No Way Out
original movie poster
Directed by	Roger Donaldson
Produced by	Robert Garland, Laura Ziskin
Written by	Kenneth Fearing (novel The Big Clock), Robert Garland
Starring	Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young
Music by	Maurice Jarre
Cinematography	John Alcott
Editing by	William Hoy, Neil Travis
Distributed by	Orion Pictures
Release date(s)	14 August 1987 (USA)
Running time	114 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

No Way Out is a 1987 government thriller about a U.S. Naval Officer wrongly accused of murder. It stars Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, and Sean Young, and is a remake of The Big Clock; both films are based on The Big Clock, a novel by poet and novelist Kenneth Fearing. Image File history File links No_Way_Out. ... Roger Donaldson (born November 15, 1945) is an Australian-born film producer, director and writer who has made numerous successful movies. ... Laura Ziskin is an American film producer. ... Kenneth Flexner Fearing (1902 - 1961) was an American poet and writer. ... Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an Oscar winning American film actor and director who has often produced his own films. ... Eugene Allen Hackman[1] (born January 30, 1930) is an acclaimed Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Mary Sean Young (born in Louisville, Kentucky on November 20, 1959) is an American actress. ... Maurice Jarre (born in Lyon, France, September 13, 1924) is a French composer of film scores, noted for his use of the Ondes Martenot, and for the scores of many films including a series of David Lean films, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryans Daughter (1970) and A... John Alcott (1931-1986) was an Oscar winning cienmatographer best known for his four collaborations with director Stanley Kubrick: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), for which he took over as lighting camerman from Geoffrey Unsworth in mid-shoot, A Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon (1975), the film for which he... Orion Pictures Logo Orion Pictures Corporation was a United States movie production company, formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // May 9 - Actor Tom Cruise marries actress Mimi Rogers. ... The thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television that includes numerous, often-overlapping sub-genres. ... Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an Oscar winning American film actor and director who has often produced his own films. ... Eugene Allen Hackman[1] (born January 30, 1930) is an acclaimed Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Mary Sean Young (born in Louisville, Kentucky on November 20, 1959) is an American actress. ... The Big Clock is a 1948 film noir thriller set in New York City based on the novel by Kenneth Fearing. ... The Big Clock is a 1948 film noir thriller set in New York City based on the novel by Kenneth Fearing. ... A poet is someone who writes poetry. ... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... Kenneth Flexner Fearing (1902 - 1961) was an American poet and writer. ...

The supermodel Iman has a role in the film. The supporting cast includes Will Patton, Howard Duff, George Dzundza, Jason Bernard and Fred Thompson. In addition to the Orion Pictures Corporation studio, filming locations were Annapolis, Maryland, Arlington, Virginia, Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, DC, USA, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. Iman (born July 25, 1955 in Mogadishu, Somalia as Iman Abdulmajid) is a supermodel based in the United States. ... Will Patton Will Patton (born June 14, 1954 in Charleston, South Carolina) is an American actor. ... Actor Howard Duff in Johnny Stool Pigeon Actor Howard Duff (November 24 - July 8, 1990) in Bremerton, Washington was a radio and stage performer before he began appearing in films in the late 1940s. ... George Dzundza (born July 19, 1945) is an actor who is best known for his role as Sgt. ... Jason Bernard (b. ... Fred Dalton Thompson (born August 19, 1942) is an American lawyer, actor and former Republican senator from Tennessee. ... Orion Pictures Logo Orion Pictures Corporation was a United States movie production company, formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. ... Nickname: Americas Sailing Capital , San Diego East, Dogtown, Naptown Motto: Vixi Liber Et Moriar - I have lived, and I shall die, free Location in Maryland Coordinates: Country United States State Maryland County Anne Arundel County Founded 1649 Incorporated 1708 Mayor Ellen O. Moyer (D) City Council Richard E. Israel... Arlington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia (which calls itself a commonwealth), directly across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. By an act of Congress July 9, 1846, the area south of the Potomac was returned to Virginia effective in 1847 As of 2000... Nickname: Monument City, Charm City, Mob Town, B-more, Balmerr,Bodymore, Murderland Motto: The Greatest City in America (formerly The City That Reads; Get In On It is not the citys motto, but rather the advertising slogan of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association; BELIEVE is not the... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... Schematic map of Auckland. ...

The film features original music by the Academy Award-winning Maurice Jarre. The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... Maurice Jarre (born in Lyon, France, September 13, 1924) is a French composer of film scores, noted for his use of the Ondes Martenot, and for the scores of many films including a series of David Lean films, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryans Daughter (1970) and A...

Plot summary

In a prelude of sorts at an inaugural ball, our hero Lt. Cmdr. Tom Farrell (Kevin Costner) meets a beautiful young woman, Susan Atwell (Sean Young). The two have sex in a limousine in a notorious scene and subsequently begin an affair. Farrell soon leaves on deployment, but it is already clear at the ball that Atwell is someone's mistress.

The main story revolves around an attempt by the very successful Defense Secretary, David Brice (Gene Hackman), to cancel a white elephant "Phantom Sub" project that has extremely powerful political backing. The primary reason the project has lasted as long as it has are continuing stories that the Soviets are working on a similar project. Brice considers the stories to be fabrications made solely to keep the project alive, along with the pork barrel money it creates. A white elephant is a supposedly valuable possession whose upkeep costs exceed its usefulness, and it is therefore a liability. ... Pork barrel, in a literal sense, is a barrel in which pork is kept, but figuratively is a supply of money; often the source of ones livelihood. ...

In order to shore up his office's position, Brice hires Tom Farrell, a Naval intelligence officer recently branded a "hero" in a very public fashion for actions at sea. Farrell is charged with liaising with the CIA in order to gather information about whether or not the Soviets really are working on such a project. The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ...

When Farrell learns that Atwell's "other man" is Brice he comments, "I work for him!", to which she sardonically replies, "Then that makes two of us."

Brice learns of Atwell's affair with another, and accidentally murders Atwell in a fit of passion while trying to learn the name of her new lover. Ready to turn himself in, Brice is persuaded by his aide at the Pentagon, a homosexual who may be in love with him, to cover everything up and blame someone else.

Sean Young & Kevin Costner

In an attempt to deflect attention from himself, Brice claims her lover was in fact a Russian sleeper spy code-named "Yuri", thereby focussing all attention on an attempt to capture the spy. The CIA had created "Yuri" for cheap political points, and are quite amused when they learn the Pentagon has "fallen for it". Unknown to them, Brice is cleverly using their fiction to serve his own ends. Image File history File links NoWayOut3. ... Image File history File links NoWayOut3. ... Sleeper agents are spies who are placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but rather to act as potential assets if activated at a later point in time. ...

Ironically, unaware of his real role, Brice appoints Farrell to lead the investigation to find her lover. Farrell is thus placed in the position of attempting to find evidence that would implicate himself. The only major piece of forensic evidence in the case is the negative of a Polaroid of Farrell taken by Atwell, although it requires lengthy processing to be useful. While this takes place, Farrell sets about re-directing attention back onto Brice. He does this by planting evidence that Brice gave Atwell a gift that was a government-registered present from another country, thereby linking Atwell and Brice. This article or section should be merged with Forensic science Forensic evidence consists of anything that can be used in a court of law to convict a person of a crime. ... Polaroid (a trademark of the Polaroid Corporation) is the name of a type of synthetic plastic sheet which is used to polarise light. ...

The climax is a race between two pieces of evidence, the negative implicating Farrell, and a printout of the present's registration implicating Brice. Farrell wins the race, presenting the paper to Brice just as the image is becoming recognizable on the negative in another part of the Pentagon. Brice immediately puts the blame on his long-suffering aide, who commits suicide when he realizes he is being framed. Look up pentagon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The movie ends with an extremely surprising plot twist. After Brice's (unseen) downfall, Farrell is seen mourning at Atwell's grave when apparent two "G-men" arrive and take him away for questioning. One of the interrogators is, oddly, Farrell's landlord. After a few moments he starts talking to Farrell in Russian, and Farrell responds fluently. Farrell is, in fact, "Yuri," and his landlord is his handler. Though the twist is not hinted at during the film, on second viewing audiences may note that what at first seemed to be a boy stealing Farrell's bag is likely a hand-off, explaining his reluctance to chase the boy. A Plot twist is a change (twist) in the direction or expected outcome of the plot of a film or novel. ...

As it turns out, none of the events during the film was entirely accidental. The Soviets, aware of the ongoing affair between Brice and Atwell, send Farrell to seduce Atwell hoping to pick up information to enable them to blackmail Brice. This attempt fails in spectacular fashion, but the outcome is perhaps even better than they had expected. For other uses, see Blackmail (disambiguation). ...

Goofs

• At one point Costner's character is reading a print-out from a Pentagon printer. The frame shows the printer misspelling a word and freezes on it for a moment. The word reads: "Brooch / Diamonmd".
• In the film, one scene features a Metro train stop in Georgetown, an area of Washington, DC. There is no such stop in Georgetown. The subway scene was actually shot in the Baltimore Metro Subway which is run by the Maryland Transit Administration.
• During the car chase preceding, Costner and his pursuers are seen driving on both the Virginia and Washington side of the Potomac River. They are not seen crossing a bridge before arriving in Georgetown.

Exterior of the Charles Center Metro Subway station in downtown Baltimore The Metro Subway is a single-line rapid transit system serving the greater Baltimore area. ... The Maryland Transit Administration, sometimes called MTA Maryland to avoid confusion with other cities agencies called MTA, is a state operated transit service serving all of Baltimore, Maryland and the surrounding counties. ...

External links

• No Way Out at the Internet Movie Database
• Official MGM site with photos and a trailer