Ensofter
Overrated and overhyped
Sexyloutak
Absolutely the worst movie.
Baseshment
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
goods116
This movie is awful. I gave it a 4, could have been a 2 or a 3 as well. The cast and the location offer potential, but the story makes virtually no sense, the script is awful, etc. I tried to follow the story and give it a chance, but there is never any coherence or reason given for why anyone is doing anything. Just avoid this one.
JohnHowardReid
Viewers who buy this DVD will undoubtedly feel they've been sold out, but the movie is interesting nonetheless -- for all the wrong reasons: The Israeli locations, like the photography itself, are starkly unappealing and totally unattractive. Yet, for all that, they do hold the interest. The stars, on the other hand, are likewise deglamorized, but here the effects are repulsive rather than captivating. Widmark looks absolutely haggard in some of his close-ups, while Gayne Hunnicutt looks garishly sinister with her mouth full of sharp, crooked teeth. As for Reed, he presents as an overweight, chunky slob. The script places a juvenile emphasis on car chases and destruction for destruction's sake. True, these sequences are excitingly staged if you're in the mood for them, but the plot on which all this depends comes across as an unbelievable mishmash of spies versus spies. The direction is sometimes effective in the way it utilizes real locations. At other times, however, it's just TV routine. And yet there are a few odd occasions in which it's experimental. Yes, often clumsily made, yet at other times quite skillful, this movie's hold on the viewer is often tenuous and tedious, yet sometimes quite exciting.
gridoon2018
The potentially memorable screen teaming of Richard Widmark and Oliver Reed (the only one in both of their long careers) turns out to be quite forgettable indeed in this muddled spy thriller. A couple of decent action sequences (mostly car chases) cannot really save the uninteresting script. Both Widmark and Reed seem to be doing this one out of obligation, while the beautiful Gayle Hunnicutt has a pretty thankless role as Widmark's ill-fated wife. Even the Jerusalem setting doesn't give much distinction to the film. Overall, "The Sell-Out" might hold some interest for fans of the leads, but it's almost impossible to recommend it to anyone else. *1/2 out of 4.
Hitchcoc
A pretty good cast with lots of delightful bad guys. But what's the point. Who's who and what do they want? That's the problem. This is a mishmash of intrigue and espionage where we can't tell the characters without a program. We assume we are pulling for Richard Widmark and Oliver Reed, but we can't be sure. What makes a real spy story work is knowing the real milieu that is put forward. If everyone is flip-flopping back and forth within the story and if we don't have an identifiable end, we can't sense the suspense. I just couldn't get into this film. I like Reed and Widmark; they are two wonderful actors, but this must have been thrown together. The pyrotechnics are laughable. They use the old rule, if you can't come up with a plot, use a bunch of car chases. When all is said and done, who are these people answerable to. Is he CIA corrupt or is there a visible entity for us to fear. If there is, it's never brought forward in this film.
