For other uses, see Killer Elite (disambiguation).
The Killer Elite
US film poster
Directed by
Sam Peckinpah
Screenplay by
Marc Norman
Stirling Silliphant
Based on
Monkey in the Middle by Robert Syd Hopkins (as Robert Rostand)
Produced by
Martin Baum
Arthur Lewis
Starring
James Caan
Robert Duvall
Burt Young
Bo Hopkins
Arthur Hill
Mako
Gig Young
Cinematography
Philip Lathrop
Edited by
Garth Craven
Tony de Zarraga
Monte Hellman
Music by
Jerry Fielding
Production companies
Exeter Associates
Persky-Bright Associates
Distributed by
United Artists
Release date
December 17, 1975 (1975-12-17) (New York)
[1]
Running time
122 minutes
Country
United States
Languages
English
Mandarin
Budget
$5 million[2]
The Killer Elite is a 1975 American action thriller film directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Marc Norman and Stirling Silliphant, adapted from the Robert Syd Hopkins novel Monkey in the Middle.[3] It stars James Caan and Robert Duvall as a pair of elite mercenaries who become bitter rivals and are caught on opposite sides of a proxy war over a foreign dignitary in the streets of San Francisco.
The cast also stars Mako, Arthur Hill, Bo Hopkins, Burt Young and Gig Young. Tom Clancy and Tiana Alexandra appear in their film debuts. The film represents the last collaboration between Peckinpah and soundtrack composer Jerry Fielding. It is considered to be among the first American films to feature ninjas.[4][5]
The film received mixed reviews, with some critics perceiving Peckinpah as having "sold out" to commercial interests,[6] while others criticized the film's use of martial arts tropes and imagery as contrived.[7] Others, such as Pauline Kael, praised Peckinpah's direction and action sequences,[8] and commended the film as a self-aware satire.[9]
^The Killer Elite at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
^Eder, Richard (1975-12-18). "'Killer Elite,' or Copping Out of the Universal Sell-Out". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
^Travis, Ed (2017-01-23). "The Action/Adventure Section: THE KILLER ELITE: Peckinpah + Ninjas = A Gleefully Uneven Viewing…". Medium. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
^"The Killer Elite". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
^Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
TheKillerElite is a 1975 American action thriller film directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Marc Norman and Stirling Silliphant, adapted from the...
KillerElite may refer to: TheKillerElite (1975), with James Caan and Robert Duvall KillerElite (film) (2011), with Robert De Niro, Jason Statham and...
KillerElite Squad, often abbreviated to K.E.S., was the professional wrestling tag team of Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer. The team made its debut...
returned to the big screen in 2011, appearing as a rogue SAS soldier in the action-thriller TheKillerElite, directed by Gary McKendry. The film, an Australian–US...
published as a three-part series in Rolling Stone in the fall of 2003. "TheKillerElite", the first of these articles, went on to win a National Magazine...
Peckinpah once again was in need of a hit on the level of The Getaway. For his next film, he chose TheKillerElite (1975), an action-filled espionage thriller...
Chinatown (1974), The Gambler (1974), TheKillerElite (1975), Convoy (1978), Uncle Joe Shannon (1978), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Pope of Greenwich...
deadly extreme sport, and Sam Peckinpah's TheKillerElite (1975). Both were popular, though Caan hated Elite. He made a cameo in Mel Brooks' Silent Movie...
Rolling Stone magazine titled "TheKillerElite" which, in 2004, received the National Magazine Award for Reporting, the top prize in magazine writing...
works include Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers (2010), The Guilt Trip (2012), KillerElite (2011), I, Frankenstein (2014), The Astronaut Wives Club...
(1972), American Graffiti (1973), The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973), TheKillerElite (1975), Posse (1975), A Small Town in Texas (1976), Midnight Express...
such as Revolver (2005), Chaos (2005), In the Name of the King (2007), 13 (2010), Blitz (2011), KillerElite (2011), Hummingbird (2013), and Wild Card...
California. He frequently worked with Sam Peckinpah, appearing in The Getaway, TheKillerElite and Convoy. Other films he appeared in include Ed Wood, Cobb...
and theKillerElite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) were booked in three three-way matches for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. The first...
(February 4, 2001). "The Conversation movie review and film summary (1974)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved January 11, 2022. "TheKillerElite (1975)". Radio Times...
league-centred drama The Final Winter in 2007. Nable went on to act in films such as KillerElite and Riddick. He appeared on The CW's Arrow and Legends...
of peace. Alexandra made her feature film debut in Sam Peckinpah's TheKillerElite, co-written by her husband, Stirling Silliphant. Currently, Alexandra...
(2009) and KillerElite (2011). Notably, he also featured in a main role as Tom Wilcox in the Australian television comedy-drama Wonderland for the entirety...
Among the movies on which Hellman served as editor are Corman's The Wild Angels (1966), Bob Rafelson's Head (1968), Sam Peckinpah's TheKillerElite (1975)...
in the TV movies The Great Ice Rip-Off (1974) and The Turning Point of Jim Malloy (1975); Peckinpah used him again in TheKillerElite (1975). In 1976...
Global Information