''Prisoner of Rio'' is a 1988

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Lech Majewski Lech Majewski (pronounced , ‘Ma-yev-ski’) (born 30 August 1953) is a Polish film and theatre director, writer, poet, and painter. Life and career Born in Katowice, Poland, Majewski studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In the 1970s ...

and starring

Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style eponymously k ...

, Paul Freeman and

Peter Firth Peter Macintosh Firth (born 27 October 1953) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC One programme '' Spooks''; he is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the programme's ten-series lif ...

. It shows the flight of the Great Train Robber

Ronnie Biggs Ronald Arthur Biggs (8 August 1929 – 18 December 2013) was an English criminal who helped plan and carry out the Great Train Robbery of 1963. He subsequently became notorious for his escape from prison in 1965, living as a fugitive for 36 ye ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and the attempts of

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

detectives to re-capture him. It was a co-production between several countries.

Plot

After escaping from Wandsworth prison for his part in the Great Train Robbery, Ronald "Ronnie" Biggs (Paul Freeman) goes on the run to Rio de Janeiro and becomes the world's most wanted man. Hot on his trail however is committed copper Jack McFarland (Steven Berkoff), who will stop at nothing to bring him back to justice - even if that means stepping outside the law.

Cast

... Jack McFarland * Paul Freeman ... Ronald Biggs *

... Clive Ingram *

Florinda Bolkan Florinda Bolkan (born Florinda Soares Bulcão; 15 February 1941) is a retired Brazilian actress and model. Biography She was born in Uruburetama and lived in Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro until she moved to Italy. A former flight inspector fo ...

... Stella *

Desmond Llewelyn Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn (; 12 September 1914GRO Register of Births: DEC 1914 11a 490 NEWPORT M. – Desmond W. Llewelyn, mmn = Wilkinson – 19 December 1999GRO Register of Deaths: JUN 2000 A70E 247 EASTBOURNE – Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn, D ...

... Commissioner Ingram *

José Wilker José Wilker Almeida (20 August 1944 – 5 April 2014) was a Brazilian film, stage, and television actor and director. The actor gained fame in telenovelas like '' Roque Santeiro'' (1985), but became known internationally for his role as Vadinho, ...

... Salo *

Zezé Motta Maria José Motta de Oliveira (born 27 June 1944), known as Zezé Motta, is a Brazilian actress and singer. She is considered one of the most important actresses in Brazil. Life and career Born in Campos dos Goytacazes, she moved with her famil ...

... Rita *

Breno Moroni Breno may refer to: People * Breno Borges, Brazilian football player * Breno Cezar (born 1995), Brazilian football player * Breno Coelho, Brazilian photographer/cinematographer * Breno Correia (born 1999), Brazilian swimmer * Breno Giacomini (born ...

... Gil *

Ronald Biggs Ronald Arthur Biggs (8 August 1929 – 18 December 2013) was an English criminal who helped plan and carry out the Great Train Robbery of 1963. He subsequently became notorious for his escape from prison in 1965, living as a fugitive for 36 y ...

... Mickey *

Dennis Bourke Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

... Reporter at Phonebooth * Wilza Carla ... Woman in red * Claudia Cepeda ... Girl in Car * Amauri Guarilha ... Policeman in Slum *

Chris Hieatt Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

... John *

Elke Maravilha Elke Maravilha ( Grünupp;Roy Pepperell Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

... British Consular

Release

The film was released in the United Kingdom by Palace Pictures and later on VHS by Palace Video. It was later released on DVD in the UK by

Anchor Bay Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...

. It was released on VHS in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

by Imperial Entertainment.

Production

The real-life Ronald Biggs, the focus of the film, co-wrote the screenplay. Steven Berkoff wrote a book about his experiences on this film, called "A Prisoner in Rio". He hated making this film and on many occasions he had to stop himself from walking away from production.

References

External links

* * 1988 films Swiss drama films English-language Swiss films Polish drama films English-language Polish films Brazilian drama films English-language Brazilian films 1988 drama films Films directed by Lech Majewski Films set in Rio de Janeiro (city) Films scored by Hans Zimmer British drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s British films {{1980s-drama-film-stub