Martin Bradley Despite the thick-ear dialogue, lack-lustre performances from most of the cast, (Charles Durning being the notable exception), and the frankly ridiculous premiss of a renegade general taking over a nuclear missile silo and holding the US government to ransom, Aldrich's dip into the Cold War paranoia genre is surprisingly good, working both as a highly suspenseful thriller, (Aldrich makes great use of split screens), and as a reasonably serious picture on American foreign policy. It's also funny enough to work as political satire and I'm not sure that Aldrich took it all that seriously. It may not be in the same class as either "Seven Days in May" or "Fail Safe" and television dramas such as "The West Wing" and "House of Cards" are much closer to the mark on what goes on in the Oval Office than anything here but it's also far from negligible and if it's hardly Aldrich's best film it's still well worth seeing.

eskovan2 Like it or not this film _IS_ flamingly left wing. To the point of fault. It's of the category of many late 70s-early 80s left-wing, revisionist-history fair like The China Syndrome or The Day After. The old-school movie studio system was finally torn down completely and the inmates got to run the asylum for awhile.That being said, this film is an OK little thriller. Lancaster delivers the goods (despite B-list costars like Burt Young) as does the rest of the veteran all-star cast. May entertain up to a young-adult audience of today. This is about all the 'reviewing' this movie deserves.The problem is the film looks, and is, ridiculously dated. And it has very lofty and (at the time) very sincere moral ambitions, but with hindsight it all just comes off as being, well, silly. The Vietnam War was a very complicated affair, but this film simply pigeonholes it as just another govt 'cover-up' ala Watergate. Many reviewers describe it as a "catharsis" for those who opposed the War, but that's an incredible insult to themselves. It's like comparing the TV series M*A*S*H to the real Korean conflict: Its overly simplistic, inaccurate, and at times, idiotic! What was once an ambitious, seemingly edgy political thriller comes off today as a cheesy TV-movie. Its overwrought and originally serious pathos now appears as nothing more than bad scenery-chewing.On a technical note, the film's mid-way climax where an ICBM launch is first initiated then aborted, is nonsense. There would be absolutely no way what-so-ever to abort a launch like that. The silo covers don't open slowly, they're shot open in less than a second by explosive means. And regardless of whether they're supposed to be liquid or solid-fueled ICBMs they're lifted out of the silos by their rocket motors, hence they can't be stopped. It's a key moment of the film that's also a complete fabrication.If you want some lightweight fare, watch it for what it's worth. But don't debate its lofty ambitions, you just embarrass yourself.

Kieran Green Set in 1981 (the near future for this 1977 release) former US Air Force General Lawrence Dell Burt Lancaster imprisoned for being an outspoken advocate against Vietnam, he is also framed on a manslaughter charge and sent to prison. he escapes with three inmates Paul Winfield, Burt Young, and William Smith and take over a nearby SAC base in Montana, Once in control of the base, and armed with the launch codes, Dell non-negotiable demands from the SAC Command Center that U.S. President (Charles Durning) reveal the truth about the Vietnam War to the American people by reading a National Security document on television. If his demands are not met Dell promises, at the turn of two keys, to send the nine Titan missiles to their targets in the Soviet Union. 'Twilight's Last Gleaming' Directed by Robert Aldrich. Boasts an all star cast, Richard Widmark, Melvyn Douglas, Roscoe Lee Brown. It's a shame that Warner have neglected to release this on DVD. a shame really since many more of Aldrich's films are available.became a vocal advocate of disclosing the truth behind US involvement in Southeast Asia and Indochina in the hope that a post-Watergate America would forgive its Regarded as a dangerous embarrassment by the higher-ups,

sljones44 I 'm going to counterbalance the previous two reviews. The only reason it's considered "absurdist left-wing" fodder, is that the two reviewers still didn't understand the hatred of that war – of course being divided into this left wing-right wing B.S. wedge that the 2 term administration has firmly slammed into the American Consciousness. The original reviewer doesn't realize that several Vietnam Vets overran the Pentagon, went to Washington D.C. and literally threw their medals. This was a film, that was a catharsis for many overwhelming numbers of PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY FOUGHT THE WAR experienced.The movie is a cat and mouse thriller with Burt Lancaster demanding attention from the White House by controlling a missle silo/bunker complex. As a former Air Force General with high security clearance, he knows how to complete the mission. The film is a study on why a decorated General threatens to start WW III.On the opposite side of the fence lies the President, played by Charles Durning whose aim is to stop him. The supporting actors are outstanding on all accounts, Richard Widmark, Paul Winfield, Burt Young, Melvin Douglas, to name a few. The actors making up the presidents cabinet are outstanding. The cabinet/advisors must decide- is the General a mad man or can he pull off his threat of missle launch. What is his agenda? The ending is a shocking, uncompromising statement on what happens in a political chess match. The military adviser tells the president, the buck stops here.... you are responsible, even for past transgressions from a previous presidency. I like the fact that a military person says " our way of life can survive the truth."