Oxygen (1999)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Oxygen |
| Original title | Oxygen |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1999 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Richard Shepard |
| script | Richard Shepard |
| production | Richard Shepard, Mike Curb , Carole Curb Nemoy , Jonathan Stern |
| music | Rolfe Kent |
| camera | Sarah Cawley |
| cut | Adam Lichtenstein |
| occupation | |
| |
Oxygen is an American thriller by Richard Shepard from the year 1999 .
action
Harry kidnaps Frances Hannon, the wife of an entrepreneur and their dog. With the help of an accomplice, he takes her to a remote forest, where he records a video of the terrified woman while the accomplice digs a grave. Frances asks her husband for a million dollar ransom and says they are about to bury her alive. She would die if the police were called in. Frances is then buried in a wooden box, she has only a limited supply of oxygen . Before that, she can persuade Harry's accomplice to give her a flashlight, otherwise she would panic in complete darkness.
Hannon's husband turns on the police, which in turn arranges a handover of the money. Harry meets Hannon's husband in a graveyard at the tombstone of escape artist Houdini . Contrary to the agreement, Harry does not reveal the hiding place of Hannon's wife Frances, but drives to town with the money. Detective Madeline Foster, in charge of the case, follows Harry in her car and a car chase ensues, in which Harry is finally arrested. Foster tries to find the whereabouts of Frances, but Harry refuses to provide information. His identity cannot be determined at first because he doused his fingertips with acid . He suggests that he only reveal the hiding place to Frances if he is allowed to speak to Foster in private.
Harry is questioned by Foster; the other police officers watch the interrogation through semi-transparent mirrors . Harry discovers burn marks on Foster's forearm. They come from an affair Foster with another man to whom she is a slave. Harry discovers that Foster is "not free" just like him and talks to Foster. She is defeated in the psychoduell against the kidnapper. An FBI agent takes over the case; he tells Harry how terrible the execution of the death penalty is. Harry agrees to show the hiding place where "she" is buried. He leads the policemen into a forest where a wooden box is being dug up, but which is not Frances, but her dog.
Foster takes over the interrogation again. The semi-transparent mirror is covered at the request of the kidnapper, so that Foster and Houdini remain unobserved. Harry raves about escape artists and therefore gives himself the surname of his idol "Houdini". Meanwhile, the police determine Harry's true identity: The police use the fact that Harry, a comparatively old man, wears braces . By interviewing all oral surgeons , you can finally find the treating doctor and thus access to his name and address. It turns out that Harry has already committed a murder: Harry's accomplice is found strangled in a motel where he previously stayed. The police must therefore assume that Francis is already dead. In his apartment the police finally find plans of the police station where he is being interrogated by Foster.
Harry frees himself from the handcuffs by pulling a piece of wire from under his fingernail and kidnaps Foster through the ventilation shafts of the police station. In the forest nearby, he says he won't be a millionaire, but will be known as "the greatest kidnapper in history" if he buries Foster next to Frances. He digs up the wooden box with Frances, who now appears to have passed away. However, Frances is still alive and takes advantage of a moment of Harry's inattention, hits him with the flashlight and escapes from the box. Foster, however, overwhelms Harry and pushes him into the wooden box. She asks Frances if she should shoot the kidnapper or bury him alive. Harry begs for the second variant and pretends to be upset by the situation, whereupon Foster shoots him. Before he dies, Harry says that he and Foster are finally "free".
Reviews
The lexicon of international films wrote that the film was "a film plagiarism composed of quotations " with script deficits and " an overdose of stereotypes ". The “ rough staging style ” nullifies the “ efforts of the main actress to be credible ”.
Awards
Richard Shepard was in 1999 for the Taos Land Grant Award of the Taos Talking Picture Festival nominated.
background
The film was shot in New York City . It had its world premiere on May 13, 1999 at the Cannes International Film Festival .
Web links
- Oxygen in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Oxygen at rotten tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Oxygen. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ Filming locations for Oxygen, accessed June 1, 2007
- ↑ Oxygen premiere dates, accessed June 1, 2007