The Fugitive

The Fugitive Information

The Fugitive is a 1993 American thriller film based on the 1960s television series of the same name created by Roy Huggins. The film was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. When Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford) is wrongfully convicted for the murder of his wife, and escapes from federal custody, he is declared a fugitive. He sets out to prove his innocence and bring those who were responsible to justice while being pursued relentlessly by a team of U.S. Marshals, led by Deputy Samuel Gerard (Jones).

The film premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on August 6, 1993, grossing $368,875,760 in box office business from a $44 million budget. Considering its production and related marketing costs, the film was considered a major financial success. The Fugitive was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a rarity for a film associated with a television series; Jones won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. It presently holds a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of "universal acclaim" from Metacritic.

On August 31, 1993, the original motion picture soundtrack was released by the Elektra Records music label. The soundtrack was composed and orchestrated by musician James Newton Howard. The independent music label La-La Land Records would also later release a limited edition 2-CD set soundtrack as well. The film spawned a sequel, U.S. Marshals, in which Jones reprised his role as Gerard. The sequel was directed by Stuart Baird; acquiring mostly negative critical reviews but earning over $100 million at the box office.

Plot

Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford), a surgeon in Chicago, arrives home one night to find his wife, Helen (Ward), fatally wounded by a one-armed man. Although Kimble makes an effort to subdue the killer, the man escapes. The lack of evidence of a break-in, his being the beneficiary of Helen's lucrative life insurance, and a misunderstood 9-1-1 call, result in his conviction of first degree murder in a court of law. On his way to death row aboard a bus, his fellow prisoners attempt an escape. The pandemonium results in a wounded guard and a dead driver, causing the bus to fall down a ravine and into the path of an oncoming train. Kimble escapes the destructive collision and flees the scene. Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Jones), and his colleagues Renfro (Pantoliano), Biggs (Roebuck), Newman (Wood) and Poole (Caldwell), arrive at the crash site and formulate a search plan to apprehend the escaped convicts. Kimble sneaks into a hospital to treat his wounds and change his appearance; he later makes a getaway in an ambulance.

Kimble returns to Chicago to hunt for the murderer and secretly acquires some money from his friend and associate, Dr. Charles Nichols (Krabbé). Posing as a janitor, Kimble enters Cook County Hospital's prosthetic department to obtain a list of people who had their prosthetic arm repaired shortly after his wife's murder. Gerard realizes that Kimble must be looking for the one-armed man. He begins a similar search to anticipate Kimble's next move. Later, Kimble breaks into the residence of a former police officer named Frederick Sykes (Katsulas), confirming that the man is the murderer and discovering that he is employed by a pharmaceutical company which is working on a new drug called Provasic. Kimble had investigated the drug in the past and revealed that it caused liver damage, which in turn would have prevented it from being approved by the FDA. He also deduces that Nichols, who is leading the drug's development, arranged a cover-up, and ordered Sykes to kill him; his wife's death was incidental. Gerard follows Kimble's lead to Sykes' home and draws the same conclusion.

As Kimble takes an elevated train to confront Nichols at the drug's presentation in a hotel, Sykes appears and attacks him. In the ensuing struggle, Sykes shoots a transit cop before being subdued and handcuffed to a pole by Kimble. Kimble arrives at the pharmacon conference and interrupts Nichols's speech, accusing him of falsifying his medical research and orchestrating his wife's consequent murder. They begin to fight while being chased by the marshals and police. During the related confrontation, Kimble, Nichols, Renfro and Gerard find themselves in the hotel's laundry room. Gerard calls out that he's aware of the conspiracy fabricated by Nichols. Hearing that, Nichols injures Renfro and confiscates his gun. Nichols then attempts to shoot Gerard, but Kimble attacks him from behind, rendering him unconscious. Kimble is exonerated and driven away from the scene by Gerard.

Cast

Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble
Tommy Lee Jones as Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard
Sela Ward as Helen Kimble
Joe Pantoliano as Deputy Marshal Cosmo Renfro
Andreas Katsulas as Frederick Sykes
Jeroen Krabbé as Dr. Charles Nichols
Daniel Roebuck as Deputy Marshal Robert Biggs
Tom Wood as Deputy Marshal Noah Newman
L. Scott Caldwell as Deputy Marshal Erin Poole
Julianne Moore as Dr. Anne Eastman
Ron Dean as Detective Kelly
Joseph Kosala as Detective Rosetti

Production

Filming

Filming locations for the motion picture included, Cherokee, North Carolina, Tennessee, Chicago, Illinois and Dillsboro, North Carolina. Although almost half of the film is set in rural Illinois, a large portion of the principal filming was actually shot in Jackson County, North Carolina in the Great Smoky Mountains. The scene involving Kimble's prison transport bus and a freight train wreck was filmed along the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad just outside of Dillsboro, North Carolina. Riders on the excursion railroad can still see the wreckage on the way out of the Dillsboro depot. Scenes in the hospital after Kimble initially escapes were filmed at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva, North Carolina. Cheoah Dam in Deals Gap was the location of the scene where Kimble jumps down into the waterfall.

The rest of the film was shot in Chicago, Illinois, including some of the dam scenes, which were filmed in the remains of the Chicago freight tunnels. The character Sykes lived in the historic Pullman neighborhood of Chicago. Harrison Ford used the pay phone in the Pullman Pub, at which point he climbs a ladder and runs down the roofline of the historic rowhouses. During the St. Patrick's Day Parade chase scene, former Mayor Richard M. Daley and former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris are briefly shown as participants.

Music

The film's musical score was composed by James Newton Howard. Elektra Records released an album featuring selections from the score on August 31, 1993. La-La Land Records later released a 2-disc, expanded and remastered edition of the score, featuring over an hour of previously unreleased music, tracks from the original soundtrack, and alternate cues.

Release

Home media

Following its release in theaters, the Region 1 widescreen Pan and scan edition of the motion picture was released on DVD in the United States on March 26, 1997. A Special Edition widescreen format of the film was released on June 5, 2001 along with an HD version on May 23, 2006. Concurrently, on September 8, 2009, a widescreen repackaged variant was also released. Special features for the DVD included behind-the-scenes documentaries, audio commentary by Tommy Lee Jones and director Andrew Davis, an introduction with the film's stars and creators, and the theatrical trailer.

A restored widescreen hi-definition Blu-ray version was released on September 26, 2006. Special features include commentary by Tommy Lee Jones and director Andrew Davis, two documentaries, and the theatrical trailer.

Novelization

Jeanne Kalogridis wrote a mass-market paperback novelization of the film. She worked from the original screenplay, which characterizes a doctor unjustly accused of a crime, while being pursued relentlessly by federal authorities.

Reception

Critical response

Among mainstream critics in the U.S., the film received generally positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 94% of 53 sampled critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 7.6 out of 10. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average out of 100 to critics' reviews, The Fugitive received a score of 86 based on 49 reviews.

Desson Howe, writing in The Washington Post, channeled with an upbeat sentiment affirming, "A juggernaut of exaggeration, momentum and thrills "? without a single lapse of subtlety "? "Fugitive" is pure energy, a perfect orchestration of heroism, villainy, suspense and comic relief. Ford makes the perfect rider for a project like this, with his hangdog-handsome everyman presence. He's one of us "? but one of us at his personal best. It's great fun to ride along with him." Left impressed, Rita Kempley also writing in The Washington Post, surmised how the filmed contained "Beautifully matched adversaries" deducing, "One represents the law, the other justice "? and it's the increasingly intimate relationship between them that provides the tension. Otherwise, "The Fugitive" would be little more than one long chase scene, albeit a scorchingly paced and innovative one." In a mixed to positive review, Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle figured, "Director Davis valiantly tries to keep the breakneck, harried pace of an actual flight going throughout, and only occasionally drops the ball (the film's convoluted conspiracy ending is the first example to beat me about the face and neck just now "? others will crop up after deadline, I'm sure)." On the lead actor's performance he said, "Ford may be the closest thing we have these days to a Gary Cooper, but really, where's David Janssen when we really need him?" Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, emphatically expressed that the film was about "two chases, two suspense plots running on parallel "? and finally convergent "? tracks. Kimble and Gerard spend the entire film on opposite sides of the law. Before long, though, we realize we're rooting for both of them; they're both protagonists, united in brains, dedication, superior gamesmanship. The film's breathless momentum springs from their jaunty competitive urgency."

The film however, was not without its detractors. Writing under the pseudonym GA for Time Out, the author viewed the film as "A glossy, formula chase movie with the requisite number of extravagant action sequences". The critic added, "Ford is up to par for the strenuous stuff, but falls short on the grief, anxiety and compassion, allowing Tommy Lee Jones to walk away with the show as the wisecracking marshal on Kimble's trail." In a formulaic fashion, columnist Ethan Ham writing for the Bright Lights Film Journal speculated that supporting actor Tommy Lee Jones' character was "much more disturbing than the inept police." Later explaining, "In Kimble's first encounter with Gerard, Kimble says, 'I didn't kill her!' Gerard responds, 'I don't care.'" In the Chicago Sun-Times, noted film critic Roger Ebert voiced his enthusiasm with the picture observing, "The device of the film is to keep Kimble only a few steps ahead of his pursuers. It is a dangerous strategy, and could lead to laughable close calls and near-misses, but Davis tells the story of the pursuit so clearly on the tactical level that we can always understand why Kimble is only so far ahead, and no further. As always, Davis uses locations not simply as the place where action occurs, but as part of the reason for the action." Rating the film with three stars, James Berardinelli of ReelViews professed, "Following the opening scenes, we're treated to over a half-hour of nonstop action as Gerard and his men track down Kimble. Directed and photographed with a flair, this part of the movie keeps viewers on the edges of their seats. Most importantly, when on the run, Kimble acts like an intelligent human being. Equally as refreshing, the lawmen are his match, not a bunch of uniformed dunces being run around in circles."

For the most part, satisfied with the quality of the motion picture, Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader said that "The mystery itself is fairly routine, but Jones's offbeat and streamlined performance as a proudly diffident investigator helps one overlook the mechanical crosscutting and various implausibilities, and director Andrew Davis does a better-than-average job with the action sequences." Leonard Klady writing in Variety exclaimed, "This is one film that doesn't stint on thrills and knows how to use them. It has a sympathetic lead, a stunning antagonist, state-of-the-art special effects, top-of-the-line craftsmanship and a taut screenplay that breathes life into familiar territory." Film critic Chris Hicks of the Deseret News accounted for the fact that the film "has holes in its plotting that are easy to pick apart and characters that are pretty thin, bolstered by the performances of seasoned vets who know how to lend heft to their roles." But in summary he stated, "the film is so stylish, so funny and so heart-stopping in its suspense that the audience simply doesn't care about flaws."

Box office

The Fugitive opened strongly at the U.S. box office, grossing $23,758,855 in its first weekend and holding the top spot for six weeks. It eventually went on to gross an estimated $183,875,760 in the U.S., and $185,000,000 in foreign revenue for a worldwide total of $368,875,760.

Accolades

The film was nominated and won several awards in 1993"94. Various film critics included the film on their lists of the top 10 best films for that year; including Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times who named it the fourth best film of 1993. The film is also listed by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 Most Thrilling American Films.

Award	Category	Nominee
1994 66th Academy Awards	Best Picture	Arnold Kopelson, Producer
	Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones
	Best Cinematography	Michael Chapman
	Best Film Editing	Dennis Virkler, David Finfer, Dean Goodhill, Don Brochu, Richard Nord, Dov Hoenig
	Best Original Score	James Newton Howard
	Best Sound	Donald O. Mitchell, Michael Herbick, Frank A. Montaño, Scott D. Smith
	Best Sound Editing	John Leveque, Bruce Stambler
1994 Annual ACE Eddie Awards	Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)	Dennis Virkler, Don Brochu, Dean Goodhill, Richard Nord, David Finfer
1993 8th Annual ASC Awards	Theatrical Release	Michael Chapman
1994 ASCAP Film & Television Music Awards	Top Box Office Films	James Newton Howard
1994 Japan Academy Prize	Best Foreign Film	"?"?"?"?
1993 47th British Academy Film Awards	Sound	John Leveque, Bruce Stambler, Becky Sullivan, Scott D. Smith, Donald O. Mitchell, Michael Herbick, Frank A. Montaño
	Actor in a Supporting Role	Tommy Lee Jones
	Editing	Dennis Virkler, David Finfer, Dean Goodhill, Don Brochu, Richard Nord, Dov Hoenig
	Achievement in Special Effects	William Mesa, Roy Arbogast
1993 6th Annual Chicago Film Critics Awards	Best Picture	"?"?"?"?
	Best Director	Andrew Davis
	Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones
1993 Cinema Audio Society Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Feature Film	Donald O. Mitchell, Michael Herbick, Frank A. Montaño, Scott D. Smith
Directors Guild of America Awards 1993	Outstanding Directorial Achievement	Andrew Davis
1994 Edgar Awards	Best Motion Picture	Jeb Stuart, David Twohy
1994 51st Golden Globe Awards	Best Director - Motion Picture	Andrew Davis
	Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama	Harrison Ford
	Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture	Tommy Lee Jones
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards 1993	Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones
19th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1993	Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones
1994 MTV Movie Awards	Best Movie	"?"?"?"?
	Best Male Performance	Harrison Ford
	Best On-Screen Duo	Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones
	Best Action Sequence	Train Wreck
National Society of Film Critics Awards 1993	Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards 1993	Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones
1994 Writers Guild of America Award	Best Adapted Screenplay	Jeb Stuart, David Twohy

Sequel

Jones returned as Gerard in a 1998 sequel, U.S. Marshals, which also features Gerard's team hunting an escaped fugitive, but does not involve Kimble or the events of the first film.