On TV, its’ climax matched that of GAME OF THRONES in the USA – and in the cinema when it was rebooted for the 1990s, it hit major paydirt again.
A year after he directed Steven Seagal in his biggest hit of all time, UNDER SIEGE, Andrew Davis (who had also given Chuck Norris a good hit in CODE OF SILENCE back in 1985) helmed THE FUGITIVE, an update of the classic TV show created by Roy Huggins.
Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) comes home after some overtime from his local Chicago hospital and discovers his wife Helen (Sela Ward) being attacked by a one-armed assailant. However, the evidence points to him being the guilty party at an interrogation by local police. A 911 phone call from his fading fast wife reveals her saying his name.
Sentenced to death by lethal injection, Kimble is transported with other convicts to a facility at Menard, but en route the other convicts stage a mutiny. However, in the confusion, the driver gets shot causing the bus to fall onto a railway line below.
Kimble and others split up and head away, but hot on the heels is US Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones in his Oscar winning Supporting Actor role) who is determined to bring Kimble to justice….
Co-written by DIE HARD’s Jeb Stuart with David Twohy, THE FUGITIVE keeps the energy flowing after a spectacular train crash at the outset. There are near misses and Kimble is also determined to find out who the real killer is.
Shot on location in Chicago, with the city celebrated throughout (including during their annual St. Patrick’s Day parade where a key scene was filmed within the event), this is a movie that remains as thrilling as it was back in 1993 when it first opened in cinemas.