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Sick Product of a Sick System

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

If you have read the Robert Ludlum books then you have no doubt been disappointed by the way the story has been handled in the movies.This TV mini series keeps much closer to the book than the film.If that were the only good part about this, I would not be writing a review.It does not have the action of the films but it has the tension of the book. It is gripping!!Obviously it still cuts some part from the book but it does have so much more than the films.The acting is good, to be expected from the great cast.I am so glad that I watched this. I was so disappointed by the films until I gave up and disconnected them from the books.Brilliant stuff and well worth watching!!!

Richard Chamberlain, star of TV miniseries The Thorn Birds and Shogun, appears as Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne in this 1988 TV adaptation of The Bourne Identity. Frankly I started this in May 2010, and the first 15 or 20 minutes (getting shot on the boat and his body getting washed up on the island) were so laughable, I couldn't get through it. But resolved to watch it or get rid of the DVD, I started it again one Saturday night in January 2011. The beginning still seemed stiff and dated and his acting limited, but once off the island and meeting Jaclyn Smith, the pace picked up. It doesn't compare to the modern remake with Matt Damon, but it works to a degree. It made me think of those old British espionage thrillers, like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (without the fancy technology,) but it is nowhere as good as that, either. Despite the comparisons and where I found it lacking, I think I would watch it again. Jaclyn Smith, a former Charlie's Angel, gives this TV movie a character you can relate to and the presence of older actors like Anthony Quayle, Donald Moffitt, and Denholm Elliott gives this even more credibility. I especially liked how they handled the ending. Given the fact you're dealing with Richard Chamberlain, you should just enjoy Robert Ludlum's story and let it all go.

Last night I was pleasantly surprised and saw the TV version of The Bourne Idendtity starring Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith and I found it very intense and thrilling. Yes, I have the Bourne Trilogy which I like a lot because it stars Matt Damon and I'm a big fan of his. After seeing the TV version I can see that Damon is a little too young for Bourne but they did bring the story forward to suit the star and that's all right, too. But I sure won't knock the TV version as I would think that Chamberlain was closer to the age that Bourne should be. As to comparing a movie or TV to a book is not feasible 'cause we're talking about two different mediums. I'm happy with both versions and plan to watch the TV version again. It stands the test of time.

Chamberlain was probably happy to shoot this film in Europe, but I'm sure he like the pay as well. At this time he was probably the highest paid actor doing films specifically made for TV broadcast.I got the DVD of it yesterday, and the main reason I got it was because I just watched the Matt Damon series, and was curious to see how this was adapted for the "small screen" (not so small anymore). It's very different but held up well on its own, as I see it. It has things that the Damon films miss, such as in-depth character development, mostly due to being twice as long too, and a much more realistic lead character. It also has other things that make it a lesser film, like some unrealistic plot contrivances and occasionally overplayed emotional conflicts, similar to what you'd see on popular TV shows of the time like Dallas and Dynasty.One thing I like much better in the older version was the wider shots of most action scenes. This version translates well to a large screen, whereas the new version uses too many super-tight close-up action shots. These are typically used when the wider action shots don't really work well, and the closer shots give the viewer less detailed info about the action, but more movement across the screen, so as to make viewers think they saw lots of intense action.