Bloodline (1979)

the leading man is my tpye

Some things I liked some I did not.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I've always had a special place in my heart for Audrey Hepburn and I admire her work. However, I just can't understand why she made this movie.I've watched this movie three times and on each occasion I found it almost impossible to watch. It's just so disjointed, redundant, and ridiculous. The last time I watched it I tried very hard to give it one more chance but to no avail.One would think that all the big name actors would give it a boost. However, this cast turns the movie into one big "Who's Who" of WASHED-UP actors: Omar Sharif, Romy Schneider, Maurice Ronet, Irene Papas, AND unfortunately Hepburn herself.I hate to say that. Yes, she is a legend. Yes, she is an icon. Yes, she is loved. It's sad, but she was washed-up as an actress by 1967. Every movie she made after "How to Steal a Million" in 1966 is nearly impossible to watch, especially "Two for the Road" and this flop. That includes the critically acclaimed "Wait Until Dark" in my opinion. Even "Robin and Marion" just doesn't come together."Two for the Road" has got to be the most over-rated movie ever. Torture! Pure torture! The only thing good about it is the music by Henry Mancini.I don't know if it was the material, her co-workers, the changing times, or what. It is sad, but somewhere along the line Audrey lost the magic. Bloodline was the final nail in the coffin.We love you, Audrey, but someone must have lied to you.

Taking a look at IMDb's Classic Film board,I noticed that a fellow poster was talking about a very interesting sounding title that was Audrey Hepburn only R-Rated film! Getting to the end of the review,I spotted a mention to a 150 minute TV cut of the movie.Tracking down the uncut version of the film online,I soon got set to discover where the bloodline runs to.The plot:With her dad having recently died in a skiing accident, Elizabeth Roffe finds out that she has been appointed as the head of her dad's major pharmaceutical company. Meeting the board of directors,Roffe is told that the business is too heavier burden for her to carry,and that it would be much better if she allowed the board to run the company for her.Seriously considering the boards take over,Roffe gets a sudden shot of determination,when she discovers that the company has been working on a pill which will extend life.Shortly after Roffe has given the decision,the breaks in her car suddenly break down,which leads Roffe to fearing that her dad's death was far from an accident.View on the film:Spanning half a dozen capitol cities and a 2 and a half hour running time,the adaptation of Sidney Sheldon's novel by Laird Koenig spends the first hour setting up the glamorous business world of Roffe,which whilst allow for the exotic locations to be fully displayed,does lead to the movie feeling rather slow-paced,and also being drained of any satirical bite about a board of directors being more than a little desperate for power.Cutting into the Giallo sub- genre,Koenig does very well at building a sinister mood around the mysterious killer,with the murderers obsession with snuff footage being used in a rather daring manner.Taking advantage of the movies huge locations,director Terence Young gives the movie a striking elegance,as Young uses sweeping shots to show the endless towers that Roffe is surrounded by.For the Giallo elements of the title,Young reveals a surprisingly unflinching eye towards the stylish scenes,with the killers use of snuff footage allowing Young to give each of the scenes a raw,rustic sting.While she openly admitted to being far from happy about only discovering the snuff element in the film half way into its shooting, Audrey Hepburn gives a fine performance in her reunion with Young, (who she had worked with on Wait Until Dark)with Hepburn showing Roffe to really enjoy the glamour connected to a major job,but also having a real determining to show that she can successfully run a business ,and that Roffe is far from just being a "pretty thing".Surrounding Roffe with knives behind their back, (in one case literally!)each of the board members give excellent eerie performances,with James Mason giving a wonderful out of breath performance as the egotistical Sir Alec Nichols,while the stunning Claudia Mori gives the title a shot of sass as the mistress waiting for her payment.After Young missed the chance to work with him by not directing Goldfinger, Gert Fröbe gives a terrific,wacky performance as Inspector Max Hornung,who is investigating where the blood-soaked bloodline runs to.

I enjoyed this movie! Any time Audrey Hepburn graced the screen was an occasion and for her to be paired with Ben Gazzara made this movie extra special for me. The story is interesting; the scenery is beautiful; a delightful romance develops; and who could forget Omar Shariff's shenanigans with his wife, his daughters and his mistresses? I do not wish that every single copy would disappear - I wish that they would put it on DVD. In fact, I have an excellent copy on VHS that I taped from TV. I have tried to copy it on my DVD recorder but they marked it so that it cannot be copied. I don't understand this practice but that has nothing to do with this movie! Sidney Sheldon is an excellent storyteller - and this one is no exception. As pointed out by another reviewer here, there may be cinematic flaws and shortcuts in this film - I did not notice them. I was much too engrossed in the story.

Compared to some of the Harold Robbins or Jackie Susann movies, this is not much better but its not much worse either. At least there is an international cast of talented actors at work. Granted, some of them are along only as ornaments..anyway, I saw this the weekend it opened in Times Square and have fond memories of it. Seen now, it does not offer much to the serious moviegoer and is not campy enough to laugh at (unless the thought of Michelle Phillips getting her knees nailed to the floor is your idea of fun) but some of the reviews make it sound downright offensive, which it isn't. It is probably assumed this is the worse movie Audrey Hepburn ever appeared in and I am sorry that it was a contractual obligation for her that she did not want to fulfill.