''The Bourne Identity'' is a 1988 American

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

action thriller Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

adaptation of Robert Ludlum's 1980 novel '' The Bourne Identity''. The film adaptation was written by

Carol Sobieski Carol Sobieski (March 16, 1939 – November 4, 1990) was an American screenwriter whose work included the scripts for ''Annie (1982 film), Annie'' (1982) and ''Fried Green Tomatoes (film), Fried Green Tomatoes'' (1991). Early life Sobieski was b ...

, directed by Roger Young for

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

with

Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show ''Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shōg ...

in the title role, along with

Jaclyn Smith Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is best known for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead ...

. It follows the storyline of the original novel, with a run-time of 3 hours 5 min. With commercials added, the running time was extended to four hours. The film was first shown on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in two 120 minute installments over two nights. The book was adapted again in 2002 by

Doug Liman Douglas Eric Liman (; born July 24, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Go'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), ''Jumper'' (2008), ''Edg ...

starring

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...

Jason Bourne Jason Bourne () is the title character and the protagonist in a series of novels and subsequent film adaptations. The character was created by novelist Robert Ludlum. He first appeared in the novel '' The Bourne Identity'' (1980), which was a ...

, launching the ''Bourne'' series of theatrical films, with considerable deviations from the original Cold War novel. It was followed later by a new series of ''Bourne'' best sellers written by Eric Lustbader with the permission of the Ludlum estate.

Differences from the book

The film exhibits some differences from the novel by Ludlum. The undercover identity of Jason Bourne is simplified to "Bourne" pursuing Carlos rather than using the code name "Cain". Alexander Conklin is killed by one of his own people when attempting to confront Bourne; in the novel he survives and appears in subsequent novels. In the book's ending,

Carlos the Jackal Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal ( es, link=no, Carlos el Chacal) or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convicted of terrorist crimes, and currently serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murder ...

escapes in the confusion, whereas in the film he is killed in the climactic battle with Bourne.

Cast

as Marie St. Jacques *

Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor and theatre director. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969). ...

as Gen. François Villiers *

Donald Moffat Donald Moffat (26 December 1930 – 20 December 2018) was a British–American actor with a decades-long career in film and stage in the United States. He began his acting career on- and off-Broadway, which included appearances in ''The Wild D ...

as David Abbott *

Shane Rimmer Shane Rimmer (born Shane Lance Deacon; May 28, 1929 – March 29, 2019) was a Canadian actor and screenwriter who spent the majority of his career in the United Kingdom. The self-proclaimed "Rent-A-Yank" of the British entertainment industry, he ...

as Alexander Conklin *

Yorgo Voyagis Yorgo Voyagis ( el, Γιώργος Βογιατζής, Giorgos Vogiadzis ; born 6 December 1945) is a Greek actor. Career as an actor Voyagis' film debut was in Michael Cacoyannis's ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964). He reappeared three years later in ...

as Carlos *

Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in ''Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981 ...

as Dr. Geoffrey Washburn *

Peter Vaughan Peter Vaughan (born Peter Ewart Ohm; 4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016) was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage. He is perhaps best known ...

as Fritz Koenig *

Michael Habeck Michael Habeck (23 April 1944 – 4 February 2011) was a German actor who was best known for providing the German dubbing for Oliver Hardy after Bruno W. Pantel died. Habeck, who was born in Bad Grönenbach, also dubbed several characters in ...

as The Fat Man *

Wolf Kahler Wolf Kahler (born 3 April 1940) is a German stage, film, television, and voice actor. Since 1975, he appeared in many English language US and UK television and film productions. One of his early roles was Kaiser Wilhelm II in Michael York's ...

as Gold Glasses *

Philip Madoc Philip Madoc (born Philip Arvon Jones; 5 July 1934 – 5 March 2012) was a Welsh actor. He performed many stage, television, radio and film roles, and was recognised for having a "rich, sonorous voice" and often playing villains and office ...

as D'Armacourt *

Bill Wallis William Wallis (20 November 1936 – 6 September 2013) was a British character actor and comedian who appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre. Biography Wallis was born in Guildford in Surrey, the only son of A ...

as Chernak

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourne Identity, The 1988 films 1988 television films 1980s mystery films 1980s spy films 1980s action thriller films American action thriller films American mystery thriller films American political thriller films Action television films Crime television films Films about amnesia Films based on American novels Films based on mystery novels Films based on works by Robert Ludlum Films directed by Roger Young Films scored by Laurence Rosenthal Films shot in Switzerland 1980s French-language films 1980s German-language films Spy television films American thriller television films Cultural depictions of Carlos the Jackal Films shot in France Films shot in Zürich Jason Bourne 1980s English-language films 1980s American films

Differences from the book

Cast

References

Further reading

External links