We have invaded Silo 3. We are prepared to launch nine nuclear missiles. We demand ten million dollars, Air Force One... and you, Mr President.
A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of a secret meeting held just after the start of the Vietnam War between Dell and the then President's most trusted advisors.
Log it
Sign in to log this.
Character
Grave, earnest, epic and classical in form.
- gravecomic
- earnestironic
- intimateepic
- classical in formformally daring
- character-ledplot-driven
Who loves it, who doesn't
No profiled raters yet.
Where do you stand?
Answer first; then see how everyone, and your circle, split.
“Is this Robert Aldrich's best work?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
“Is Burt Lancaster the best thing in Twilight's Last Gleaming?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
“Is it too big for its own story?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
Ask the title
A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
Reviews
No reviews yet.
Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Jun 20237/10
40-odd years on, and this still has a certain resonance about it even now. Burt Lancaster in a disgraced US Air Force General who, along with two colleagues, escapes from jail and takes control of an active nuclear missile silo with 9 deadly missiles at his disposal. Richard Widmark, his former commanding officer is now on the opposing side as they play a cleverly constructed, well paced and genuinely quite menacing game of cat and mouse. The plot thickens significantly when the President (Charles Durning) learns that aside from the usual money and aeroplane demands from their antagonists, there is a requirement from him to make a statement condemning the brutality of war in South East Asia; a secret document stating the facts of which, horrify this decent, honourable fellow. The story is compelling and the three principals generate a considerable degree of tension for much of the film. Unfortunately it really does run out of steam after about 100 minutes, as the moralising and frankly rather depressing politics kick in taking the story down a big road marked "preposterous" to a really disappointing - indeed, implausible, conclusion that undoes quite a bit of the earlier quality of
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · Mar 20208/10
Gentlemen, we are now a superpower. Twilight's Last Gleaming is directed by Robert Aldrich and collectively written by Ronald M. Cohen, Edward Huebsch and Walter Wager (novel "Viper Three"). It stars Burt Lancaster, Burt Young, Richard Widmark, Roscoe Lee Browne, Joseph Cotten, Charles Durning, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Jaeckel and William Marshall. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Robert B. Hauser. A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell (Lancaster), escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of what the Vietnam War was really all about... Twilight's Last Gleaming is the sort of tight gripping politico thriller that we could do with more of these days. Aldrich, a damn fine director of ensemble casts, slips on his angry hat and gets subversive as he implores the U.S. Presidency of the 70s to make do on the promise of an open armed government. At over two hours and twenty minutes in length, Aldrich asks his audience to buy into every single sentence being spoken. With so many characters involved in the story, we are treated to a number of split screen scenarios, this
Read the whole review on TMDB
Cast
- Burt LancasterGen. Lawrence Dell
- Roscoe Lee BrowneJames Forrest
- Charles DurningPresident David T. Stevens
- Joseph CottenArthur Renfrew - Secretary of State
- Melvyn DouglasZachariah Guthrie
- Richard JaeckelCapt. Stanford Towne
- William MarshallWilliam Klinger - Attorney General
- Gerald S. O'LoughlinBrig. Gen. O'Rourke
- Richard WidmarkGen. Martin MacKenzie - Commanding General SA
- Paul WinfieldWillis Powell
Crew
- Robert AldrichDirector
- Ronald M. CohenScreenplay
- Edward HuebschScreenplay
- Walter WagerNovel
- Robert B. HauserDirector of Photography
- Jerry GoldsmithOriginal Music Composer
- William MartinEditor
- Maury WinetrobeEditor
- Michael LucianoEditor
- Merv AdelsonProducer
Where to watch
Checking availability…
Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
Everest 201583% alikeBoth grave, earnest, epic.
Munich - The Edge of War 202181% alikeBoth grave, earnest, classical in form.
Both grave, earnest, epic.
Kursk 201880% alikeBoth grave, earnest, classical in form.
The Andromeda Strain 197179% alikeBoth grave, earnest, epic.
The Manchurian Candidate 196278% alikeBoth grave, earnest.
Infernal Affairs II 200378% alikeBoth grave, earnest, classical in form.
Sergio 202077% alikeBoth grave, earnest.
Battlefield V 201885% alikeGame · Both grave, earnest, epic.
Narcos 201581% alikeTelevision · Both grave, earnest, epic.
Often watched with
Recommendations from TMDB. Opening one adds it to Tastebuds
