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The Border cover art

The Border Details

1982 Certificate 18
  • 60
  • from 323 members

Possibly the closest that Jack Nicholson has ever come to playing an old-fashioned hero was the role of Charlie Smith, in a film whose writers had worked on 'The Wild Bunch' and 'The Deer Hunter'. A U.S. border patrol guard who's disenchanted with his work, Charlie, accedes to his wife, Marcy's, wishes to move to El Paso so .. Read more

Starring Elpidia Carrillo, Harvey Keitel, Jack Nicholson, Valerie Perrine
Director Tony Richardson
Genres Drama

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The Border cover art

The Border

Possibly the closest that Jack Nicholson has ever come to playing an old-fashioned hero was the role of Charlie Smith, in a film whose writers had worked on 'The Wild Bunch' and 'The Deer Hunter'. A U.S. border patrol guard who's disenchanted with his work, Charlie, accedes to his wife, Marcy's, wishes to move to El Paso so they can enjoy a higher standard of living and stay in a duplex near her friend Savannah, and her husband Cat, who also works for the border patrol. But after relocating, Charlie is so appalled by the level of corruption and bribery of the area's guards, which includes running illegal aliens across the border to work as farmhands and which is run by Cat, that he initially opts not to become involved. He realises he has to go on the take, however, when Marcy, an eager consumer, racks up some serious debts while decorating their new apartment. Charlie takes an interest in Maria, an illegal who has returned the hubcaps her brother stole from him, regarding her as an emblem of the purity long absent from his own life. When her baby is kidnapped and sold to Cat for resale to adoptive parents, Charlie decides to act. Jack shelves his usual mannerisms to give one of the most powerful and underrated performances of his career, in an effective, low-key melodrama about a situation that hasn't changed a whit in the decades since the film was made.

Starring Elpidia Carrillo, Harvey Keitel, Jack Nicholson, Valerie Perrine, Warren Oates
Director Tony Richardson
Studio UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK
Run time DVD: 1 hr 14 mins
Certificate Certificate 18
Genres Drama
Language DVD: English
Released Production year: 1982

To Rent:
DVD: 02 Jan 2006

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Rating breakdown

323 Member ratings
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7
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15
  • 80
42
  • 70
71
  • 60
92
  • 50
44
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25
  • 30
14
  • 20
8
  • 10
5

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by: Jon Weinel from Dorset

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    • The Border

    • The Border
      Possibly the closest that Jack Nicholson has ever come to playing an old-fashioned hero was the role of Charlie Smith, in a film whose writers had worked on 'The Wild Bunch' and 'The Deer Hunter'. A U.S. border patrol guard who's disenchanted with his work, Charlie, accedes to his wife, Marcy's, ...

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