Open Fire (1994 film)

Open Fire is single British television crime drama film, made for ITV, which first broadcast on 12 November 1994.[2] The film was written and directed by Paul Greengrass, and concerns the police manhunt for David Martin, who escaped from custody following his arrest for shooting a police officer, leading up to the shooting in error of another man, Stephen Waldorf.[3] The film starred Rupert Graves as Martin, as well as Samuel West as Waldorf, Douglas Hodge as investigating officer DC Peter Finch, and Kate Hardie as Sue Stephens. Open Fire was filmed in Belsize Park and in around Hampstead, London.[4] The film has never been released commercially.

This article is about the 1994 television film. For other uses, see Open Fire.

Open Fire
GenreCrime drama
Written byPaul Greengrass
Directed byPaul Greengrass
StarringRupert Graves
Samuel West
Douglas Hodge
Kate Hardie
Eddie Izzard
Jim Carter
Colin McCormack
Sam Halpenny
Joe Tucker
Aran Bell
ComposersSeamus Beaghen
Bruce Smith
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerSimon Shaps
ProducerJeff Pope
CinematographyAlan Jones
EditorClive Maltby
Running time105 minutes[1]
Production companyLondon Weekend Television
Release
Original networkITV
Original release12 November 1994 (1994-11-12)

Plot

The film concerns the manhunt for David Martin, and the events surrounding this in which Stephen Waldorf, a 26-year-old film editor, was mistakenly identified as Martin and shot by police firearms officers. The story focuses on Finch, a young police officer who, at the beginning of the film, is awarded a medal for bravery in the course of duty after he arrested an armed criminal, and David Martin. Martin — a transvestite with a provocative and aggressive temperament — is released from prison having served his latest sentence. He has escaped twice during his time in custody, and is soon in trouble once again. During the course of a burglary at a private cinema, Martin shoots a police officer as he tries to escape. After he is later arrested, he promptly escapes and goes on the run. By 1983 he is Britain's most wanted man, and a massive police manhunt is under way to apprehend him.

As the hunt for Martin intensifies, police identify a suspect whom they believe might be the fugitive, but after he is shot by Finch, he turns out not to be Martin. The car driver fled the scene. Finch is subsequently suspended from duty. The case becomes a police scandal, with Finch accused of attempted murder. Martin is finally caught after being chased into an Underground station and along a railway tunnel, where police eventually corner and arrest him, without any shot fired.

Cast

References
  1. "Open Fire (UK, 1994) 1/9". YouTube.
  2. "Open Fire (1994)". Archived from the original on 21 August 2017.
  3. Robert Murphy Directors in British and Irish Cinema: A Reference Companion 1844571262 - 2006 "Most of Greengrass subsequent films have been made for television, including Open Fire (1994), the story behind the police shooting of Stephen Waldorf, a film editor who was mistaken for the cross-dressing armed robber David Martin."
  4. "Open Fire (1994)".
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