Rent The Man in the Steel Mask (1974)
3.1 of 5 from 58 ratings
1h 33min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
An intelligent and intriguing Cold War thriller directed by Jack Gold in which Elliott Gould and Trevor Howard star as deadly rivals from across The Iron Curtain. A top scientist, Lucas Martino, (Joseph Bova) returns to the West after being involved in a terrible car crash and spending six months as a prisoner in communist East Germany. Hideously burned and with his body crushed, he is forced to wear an un-removable steel mask to stay alive. Sean Rogers (Elliott Gould), the FBI agent sent to debrief Dr. Martino, discovers that he was interrogated while held captive by Eastern spymaster Colonel Azarin (Trevor Howard) - and that his unexpected release may all be part of a lethal plot. Is the man behind the steel mask really Lucas Martino at all, or a ticking time bomb waiting for an opportunity to betray the West? Is he just a tormented victim - or the ultimate double agent? - Actors:
- Elliott Gould, Trevor Howard, Joseph Bova, Edward Grover, John Lehne, James Noble, Lyndon Brook, Michael Lombard, Kay Tornborg, Joy Garrett, John Stewart, Bruce Boa, Fred Vincent, Alexander Allerson, Ivan Desny, Dan Sazarino, Craig McConnel, Herb Andress, Del Negro, Frank Schuller
- Directors:
- Jack Gold
- Producers:
- Barry Levinson
- Writers:
- John Gould, Algis Budrys
- Aka:
- Who? / Robo Man
- Studio:
- Odeon
- Genres:
- Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 27/05/2019
- Run Time:
- 94 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary with director Jack Gold and film historian Tony Sloman (2010)
- Selected scenes commentary with actor Elliott Gould (2010, 21 mins)
- The BEHP Interview with Jack Gold (1990, 94 mins): an archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the director in conversation with Norman Swallow and Alan Lawson
- The Megaton Mind (2010, 26 mins): an archival interview with actor Edward Grover
- The Man Behind the Mask (2019, 21 mins): writer and critic Kim Newman explores the life and career of acclaimed science-fiction author Algis Budrys
- Image gallery: original posters and book covers
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
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Reviews (1) of The Man in the Steel Mask
Interesting - The Man in the Steel Mask review by sb
AKA The Man in the Metal Mask - odd but really interesting Cold War/Sci-Fi hybrid.
Leading American scientist is involved in a car crash in Germany - he is recovered by the Soviets but he is so badly injured they have to be-build him as part human and part metal bionic man.
Time passes and the Soviets return him to the American's but is he who he says he is - or he a Soviet plant - or even if he is who he claims to be how do the American's know he hasn't been turned as part of the process.
Eliot Gould is the FBI man tasked with finding out - at first he is sure its a plant and if allowed back to the top secret project will betray everything to the Soviets and even if he is the real deal he may still do the same.
To complicate matters we see in flashback his interogation by a Soviet Colonel (Howard) so that we know more about what went on than Gould does- so its a real cat and mouse job.
Along the way the film muses on what makes us human and what defines a personality - is it merely the combination of memories or is it more?
Good performances and a remarkable job by Joseph Bova who manages to covey all the inner pain and confusion while in a metal mask.
It has a very clever reveal towards the end that is not where you thought the film was going and its a really interesting take on the genre - 4/5
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.