SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Desertman84 The Bourne Identity is a television movie adaptation of Robert Ludlum's novel of the same title.It stars Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne together with Jaclyn Smith,Anthony Quayle,Donald Moffat and Denholm Elliott. The TV movie was written by Carol Sobieski and directed by Roger Young.The film follows the story of Jason Bourne, who washes up on the beach and is cared for by a doctor. He has no memories, but is intrigued enough to investigate why he has the number of a Swiss bank account on his thigh. As he travels to various European cities following clues about his past, he begins to discover that his actions match those of the feared international terrorist Carlos. The Bourne Identity is a good TV movie adaptation of Ludlum's classic novel.Brilliant performances were turned by Chamberlain and Smith. Also,it was engaging and absorbing from beginning to end as Bourne's story and his search for his identity becomes a great mystery and story to tell.

JLRMovieReviews Richard Chamberlain, star of TV miniseries The Thorn Birds and Shogun, appears as Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne in this 1988 TV adaptation of The Bourne Identity. Frankly I started this in May 2010, and the first 15 or 20 minutes (getting shot on the boat and his body getting washed up on the island) were so laughable, I couldn't get through it. But resolved to watch it or get rid of the DVD, I started it again one Saturday night in January 2011. The beginning still seemed stiff and dated and his acting limited, but once off the island and meeting Jaclyn Smith, the pace picked up. It doesn't compare to the modern remake with Matt Damon, but it works to a degree. It made me think of those old British espionage thrillers, like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (without the fancy technology,) but it is nowhere as good as that, either. Despite the comparisons and where I found it lacking, I think I would watch it again. Jaclyn Smith, a former Charlie's Angel, gives this TV movie a character you can relate to and the presence of older actors like Anthony Quayle, Donald Moffitt, and Denholm Elliott gives this even more credibility. I especially liked how they handled the ending. Given the fact you're dealing with Richard Chamberlain, you should just enjoy Robert Ludlum's story and let it all go.

Robert J. Maxwell I've only watched Part I of this two-part miniseries but it's possible to see with some clarity where it's going. I may have managed to see the whole thing when it was released some twenty years ago but didn't remember any of it except for the criminally beautiful Jaclyn Smith and a sexy scene in which Jason Bourne, Richard Chamberlain, tenderly undresses her. Don't worry. No nudity, and the sex is all slow-motion close ups and dissolves, one cliché following in lockstep on the heels of the previous one.Compared to the more recent release with Matt Damon in the title role, it's better than I'd expected. TV movies don't have the time for rehearsals and the budget imposes other limits on the production. I worked in a miniseries with Jaclyn Smith -- the critically acclaimed cult hit, "Sidney Sheldon's Windmills of the Gods" -- and it was slam-bang fast.Compared to the recent version, this one is more of a mystery than an action movie, and although I gather it sticks closer to Ludlum's novel (you can do that better in three hours than in half that time) it still has a couple of holes that were missing from the Matt Damon feature. It was never hard to follow the feature film but this series sometimes lost me in its divagations. In the film we get a good look at every piece of information Damon uncovers in his search for his identity. Here, sometimes Chamberlain acts on intuition.The lack of rehearsal time and character development shows too. Two times, in Part I, someone mentions how good Chamberlain is at fighting and killing people. But he's not particularly good at it. He gets the crap beaten out of him several times. And when he pulls a hidden gun from his sock and blows his captor away, it's something any routine Private Eye could do. The magisterial mano a mano combat in the feature film required extensive choreography and rehearsal. It was evidently based on karel maga, the most brutal form of martial arts. We were treated to some practice in it while I was in boot camp, only it didn't have a name then. Here's one of the lessons. If you're in a fight for your life, you use whatever objects are at hand -- ball-point pens or blankets -- and you can't lose if you simply pop the other guy's eyeball out with your thumb, as if it were a grape. That's what a professional assassin would learn. Chamberlain, on the other hand, seems to know nothing of this. His natural form is the fist fight, like those you've seen in thousands of other movies. Easier to learn and to choreograph, therefore easier and faster to shoot, and therefore less expensive.Chamberlain's conception of Bourne's character is different from Damon's. Not necessarily worse than Damon's, but different. Chamberlain's Bourne is constantly puzzled by what he's being put through, and shows an occasional cranky mood. Half the time he's unsure of himself, uncertain about what to do next. And the writers have him (and Jaclyn Smith too) talk to themselves quite a bit so the viewer can keep up with his thoughts and the emotions that accompany them. "What am I doing here?" Or, "That CAN'T be true." Or, waiting for someone to answer a phone, "Come on! Come on!" Damon's Bourne acts almost entirely on instinct. He seems to remember more of how to behave like a prey animal, and he remembers how to speak French and German. He strides quickly from place to place and he reacts impulsively and with skill in situations of violence. He's entirely aware of his surroundings and their potential, while Chamberlain is befuddled by them.The miniseries, like the film, was shot in European locations and captures well the chill drizzle of a continental winter in Zurich and Paris. Not a bad effort, all things taken into account.

anubabs I'm from India and as such had never heard of Richard Chamberlain before. But Yesterday I watched the film and was completely hooked by it. It is ten times better that the sham that has Matt Damon in it. Robert Ludlum's Bourne Identity is one of my favourite novels. After seeing Richard Chamberlain movie I think that he's a perfect cast as he follows Ludlums description of the character to the hilt.A very Fine actor paired with an actress of calibre of Jaclyn Smith, have done good justice to Jason Bourne. Also being made in the 80's it faithfully captures the time when the book was written. No comps, no cellphones just gritty streets of Paris. this film should be rated among the most faithful adaptations to the original novel.