The Amateur (1981 film)

The Amateur
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Charles Jarrott
Produced by	Garth Drabinsky (producer) (as Garth H. Drabinsky) Mario Kassar (executive producer) Joel B. Michaels Andrew G. Vajna (as Andrew Vajna)
Written by	Robert Littell (screenplay and novel) Diana Maddox
Starring	John Savage Christopher Plummer Marthe Keller Arthur Hill Nicholas Campbell George Coe John Marley Ed Lauter
Music by	Kenneth Wannberg
Cinematography	John Coquillon
Edited by	Stephan Fanfara
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	December 11, 1981 (Canada) February 12, 1982 (United States)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English
Budget	US$10 million[1]
Box office	$6,892,098[2]

The Amateur is a 1981 Canadian crime/thriller film directed by Charles Jarrott with a screenplay by Robert Littell, which he then adapted into a novel of the same name. It stars John Savage and Christopher Plummer.

Plot

When his fiancée is murdered by terrorists, a CIA cryptographer blackmails his superiors into sending him on a field assignment into Czechoslovakia to assassinate those responsible. Once there, however, he discovers a web of deception underneath his fiancée's death.

Cast

• John Savage as Charles Heller
• Christopher Plummer as Prof. Lakos
• Marthe Keller as Elisabeth
• Arthur Hill as Brewer
• Jan Rubes as Kaplan
• John Marley as Molton
• Ed Lauter as Anderson

Recognition

1982 nominations:

• Genie Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction - Trevor Williams
• Genie Award for Best Achievement in Overall Sound - Dennis Drummond, Wayne Griffin, Michael O'Farrell
• Genie Award for Best Achievement in Sound Editing - Austin Grimaldi, Joe Grimaldi, Peter Shewchuk, Dino Pigat
• Genie Award for Best Motion Picture - Garth Drabinsky, Joel B. Michaels
• Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor - John Savage
• Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress - Marthe Keller
• Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Christopher Plummer
• Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Nicholas Campbell
• Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Chapelle Jaffe
• Genie Award for Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium - Diana Maddox

References

1. Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p259
2. Box Office Mojo

External links

• The Amateur at the Internet Movie Database
• The Amateur at AllMovie
• The Amateur (2009) at the Internet Movie Database (Link currently only available to IMDb Pro subscribers)
• Robert Littell interview