During his career the Oscar winner Ron Howard he tried his hand at directing films of continuously different genres. From the fantasy comedy Splash – A siren in Manhattan to the space drama apollo 13, from the biographical A Beautiful Mind to the thriller Da Vinci’s code. And speaking of thrillers, another title he directed, less known than the titles mentioned here, is Ransom – The ransom, from 1996. It is a dark thriller where there are no qualms about endangering even the most defenseless. A detail that made the film controversial since its release.

The screenplay, written by Richard Price And Alexander Ignonis inspired by the episode Fearful decisionfrom the 1950s anthology series The United States Steel Hour. Years later, it is still a film capable of offering great tension even by the modern standards of the genre, proving to be a very valid vision. Before embarking on a vision of the film, however, it will certainly be useful to delve into some of the main curiosities related to it. Continuing here in the reading it will in fact be possible to find further details relating to the plot and al cast of actors. Finally, we will also list the major platforms streams containing the film in their catalog.

The plot of Ransom – The ransom

The protagonist of the film is Tom Mullen, a wealthy entrepreneur who heads a private airline. The man lives in New York with his beautiful wife Kate And sean, the nine-year-old son. One day, the latter is kidnapped by a group of criminals. Shortly after, the two parents receive a video in which a ransom of two million dollars is demanded, with the warning not to contact the police for any reason otherwise the child would die. After an initial hesitation, Tom and Kate decide to contact the FBI, which sends a team led by the agent Lonnie Hawkinswhich sets up an operations center at their home to monitor the situation.

Thus began operations to try to understand who the kidnappers are and how to save the child before it’s too late. Things get complicated when the first negotiations go wrong and for Sean the situation becomes increasingly desperate. With the press now aware of the kidnapping and the news begins to circulate on all the news, Tom will understand that he has to act without the help of the feds: making an appeal on live television during a newscast, he transforms the ransom into a bounty on the kidnappers. From that moment, the balance is reversed and the situation becomes increasingly critical.

The cast of Ransom – The ransom

Actors of the caliber of were considered for the role of Tom Mullen Kurt Russell, Harrison Ford, Kevin Costner And Dennis Quaidbut to get the role it was then Mel Gibson. He and Howard had previously met at the 1996 Academy Awards, where they competed with the films Apollo 13 Howard e Braveheart – Brave heart gibson. It was the latter that finally won the award for Best Picture. In the role of his wife Kate there is instead the actress Rene Russo. About her Howard said he attended his own school and had a crush on the actress, but he was too shy to ask her out. Russo later admitted that he had a crush on Howard, but never revealed it.

To interpret the son Sean there is the actor Brawley Nolteson of the well-known actor Nick Noltewhile for the role of Jimmy Shaker Howard had initially thought about the actor Alec Baldwin, who declined due to the sinister nature of the character, as well as the film’s child-endangered theme. For the same reason also the actor Ray Liotta he turned down the role. Finally, it was to play the character Gary Sinise. They then star in the film too Delroy Lindo as Lonnie Hawkins, Lily Taylor in those of Maris Conner e Liev Schreiber And Donnie Wahlberg in those of the twins Clark and Cubby Barnes.

The trailer of Ransom – The ransom and where to watch the film in streaming and on TV

Unfortunately, at the moment Ransom – The ransom it is not present on any of the streaming platforms available in Italy. To be able to see it, it is therefore possible to rely solely on its passage on television. Currently, the film is present in the television schedule of Saturday 6 May at 21:00 On the canal Iris.

Source: IMDb