The Hot Rock | |
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Directed by | Peter Yates |
Screenplay by | William Goldman |
Produced by | Hal Landers Bobby Roberts |
Starring | Robert Redford George Segal Ron Leibman Paul Sand Moses Gunn Zero Mostel |
Cinematography | Edward R. Brown |
Edited by | Frank P. Keller Fred W. Berger |
Music by | Quincy Jones |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $4,895,000[1] |
Box office | $3.5 million (rentals)[2] |
The Hot Rock is a 1972 American comedy-drama caper film directed by Peter Yates from a screenplay by William Goldman, based on Donald E. Westlake's novel of the same name, which introduced his long-running John Dortmunder character. The film stars Robert Redford, George Segal, Ron Leibman, Paul Sand, Moses Gunn and Zero Mostel.
After John Dortmunder (Redford) is released from his latest stint in prison, he is approached by his brother-in-law, Andy Kelp (Segal), about another job. Dr. Amusa (Gunn) seeks a valuable gem in the Brooklyn Museum that is of great significance to his people in his country in Africa, stolen during colonial times and then re-stolen by various African nations.
Dortmunder and Kelp are joined by driver Stan Murch (Leibman) and explosives expert Allan Greenberg (Sand), concocting an elaborate plan to steal the gem. Although the scheme (and each subsequent one) is carefully planned—and keeps increasing in cost—something always goes awry, and the quartet has to steal the diamond again and again.
First off, the diamond is swallowed by Greenberg when he alone gets caught by the museum guards during the initial heist. Dortmunder, Kelp, and Murch, at the urging of Greenberg's rotund father Abe (Zero Mostel), a lawyer, help Greenberg escape from state prison, but they then find he does not have the diamond. After Greenberg tells his partners he hid the rock in the police station (after bodily evacuating it), the quartet break into the precinct jail by helicopter, but the rock is not where Greenberg hid it. Greenberg discloses that his father Abe was the only other person who knew where it was.
It isn't until Murch, disguised as the grunting muscle man "Chicken," threatens Abe with being thrown down an elevator shaft, that Abe gives up the location of the diamond—his safe deposit box, and he also gives up the key to it. However, Dortmunder cannot access the box because of bank vault security, and the gang leaves Abe in Dr. Amusa's office while they come up with a plan.
With the help of a hypnotist by the name of Miasmo, Dortmunder sets up his own safe deposit box to get access to the vault and then plans to invoke the predetermined hypnotic trigger word "Afghanistan bananastan" to the vault guard. He would then be able to gain access to Abe's safe deposit box and retrieve the gem just after the bank opens in the morning.
While Dortmunder is waiting for the bank to open, the rest of the group meets with Dr. Amusa at his request. Dr. Amusa fires them for incompetence, and reveals that Abe Greenberg has made his own deal to sell him the gem, which will leave Dortmunder's gang with nothing.
Dortmunder finally retrieves the gem while Dr. Amusa and Abe are driving to the bank by limousine. He exits the bank and walks away just before they arrive. Dortmunder climbs into Kelp's car where the others are waiting, and a rousing cheer erupts as they drive off.
The screenplay was by William Goldman, who called Westlake's book "wonderful, very funny... I was a Westlake fan."[3]
Peter Yates agreed to make the film "because all around me I was finding that people were making nothing but films about violence, sex and drugs... Everything was a downer. I wanted to do an upper... The point of this film is not that the characters are criminals, but that they are likable, and that they, like many people, plan things all their lives and never have it work out."[4]
Yates called the film better than Bullit "because the characters are better delineated... and because it's a comedy mixed with suspense which is tenuous to pull off."[4]
As Dortmunder's gang flies through Manhattan to break into the police station, their helicopter flies by the World Trade Center. The south tower is clearly seen as still being under construction in several shots.[5]
"I thought I had a hit with The Hot Rock,' " Yates said. "It was an interesting story, and we had Robert Redford and George Segal for the leads. Nobody went to see it."[6]
As of September 2018, the film holds a rating of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 9 reviews.[7]
Frank P. Keller and Fred W. Berger were nominated for the best film editing Academy Award. William Goldman was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for his screenplay.
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The film score was composed, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones and the soundtrack album was originally released on the Prophesy label in 1972.[8][9][10] The Vinyl Factory said "Quincy concocts some snazzy caper music for this peak-period Redford caper flick, which features primo instrumentation from Grady Tate, Clark Terry and Gerry Mulligan, as well as members of L.A.’s famed Wrecking Crew. They lay down some great beats and breaks throughout – no wonder it’s been sampled by the likes of Eminem".[11]
All compositions by Quincy Jones except where noted