IMDb RATING
6.5/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
After a newspaper reporter helps expose a Member of Parliament as a possible spy, he finds that there's much more to the story than that.After a newspaper reporter helps expose a Member of Parliament as a possible spy, he finds that there's much more to the story than that.After a newspaper reporter helps expose a Member of Parliament as a possible spy, he finds that there's much more to the story than that.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 7 wins & 2 nominations total
Danny Webb
- Danny Royce
- (as Daniel Webb)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe name of the airbase is never mentioned. However at one point Nick views a press clipping which states that the (presumed) hit-and-run driving incident occurred in the village of Brandon. That's in Suffolk, adjacent to the US airbase at RAF Lakenheath. (However, the building Nick is seen parked outside when he asks, and is denied, permission to visit the base commander, is not at Lakenheath, it looks more like RAF Uxbridge which would have been easier to get permission to film at, and is also very close to the Shepperton studio where the film was made.)
- GoofsWhile details are secret, it is generally assumed that a nuclear weapon has to be 'armed' before it would explode.
It would be absurd to have bombs in an aircraft that would wipe out the entire airbase if an aircraft crashed on landing.
- Quotes
Vernon Bayliss: Vodka and Coca-Cola. Detente in a glass!
- Crazy creditsThe research done for this film is shown by the acknowledgment at the end of the credits: "The Producers wish to thank the STAFF and MANAGEMENT of THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS FOR THEIR HELP."
Featured review
first rate
This movie is a good example of the British film industry quietly making good movies that nobody saw. Brought out at the height of the cold war , as far as i know it was only ever seen on channel 4 (which kept the british film industry alive). The plot is hardly revolutionary. A journalist (a hard bitten Gabriel Byrne)stumbles upon a coverup by the british goverment, of a nuclear accident on an american airbase (which actually happened in the 1950s, but thats another story). Shades of disaster at silo seven, presidents men and forth protocol. But where this movie is different is the feeling that THEY are following you, helped by an understated yet eerie soundtrack. Byrne is followed by a car from the american airbase, it crowds him off the road and all of its windows are seen to be blacked out. He phones the American embassy and hears his phone being tapped.We dont even see the watchers untill the very end of the movie (which weakens it slightly) Even the Kangaroo court at the end of the movie is reminicnent of Franz Kafkas THE TRIAL. This is the X FILES without ufos, yet Byrne and scacchi are more that a little reminicent of mulder and scully (who also break the rule and dont fall in love on screen). Helped by fine performances from Denholm Elliot and Fulton Mackay(Robert Maxwell?), it evokes a patina of the hidden state only equilled in the uk by EDGE OF DARKNESS and Ken Loache`s HIDDEN AGENDA. its not the best thriller ever made in the UK, but it deserves a damn sight more attention than its received. See it , before THEY do.....
helpful•355
- stuart.galbraith
- Mar 17, 2000
- How long is Defense of the Realm?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Button - Im Sumpf der Atommafia
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $750,000
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $19,938
- Nov 23, 1986
- Gross worldwide
- $750,000
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content