Missing (1982 film)

Missing
Missing
Directed by	Costa-Gavras
Written by	Donald E. Stewart; Costa-Gavras; Thomas Hauser (book)
Produced by	Edward Lewis; Mildred Lewis
Starring	Jack Lemmon; Sissy Spacek; Melanie Mayron; John Shea; Janice Rule
Cinematography	Ricardo Aronovich
Edited by	Françoise Bonnot
Music by	Vangelis
Production; company	PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	February 12, 1982
Running time	122 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English; Spanish

Missing is a 1982 American drama film directed by Costa Gavras, and starring Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Mayron, John Shea, Charles Cioffi and Janice Rule. It is based on the true story of American journalist Charles Horman, who disappeared in the bloody aftermath of the US-backed Chilean coup of 1973 that deposed leftist President Salvador Allende.

The film was banned in Chile during Pinochet's dictatorship, even though neither Chile nor Pinochet are specifically mentioned by name in the film (although the Chilean cities of Viña del Mar and Santiago are).^[1]

Both the film and Thomas Hauser's book The Execution of Charles Horman were removed from the United States market following a lawsuit filed against Costa-Gavras and Universal Pictures's parent company MCA by former Ambassador Nathaniel Davis and two others for defamation of character. A lawsuit against Hauser himself was dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired. Davis and his compatriots lost their lawsuit, after which the film was released by Universal in 2006.^{[citation needed]}

A disclaimer from the State Department shown before the ending credits denies the United States' involvement in the death of Charles Horman, and they maintain that position to this day.

Plot

The film opens with Costa-Gavras' statement that the events of the film are true, and ends with a disclaimer from the United States Department of State denying that the events in the film happened. Set largely during the days and weeks following Horman's disappearance, the film depicts his father and wife searching to determine his fate. The film is based on a book that was first published under the title The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice (1978) by Thomas Hauser (later republished under the title Missing in 1982).

Production

The score is by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis. The movie's piano theme has been used extensively in commercials, but an official release of the film's soundtrack has not yet occurred. The main theme appeared first on Vangelis' 1989 album Themes. A bootleg release of the soundtrack exists. A sung version with lyrics by Tim Rice has been recorded by Elaine Paige.

The film was released on both VHS and Laserdisc, in 1982 and 1987, by MCA Videocassette, MCA Videodisc, and MCA Home Video; respectively. Unfortunately, the VHS version of the film was pulled from the market due to the lawsuit filed against director Costa-Gavras. Universal Home Video re-released the film on DVD in 2006, following the dismissal of the lawsuit. A special edition DVD was released by The Criterion Collection in October 2008.

Reception

Missing won the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Lemmon), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Sissy Spacek) and Best Picture. The film also won the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, ^[2] where Lemmon was awarded Best Actor for his performance.^[2]

Cast

Actor	Role
Jack Lemmon	Ed Horman
Sissy Spacek	Beth Horman
Melanie Mayron	Terry Simon
John Shea	Charles 'Charlie' Horman
Charles Cioffi	Capt. Ray Tower, USN
David Clennon	Consul Phil Putnam
Richard Venture	U.S. Ambassador
Jerry Hardin	Colonel Sean Patrick
Richard Bradford	Andrew Babcock
Joe Regalbuto	Frank Teruggi
Keith Szarabajka	David Holloway
John Doolittle	David McGeary
Janice Rule	Kate Newman
Ward Costello	Congressman
Hansford Rowe	Senator
Tina Romero	Maria
Richard Whiting	Statesman

References

^ "Missing". Chicago Sun-Times.
^ ^a ^b "Festival de Cannes: Missing". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-06-12.

External links

[1] "Missing". Chicago Sun-Times.

[festival-cannes.com-2] "Festival de Cannes: Missing". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-06-12.

[1]

[2]

v t e Costa-Gavras
Filmography Awards
Films	The Sleeping Car Murders (1965) Shock Troops (1967) Z (1969) The Confession (1970) State of Siege (1972) Special Section (1975) Womanlight (1979) Missing (1982) Hanna K. (1983) Family Business (1986) Betrayed (1988) Music Box (1989) The Little Apocalypse (1993) Mad City (1997) Amen. (2002) The Axe (2005) Eden Is West (2009) Capital (2012) Adults in the Room (2019)
Short films	Against Oblivion (segment; 1991) À propos de Nice, la suite (segment; 1995) Lumière and Company (segment, 1995)
Related	Michèle Ray-Gavras Alexandre Gavras Julie Gavras Romain Gavras

v t e Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or
1939–1975	Union Pacific (1939) No festival held (1940–1945) Brief Encounter (1946) The Last Chance (1946) The Lost Weekend (1946) María Candelaria (1946) Men Without Wings (1946) Neecha Nagar (1946) Pastoral Symphony (1946) The Red Meadows (1946) Rome, Open City (1946) Torment (1946) The Turning Point (1946) Antoine and Antoinette (1947) Crossfire (1947) The Damned (1947) Dumbo (1947) Ziegfeld Follies (1947) No festival held (1948) The Third Man (1949) No festival held (1950) Miracle in Milan (1951) Miss Julie (1951) Othello (1951) Two Cents Worth of Hope (1952) The Wages of Fear (1953) Gate of Hell (1954) Marty (1955) The Silent World (1956) Friendly Persuasion (1957) The Cranes Are Flying (1958) Black Orpheus (1959) La dolce vita (1960) The Long Absence (1961) Viridiana (1961) O Pagador de Promessas (1962) The Leopard (1963) The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965) The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966) A Man and a Woman (1966) Blowup (1967) Festival cancelled while in progress (1968) if.... (1969) MASH* (1970) The Go-Between (1971) The Mattei Affair (1972) The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1972) The Hireling (1973) Scarecrow (1973) The Conversation (1974) Chronicle of the Years of Fire (1975)
1976–2000	Taxi Driver (1976) Padre Padrone (1977) The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978) Apocalypse Now (1979) The Tin Drum (1979) All That Jazz (1980) Kagemusha (1980) Man of Iron (1981) Missing (1982) Yol (1982) The Ballad of Narayama (1983) Paris, Texas (1984) When Father Was Away on Business (1985) The Mission (1986) Under the Sun of Satan (1987) Pelle the Conqueror (1988) Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) Wild at Heart (1990) Barton Fink (1991) The Best Intentions (1992) Farewell My Concubine (1993) The Piano (1993) Pulp Fiction (1994) Underground (1995) Secrets & Lies (1996) The Eel (1997) Taste of Cherry (1997) Eternity and a Day (1998) Rosetta (1999) Dancer in the Dark (2000)
2001–present	The Son's Room (2001) The Pianist (2002) Elephant (2003) Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) L'Enfant (2005) The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) The Class (2008) The White Ribbon (2009) Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) The Tree of Life (2011) Amour (2012) Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013) Winter Sleep (2014) Dheepan (2015) I, Daniel Blake (2016) The Square (2017) Shoplifters (2018) Parasite (2019) No festival held (2020) Titane (2021) Triangle of Sadness (2022) Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Anora (2024)