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The Formula

Play trailer Poster for The Formula R Released Dec 19, 1980 1h 57m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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22% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 23% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
While investigating the death of a friend and fellow cop, Los Angeles police officer Barney Caine (George C. Scott) stumbles across evidence that Nazis created a synthetic alternative to gasoline during World War II. This revelation has the potential to end the established global oil industry, making the formula a very valuable and dangerous piece of information. Eventually, Caine must contend with oil tycoon Adam Steiffel (Marlon Brando), who clearly has his own agenda regarding the formula.
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The Formula

Critics Reviews

View All (9) Critics Reviews
Tom Milne Time Out Laborious Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times its completely muddled plot is a disaster: There can be no joy in unraveling a plot that is a mystery even to itself. Rated: 2/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Janet Maslin New York Times The murder scene is littered with so many red herrings it might as well be a delicatessen. Rated: 2/5 Aug 30, 2004 Full Review Paul Brenner Filmcritic.com plays like a tedious checklist of murders without a score card. Rated: 2/5 Jan 25, 2009 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Only Marlon Brando in a small role as a daffy oil tycoon gives the film some spark. Rated: C+ Aug 30, 2008 Full Review Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily Rated: 3/5 Sep 1, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (28) audience reviews
Audience Member A bit slow... good plot, if a bit convoluted. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting very well acted talky movie. The plot is pretty good spy, murder mystery, paranoia about big brother and how greed corrupts. The movie suffers from over talking and being a little to subtle instead of getting to the point. So it is over long considering the end and could’ve used a trimming of a good 20 minutes. The acting is top notch. Watching George C. Scott in fine form is always a joy and he definitely carries the movie. Brando plays an interesting character that is quite chilling in its comedic delivery. Just wished the movie moved faster. All in all a nice watch though. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/19 Full Review Bernard K Good story, excellent photography, good actors! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/24/18 Full Review Audience Member with Scott and Brando in the cast this Nazi fiction should be better but would be a gr8 dbl feature with the superior 'the boys from Brazil" Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review ashley h The Formula is a decent film. It is about a detective uncovers a formula that was devised by the Nazis in WW II to make gasoline from synthetic products. Marlon Brando and George C. Scott give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. John G. Avildsen did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the drama and mystery. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Brando was still brilliant even when he lost his passion for the craft. His attention to detail, and 'being' in the moment is inspiring. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Formula

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The Formula

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Movie Info

Synopsis While investigating the death of a friend and fellow cop, Los Angeles police officer Barney Caine (George C. Scott) stumbles across evidence that Nazis created a synthetic alternative to gasoline during World War II. This revelation has the potential to end the established global oil industry, making the formula a very valuable and dangerous piece of information. Eventually, Caine must contend with oil tycoon Adam Steiffel (Marlon Brando), who clearly has his own agenda regarding the formula.
Director
John G. Avildsen
Producer
Steve Shagan
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, CIP
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 19, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 6, 2017
Runtime
1h 57m
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