''Ransom'' is a 1996 American

action thriller film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

from a screenplay by

Richard Price Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer and pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the F ...

and Alexander Ignon. The film stars

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

Rene Russo Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such as '' Vogue'' and ''Cosmopolitan''. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedy '' ...

Gary Sinise Gary Alan Sinise (; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor, director, producer, musician and humanitarian. Among other awards, he has won a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has ...

, Delroy Lindo, Lili Taylor, Brawley Nolte, Liev Schreiber,

Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, actor and producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has starred in the TV drama series ''Blue Bloods (TV series), Blue Bloo ...

and Evan Handler. Gibson was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. The film was the 5th highest-grossing film of 1996 in the United States. The original story came from a 1954 episode of '' The United States Steel Hour'' titled " Fearful Decision". In 1956, it was adapted by Cyril Hume and

Richard Maibaum Richard Maibaum (May 26, 1909 – January 4, 1991) was an American screenwriter, film producer, and playwright, best known for his work on the James Bond films. He wrote 13 of the 16 Eon Productions Bond films produced between 1962 and 1989, be ...

into the feature film, '' Ransom!'', starring

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...

, Donna Reed, and

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. He made his a ...

Plot

While millionaire airline magnate Tom Mullen and his wife Kate attend a science fair, their son Sean is kidnapped and taken to an apartment by Maris Conner, a caterer working for the Mullens; brothers Clark and Cubby Barnes; and tech expert Miles Roberts. Jimmy Shaker, an

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

detective who is Maris' boyfriend, leads the operation. The kidnappers send Tom and Kate a video of Sean demanding $2 million. Tom calls the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, who operate from his

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

penthouse under Special Agent Lonnie Hawkins. Tom voices his belief that union machinist Jackie Brown, who is in prison following one of Tom's business scandals, may be behind it. They visit Brown in prison, but he denies any involvement before attacking Tom. Tom agrees to the FBI's plan for delivering the

ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

. Receiving a phone call from the kidnapper, who electronically disguises his voice, Tom follows his instructions. He meets Cubby in a

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

quarry but refuses to hand over the money when Cubby fails to give him the kidnapper's promised directions to Sean. During an ensuing fight, the FBI shoots Cubby, who dies before revealing Sean's location. Tom realizes the kidnappers have no intention of returning Sean alive. He appears on television and offers the ransom as a bounty on the kidnappers, dead or alive, only promising to withdraw the bounty and drop all charges if the kidnappers return Sean alive and unharmed. Shaker lures Kate to a meeting where he assaults her and presents Sean's blood-stained T-shirt as a warning to pay the ransom, but Tom responds by doubling the bounty to $4 million. Shaker calls Tom and gives him one final warning to pay, but Tom still refuses, and Shaker fires a gunshot after Tom hears Sean scream for help, leading Tom and Kate to believe Sean is dead. Clark and Miles attempt to abandon the plan and flee, but Shaker requests backup, kills both men, and makes it look like Miles shot first. When Maris shoots Shaker in the arm from behind, he kills her as well. The NYPD arrives to find Shaker with a badly beaten Sean, whom they believe Shaker rescued. Tom and Kate reunite with Sean while Shaker is hospitalized. Shaker arrives at Tom's penthouse to claim the reward. However, Sean recognizes his voice and expressions as the kidnapper, and Tom notices. With his cover blown, Shaker plans to kill everyone in the apartment if Tom attempts a double cross, but Tom persuades Shaker to accompany him to the bank to get the money and leave peacefully. On the way, Tom discreetly alerts Hawkins, and the police and FBI converge on Tom and Shaker outside the bank. As soon as Tom and Shaker exit the bank, two police officers attempt to detain Shaker, who shoots them. Tom knocks Shaker to the ground, the two struggle and they hurl each other through the window of a lamp store. Tom picks up Shaker's dropped gun and points it at him. In desperation, Shaker draws another gun but is shot dead by Tom and Hawkins. Police rush in to arrest Tom, but Hawkins orders them to stand down. Tom is allowed to leave the scene with Kate.

Cast

as Tom Mullen *

as Kate Mullen, Tom's wife *

as NYPD Detective Jimmy Shaker * Delroy Lindo as

Special Agent Lonnie Hawkins * Lili Taylor as Maris Conner * Liev Schreiber as Clark Barnes * Evan Handler as Miles Roberts *

as "Cubby" Barnes, Clark's brother * Brawley Nolte as Sean Mullen, Tom & Kate's son * Dan Hedaya as Jackie Brown *

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American character actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He returned for ...

Director Stan Wallace *

Michael Gaston Michael Gaston is an American film and television actor. He played agent List of Prison Break minor characters#Quinn, Quinn on the show ''Prison Break'', List of Jericho characters#Gray Anderson, Gray Anderson on the CBS drama series ''Jericho (20 ...

as Agent Jack Sickler * José Zuniga as David Torres * Nancy Ticotin as Agent Kimba Welch *

John Ortiz John Augustin Ortiz (born May 23, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his antagonist role as Arturo Braga in '' Fast & Furious'' (2009) and ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013), and Clyde in '' Jack Goes Boating'' (2010), which earned him a nom ...

as Roberto * David Vadim as an

Officer

Reception

Box office

For its opening weekend, ''Ransom'' collected a total gross of $34.2 million, beating out ''

Romeo + Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet or Romeo & Juliet may also refer to: Ballets * ''Romeo and Juliet'', a ballet score by Constant Lambert * Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Prokofiev), a ...

'' and '' Set It Off'' to secure the number one spot. Upon its debut, it had the second-highest opening weekend for a

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

film, behind ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'', as well as the company's largest live-action opening weekend, surpassing the previous record held by '' The Rock'' five months earlier. The film held the latter record until the opening of '' Armageddon'' in July 1998. ''Ransom'' also achieved the third-highest November opening weekend, after '' Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'' and ''

Interview with the Vampire ''Interview with the Vampire'' is a gothic horror and vampire novel by American author Anne Rice, published in 1976. It was her debut novel. Based on a short story Rice wrote around 1968, the novel centers on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac ...

''. It would hold the record for having the highest opening weekend for a

film for four years until 2000 when it was taken by '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas''. Although it was overtaken by '' Space Jam'' in its second weekend, ''Ransom'' would still make $22.3 million and outgross newcomer '' The Mirror Has Two Faces''. During its theatrical run, ''Ransom'' earned $136.4 million domestically and $309.5 million worldwide, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 1996.

Critical response

Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, "Gibson gives an interesting performance, showing a man trying to think his way out of a crisis, and Sinise makes a good foil: Here are two smart men playing a game with deadly stakes."

Awards and nominations

1997 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards * Won – Top Box Office Film 1997 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films ( Saturn Awards) * Nominated – Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film 1997

s * Nominated – Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama –

1997

Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

* Nominated – Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – Delroy Lindo 1997 Young Artist Awards * Nominated - Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor – Brawley Nolte

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ransom 1996 1996 films 1996 crime thriller films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films American action thriller films Films about child abduction in the United States Films about extortion Films about families Films about father–son relationships Films about hostage taking Films about terrorism in the United States Films directed by Ron Howard Films produced by Brian Grazer Films produced by Scott Rudin Films scored by James Horner Films set in New York City Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in New York City Films with screenplays by Richard Maibaum Films with screenplays by Richard Price (writer) Imagine Entertainment films Remakes of American films Touchstone Pictures films English-language crime thriller films