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The Prize of Peril (1983)

Director: Yves Boisset

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Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

A desperately dumb variation on the thesis that all the world's a telly channel, life (and death) just another game show. Unemployment is rising, ratings are falling, when a TV executive comes up with a show that pits a solitary volunteer contestant against a team of armed hunters in a once-a-week chase across the city, filmed live up to and including the moment of death. The show wins Christians vs Lions popularity. Everyone is happy: the producer (Pisier, just bitching it in the absence of a scripted character), the presenter (Piccoli, in Daz-white suit and slipping hair-piece), and the advertisers. Until Lanvin, playing The Hero (remember heroes? they're supposed to win), makes his bid for the million-dollar prize and discovers (you don't say) the game is rigged. Plot weaknesses apart, there's something culturally unreal about this cheapie Paris production with second-rate stuntwork that tries to be (the dubbing doesn't help) mid-Atlantic or universal.

Author: MA 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

  • westpark said...
    Posted on Oct 26 2007 21:09 A desperately dumb review to one of the greatest movies ever made. The movies shows how the greed for money will not hesitate to kill people in front of cameras.
    The book by Robert Sheckley predicts the "reality shows" by about 50 years.
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Cast & crew

Director: Yves Boisset

Producer: Norbert Saada

Cast: Gérard Lanvin, Michel Piccoli, Marie-France Pisier, Bruno Cremer, Andréa Ferreol, Jean Rougerie full cast

Genre(s): Thrillers

Duration: 98 mins


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