Wrong Is Right

1982 film by Richard Brooks

For the song by Accept, see Metal Heart.

Wrong Is Right

Original film poster

Directed by| Richard Brooks
Written by| Richard Brooks
Based on| The Better Angels
by Charles McCarry
Produced by|

* Richard Brooks
* Andrew Fogelson
* George Grenville

Starring|

* Sean Connery
* Robert Conrad
* George Grizzard
* Hardy Krüger
* Ron Moody
* Leslie Nielsen
* Katharine Ross
* John Saxon
* Henry Silva
* G. D. Spradlin
* Robert Webber
* Rosalind Cash

Cinematography| Fred J. Koenekamp
Edited by| George Grenville
Music by| Artie Kane

Production
company

Rastar

Distributed by| Columbia Pictures

Release date

* April 16, 1982 (1982-04-16)

Running time

| 117 minutes[1]
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $10 million[2]
Box office| $3.5 million[3]

Wrong Is Right, released in the UK as The Man with the Deadly Lens, is a 1982 American political satire comedy thriller film directed, written, and co-produced by Richard Brooks and starring Sean Connery as TV news reporter Patrick Hale. The film, based on Charles McCarry's novel The Better Angels, is about the theft of two suitcase nukes.[1][4]

## Plot[edit]

In the near future, violence has become something of a national sport and television news has fallen to tabloid depths. Patrick Hale, a globe-trotting reporter with access to a staggering array of world leaders, has ventured to the Arab country of Hegreb to interview his old acquaintance, King Ibn Awad.

Awad has learned that the President of the United States may have issued orders for his removal; as a result, Awad is apparently making arrangements to deliver two suitcase nukes to a terrorist, with the intention of detonating them in Israel and the United States, unless the President resigns.

In the intricate plot that unfolds, nothing is quite the way it seems, and Hale finds himself caught between political leaders, revolutionaries, CIA agents and other figures, trying to get to the bottom of it all.

In the final twist, the government, with Hale in tow, locates two atomic bombs supposedly planted by terrorist "Rafeeq" atop the World Trade Center. The US uses this as pretext for invading the Middle East and taking possession of oilfields. Hale correctly intuits that the government had planted the bombs in order to rally US support for the invasion, but gladly covers the story the way the government wants in exchange for front-line access to film the action.

## Cast[edit]

* Sean Connery as Patrick Hale
* Robert Conrad as General Wombat
* George Grizzard as President Bedford Forrest "Frosty" Lockwood
* Katharine Ross as Sally Blake
* G.D. Spradlin as Jack Philindros
* John Saxon as Homer Hubbard
* Henry Silva as Rafeeq
* Leslie Nielsen as Franklin Mallory
* Hardy Krüger as Helmut Unger
* Robert Webber as Harvey
* Ron Moody as King Awad
* Rosalind Cash as Mrs. Ford
* Dean Stockwell as Hacker
* Cherie Michan as Erika
* Jennifer Jason Leigh as Young Girl
* Mickey Jones as Gunman
* Angelo Bertolini as Cardinal

## Critical reception[edit]

The film received negative reviews from critics who cited its "unfocused script" that tries "to satirize so many targets", as well as its confusing visuals.[5] Vincent Canby of The New York Times said the screenplay was scattershot and Connery's performance is "the first uncertain [one] of his otherwise exemplary career".[1] Based on 11 reviews on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Wrong Is Right has an approval score of 27%.[6]

Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic wrote, "Wrong Is Right is possibly the noisiest film ever made, and the most incessantly whirling one. Its only distinction is that, besides being basically rotten, it is also rotten on the surface."[7]

Donald Guarisco of AllMovie said, "If viewed through a cult-movie mindset, it's easy to see why Wrong Is Right is appealing to that group of viewers. The script has a scathing, darkly funny take on international politics that one wouldn't expect from a well-funded Hollywood project of the early 1980's and also mixes up offbeat humor and message-oriented drama in a way that keeps the film from affecting a comfortable Hollywood style."[8]

## Awards and nominations[edit]

Rosalind Cash was nominated for an Image Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture.

## See also[edit]

Portals:

* Film
* United States
* 1980s
* Comedy

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c Canby, Vincent (April 16, 1982). "'Wrong is Right,' Globe-Hopping Thriller". The New York Times.
2. ^ "Wrong is Right (1982)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
3. ^ "Wrong Is Right". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
4. ^ "Wrong Is Right". Variety. January 1, 1982. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
5. ^ "Wrong Is Right". DVD Talk. April 18, 2004. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
6. ^ "Wrong Is Right". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
7. ^ Kauffmann, Stanley. "Quiet and Strong, Loud and weak". The New Republic.
8. ^ Guarisco, Donald. "Wrong Is Right". AllMovie. Retrieved January 4, 2023.

## External links[edit]

* Wrong Is Right at IMDb
* Wrong Is Right at Rotten Tomatoes
* Wrong Is Right at AllMovie

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Richard Brooks

* Crisis (1950)
* The Light Touch (1951)
* Deadline – U.S.A. (1952)
* Battle Circus (1953)
* Take the High Ground! (1953)
* Flame and the Flesh (1954)
* The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
* Blackboard Jungle (1955)
* The Last Hunt (1956)
* The Catered Affair (1956)
* Something of Value (1957)
* The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
* Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
* Elmer Gantry (1960)
* Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
* Lord Jim (1965)
* The Professionals (1966)
* In Cold Blood (1967)
* The Happy Ending (1969)
* Dollars (1971)
* Bite the Bullet (1975)
* Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)
* Wrong Is Right (1982)
* Fever Pitch (1985)

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