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Anyone else remember the nail-biting tension of Two-Minute Warning?

Okay, so I was just thinking about old thrillers and "Two-Minute Warning" popped into my head. It's a 1976 film about a sniper targeting a packed football stadium in LA. I don't know why but it always stuck with me and I'm so glad they didn't decide to remake it as a TV movie, so it is just a pretty good film from the 70s. Anyone else seen it? I'm not sure who directed it which is just my own ignorance and I could easily look it up, but I always find that the director gets more attention lately than the actual stars. What really got to me was how the suspense just builds throughout the whole movie. It starts off with the excitement of the game, then this underlying unease starts creeping in as you get glimpses of the sniper setting up, and the police slowly putting the pieces together. The tension becomes almost unbearable towards the end. Gosh, I was just a kid when I first watched it and I remember being absolutely glued to the screen. I was always into true crime stories and this almost felt like it at the time, but I was really young. Charlton Heston as Captain Holly is perfectly cast, he does the hard-nosed detective thing so well, and John Cassavetes as the SWAT commander adds this layer of gritty realism. I also found it interesting how they showed all those random stadium goers - people cheering, families having fun - and then put those faces into the crosshairs of the rifle. It made the threat feel so much more real, if that makes sense? It wasn't just 'bad guy vs. good guys' it was the idea that that a psycho could just take out innocent people whenever and wherever. I think it's a movie that really holds up. It explores the idea of the lone wolf terrorist before that was even a common phrase. It is a bit slow-burn compared to modern films, but I think that actually works in its favor. It lets them build up the atmosphere, the fear, and the urgency really well. Just my two cents! Would love to hear what others think if they've seen it! Am I just a crazy old person for liking it, lol?

priyawatches
about 2 months ago
3 comments
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