Synopsis
A Vietnam vet takes forceful control of Central Park to remember those who served and died in the Vietnam War.
1985 Directed by Steven Hilliard Stern
A Vietnam vet takes forceful control of Central Park to remember those who served and died in the Vietnam War.
Tommy Lee Jones Helen Shaver Yaphet Kotto Lawrence Dane Peter Dvorsky Eric Peterson Gale Garnett Denis Simpson Reg Dreger Louis Di Bianco Hank Stohl Carl Marotte Dennis O'Connor Tom Harvey George Bloomfield Marvin Karon Jong Soo Park Peter Langley R.D. Reid Robert Windsor Stewart Arnott Jennifer Dean James Kidnie Michael Copeman
Asedio en Central Park, El parque es mío, Это Мой Парк, Der Herrscher des Central Parks, Zona de guerra: El parque, Objectif Central Park, 72 timer, Nova York - Terra de Ninguém, Le parc m'appartient, 公园危机, Enyém a Park, Panik i Central Park
super cheap canadian tv movie take on First Blood with tommy lee jones playing a disgruntled vet who takes central park hostage with an ak-47 on veteran's day so that people learn to respect our troops or something. he then goes on to yell about thugs and giggle while he blows shit up and then the city calls in a death squad on him????? very clearly shot in toronto so they make him wear a yankees cap for the entirety of the movie lol. mostly notable because of jones' performance which is actually pretty intense and the insanely good tangerine dream score which makes this film feel at least like 20x more expensive than it actually is.
I'm probably giving this too much credit because the entire second act is a big pile of directionless mush. HOWEVER; this is basically First Blood with Tommy Lee Jones taking over Central Park with a dirtbike and a buncha explosives VS Yaphet Kotto & knock-off Herbert West and if that ain't enough for ya it has one of the best Tangerine Dream scores I've ever heard.
About a year ago I stumbled across The Park is Mine on one of my VHS rip hunts. It read like First Blood rip off in Central Park, my friend Greg and I were sold. I’m sitting here dog sitting, a year later, and decided tonight’s the night we take the park.
This just jumps right into it: starts with a suicide, six minutes in we’re seeing all the weapons and set up and 14 minutes the first explosion blows. Always have some respect for a film that goes, it sets up the character well and makes the 14 minute escalation to taking the park easy to get behind.
I was prepared for pure schlock, imagine my surprise when I…
I Can’t Believe This Macho Bullshit 3: The 80s Action Project
One of those 'just can't lose' concepts is housed in The Park Is Mine - after all, it's about Vietnam vet Tommy Lee Jones forcibly taking over Central Park for a few days.
What makes the success of The Park Is Mine even more interesting is that it was originally a TV movie, although it is still indistinguishable from most low budget 1980s actioners in how it looks. I'm assuming it was a cable production, considering the amount of swearing in it.
Principled 'villains' in action films have always interested me and this film expands on that somewhat by having Jones as the central character, and, actually, not painting…
A Canuxploitation RAMBO, with Tommy Lee Jones righteously standing up for the treatment of all men and women. Incredible score by Tangerine Dream and a murderer's row of supporting character actors (side note: we've vastly undervalued Yaphet Kotto as a people) makes this a legit stunner, complete with a pre-Post Truth America take on political spin doctors, manufacturing their own reality out of incident. Super great.
The inciting moments echo First Blood and Taxi Driver, but this production has too much friendly fire and never gets its B-movie balls out enough to be satisfying. Tommy Lee Jones is always interesting to watch, regardless. I wish Cannon Films had made this one so we could get more breakneck action and carnage. Wastes an outstanding premise by playing it too safe.
Fun, but honestly, I expected this to be so much crazier. I mean, the eighties, TLJ taking over Central Park with enough firepower to start a small war, clumsy cops, a deputy mayor who wins the asshole of the year award, the mighty Yaphet Kotto as a police commander who is slowly boiling over from frustration and two mercenaries doing the dirty work. One of them is a fucking VC! Yeah, New York hires a Vietcong to off a Vietnam Vet just before Veterans Day in NYC's own little jungle. Wow. Imagine Cannon having a go at this. Now it's a bit of that and, I don't know, First Blood? With a score from Tangerine Dream. That always deserves a mention.
Feels like an 80s update to Rolling Thunder, with that film's gritty Schrader nihilism replaced with a more genteel, crowd-pleasing disposition. Ontario doubles for Central Park and a whole lot of things explode, but there's nary a drop of blood to be seen. The Tangerine Dream score is great and the film cuts right to the chase, but things start to drag once a stringer sneaks into the park to try to get a scoop. In a way, it's almost like what we would've gotten had David Prior made Deadly Prey with HBO money and name stars instead of his brother.
Trash Fire of 2023/2024 22/89
22. 01/11/24 Watch a movie directed by Steven Hilliard Stern
A mid 80’s HBO special, this totally underrated movie was here and gone in what seemed like less than a minute and was lost in the heap of "Rambo"esque movies that were released around this time, but this one was definitely better than average. Grumpy ass Tommy Lee Jones is good as a Vietnam vet with something to say. Just to prove how horrible the government is, when it all comes down to brass tacks, the corrupt officials of the city would rather send in ex-Viet Cong and Eurotrash mercenaries to eliminate Tommy Lee Jones, rather than let him peacefully retain control of the Park for his last 24 hours. It’s the little bit of ridiculous that this movie needed to push it over the top. If you haven't seen it and you like those 'ticked-off Vietnam vet' movies, give this one a watch.