided.We are not treated to a deep study of the sniper, or his motives, which may be more 'old fashioned' in this regard. No long speeches about the political motives, for instance. No boogieman of the day (pick your ethnic terrorist or madman profile). Just sit back and watch the chaos unfold.Could have been better, though the ending, perhaps still prescient even then, shows what we still do after this kind of thing (back then, mass murder was still relatively 'new'): profile the killer, talk to his high school teacher, and try and catalog the 'warning' signs. Perhaps the appearance of a film like Two Minute Warning, and its ilk, was itself a warning sign.Being unfamiliar with the source novel of the same name by George La Fountaine, I can't comment on the transition or differences. The movie is recommended for football, disaster movie, and insanity fans, the cast (particularly the two leads) make it quite watchable, and the ensuing mayhem's built-in appeal still keep this baby in print. It's rather nihilistic, even for a disaster movie. The DVD is rather bare bones but looks good enough...like so many films, you can pick it up on the cheap and have money left for popcorn.

Filmed when Mr. Heston was perhaps beyond the days of the big heroes he had previously portrayed, this is still a good film with a great topic, lots of drama and we recognise other familiar faces in the cast - both in good guys and the villain of the piece. Having Charlton Heston in any film was a great draw to many, many fans, and this particular piece was filmed some 20 years after his Oscar-winning days in "BEN-HUR". He has played a couple of villains in his massive career, many heroes and covered everything from Shakespeare to the "Pony Express" - his fans could not have asked for anything more, and Two Minute Warning brings us another hero - an overworked policeman who we always knew would save the day.

I am a great fan of Charlton Heston but I didn't like this film and I barely managed to finish watching it. Some limited SPOILERS below.At 115 minutes, this is a fairly long movie, but during most of this time hardly anything happens! We almost immediately know that a sniper will slip through the security and take position in a good hiding and shooting position above a football stadium in Los Angeles, the day of a championship game, which more than 90 000 people are expected to watch. And there he stays. Doing nothing. Doing nothing. Doing nothing. Then more of the same. And we will have to wait until the end of the game to see something happening... Who is the sniper? What is his motivation? Do not expect any answers...In the meantime there are some sub-plots which are supposed to make us care for some of the people in the stadium. But those sub-stories are so impossibly boring, that (with the obvious exception of two kids) I simply didn't care who will live or die. There were some very limited attempts to include some humor, mostly concerning a guy who has a lot of money riding on the result of the match, but they completely failed too.Charlton Heston figures prominently on the cover, but his screen time is finally limited and he hardly has anything important to say or do, except calling the SWAT team. John Cassavetes, an actor maybe even more interesting than the great Charlton, has even less time and even less lines. As for the whole SWAT operation, it is a sad joke... Now, I do realise this is an old film, but please - even in the 70s the police was not THAT incompetent! As for the final showdown, it is simply ridiculous and very anti-climactic.So bottom line, other than some great names on the poster, this film has hardly anything to offer. Without the shadow of doubt this is the WEAKEST film with Charlton Heston ever! Two stars only for the presence of Heston and Cassavetes and also the splendidly beautiful Pamela Bellwood (who was later to play Claudia in "Dynasty").I do not intend to keep my DVD. Avoid it and save your time and money.

I have lost count of the number of times I have seen Two-Minute Warning. From the first time in a cinema to the umpteen times it's been shown on the box. Now I have my own copy on DVD. About time too. Charlton Heston heads up the cast list with John Cassavetes, Martin Balsam, Beau Bridges, David Janssen, Jack Klugman, Walter Pedgion and Gena Rowlands to name but a few in support. Most of whom would be more akin to being seen on the small screen in TV shows or series. In particular David Janssen (The Fugitive), and Jack Klugman (Quincy).The film builds slowly and in a steady fashion to the eventual climax, with something of a limited insight into the background of several of the characters, switching between them in a seemless manor over the better part of the 1 hour and 50 minutes of running time. I'm not giving anything away as the basic storyline is outlined on the back of the DVD storage box. It revolves around a crazy nutcase, armed with a semi-automatic rifle and sniper scope attached, at the LA Coliseum high up behind the scoreboard during an American Football championship match. However the sniper is spotted and Police Captain Heston arrives with SWAT on the way as well. The latter headed up by John Cassavetes, are eventualy given to all clear to take out the sniper when the two-minute warning whistle goes off at the end of the second half of said game. Assuming he does not start opening up on the crowd and players before hand!It's an underrated little gem in my opinion. My personal rating being 90%. I'm delighted to be able to get my hands on a copy at long last, thanks to Amazon.

It's a strange beast, this one. About 75% disaster movie (multiple, unconnected characters all suffering in one out-of-their-control situation) and 25% cop movie, with Charlton Heston in one of his best roles. It's also got John Cassavetes as a cool SWAT commander, and a sprinkling of other "oooh it's whatshisname" actors. It's quite violent, as you would expect from a movie about a sniper, and there are a lot of very tense moments. Some people may be put off by the usual disaster movie countdown curse, as you do find yourself waiting impatiently for the action to kick off, but don't let be off-putting in any way. It's a great little film.

Oh dear. A looney tunes sniper decides to start bumping off random spectators at a football game. And that's it. But it's the way that the action is done. Totally thrilling. Definitely disturbing. Unbearably tense. Highly highly recommended. There's no explosions, earthquakes or ocean liners but there's a whole butt load of carnage. I loved it. *** update blu ray NO subtitles. Not even English. Completely unacceptable. *** blu ray does have a poster, tho