The Bourne Identity is a 1988 TV Movie based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne and Jaclyn Smith as Marie St. Jacques.
The film was directed by Roger Young and produced by Frederick Muller. It was released on VHS in 1988 and later on DVD on April 9th 2002. The film ran for 4 hours so when it was televised it was cut into two parts, running 2 hours each on ABC.
Plot[]
An unconscious man is washed ashore on the beach of a small French village during a heavy storm. A retired doctor takes care of the unconscious stranger. When the mysterious man recovers, he can't remember a thing. He does not know his name, he does not know where his flashback memories come from, and he does not know why the access code for an anonymous Swiss bank account is implanted in his thigh. As he seeks his own identity, things quickly become dangerous. There are attempts to kill him, he is well known in first class hotels across Europe, and worst of all, there are strange similarities between his memories and reported actions of the notorious terrorist, Carlos the Jackal.
Differences from the book[]
The 1988 film mostly follows the novel, but has some inconsistencies with them. In the film, Carlos is gunned down by Bourne, while in the book he manages to escape and returns in the third book. Alexander Conklin is also killed in the film, whereas he survives in the book. In addition, the 1988 film has Carlos responsible for killing Bourne's wife and child, which is not the case in the book.
Cast[]
- Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne
- Jaclyn Smith as Marie St. Jacques
- Anthony Quayle as Gen. François Villiers
- Donald Moffat as David Abbott
- Shane Rimmer as Alexander Conklin
- Yorgo Voyagis as Carlos
- Denholm Elliott as Dr. Geoffrey Washburn
- Peter Vaughan as Fritz Koenig
- Michael Habeck as The Fat Man
- Wolf Kahler as Gold Glasses
- Philip Madoc as D'Armacourt
- Bill Wallis as Chernak
Soundtrack[]
The soundtrack for the film was composed by Laurence Rosenthal released on compact disk and cassette in 1988.
Track Listing[]
- Main Theme
- The French Children
- Fishing Village
- Arrival in Zurich'
- Incident at the Bank
- Jason and Marie
- The Red Door
- Discovery
- Chernak dead
- Valois Bank
- Wild Goose Chase
- Carlos as confessor
- The Trocadero
- Treadstone 71
- Abbott
- Epilogue
External links[]
The Bourne Identity (1988) at imdb
The Bourne Identity Soundtrack (1988) at discogs
The Bourne Identity (1988) at rotten tomatoes