The Fourth War

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The Fourth War

R

1990

1h 39m

Action

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Popcornmeter

64%

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11 Reviews

29%

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100+ Ratings

Cold War adversaries Col. Jack Knowles (Roy Scheider) and his Russian counterpart, Col. Valachev (Jürgen Prochnow), are stationed on opposite sides of the German-Czech border. Both men are responsible for a group of troops in their remote settings, and both have been shaped by their combat experiences and a shared aversion to their superiors' ways of doing things. After a defector is killed, things escalate into a full-fledged battle with serious geopolitical ramifications.

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The Fourth War is essentially a psychological study of a man coming apart at the hinges.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B-

Jun 1, 1990

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

The slow direction, almost ostentatious, grossly boxed in, suggests that Frankenheimer accepted the film as a compromise. [Full review in Spanish]

Nov 16, 2022

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an oddball premise that's employed to partially watchable yet mostly tedious effect by Frankenheimer...

Rated: 2/4

Jan 14, 2022

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A modest but highly entertaining quirky Cold War thriller.

Rated: B

Dec 27, 2014

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Steve D

I wouldn't exactly recommend it but the cast play well off each other.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

LOL, Roy Scheider's greatest movie ever!!!!!!!!!!!! Ages 17+.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Really enjoyed this movie. Very interesting concept. Ending doesn't quite pack the punch it could have.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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a.l.jude p

Interesting but surreal.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Its 1988, the Cold War is winding down. Colonel Jack Knowles (Roy Schneider) a hero in the Vietnam War who has bounced from from assignment to assignment finds himself in command of a small U.S. base on the West German/Czechoslovakia border. When Knowles witnesses Czech border guards shoot down a dissident trying to flee to the West and encounters his Soviet counterpart, Colonel N.A. Valachev (a war hero from Afghanistan) the two men develop a dislike for each other and soon their feud threatens to start World War III. Not as good as John Frankenheimer's 1960s Thrillers (The Manchurian Candidate, Seconds, The Train, etc) but it is still an enjoyable and action-filled Thriller. With Tim Red as Schneider's XO and Harry Deann Stanton as U.S. Army general. It did not do well at the ox office, but a year before this movie came out, Berlin Wall came down.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

william s

Good premise that just does not play out well.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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John Frankenheimer

Director

Roy Scheider

Col. Jack Knowles

Jürgen Prochnow

Col. Valachev

Tim Reid

Lt. Col. Clark

Lara Harris

Elena

Harry Dean Stanton

Gen. Hackworth

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Synopsis

Cold War adversaries Col. Jack Knowles (Roy Scheider) and his Russian counterpart, Col. Valachev (Jürgen Prochnow), are stationed on opposite sides of the German-Czech border. Both men are responsible for a group of troops in their remote settings, and both have been shaped by their combat experiences and a shared aversion to their superiors' ways of doing things. After a defector is killed, things escalate into a full-fledged battle with serious geopolitical ramifications.

Director: John Frankenheimer
Producer: Wolf Schmidt
Production Co: Aurora Productions LLC
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.2M
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Surround