Gorky Park

When "Insp. Renko" (William Hurt) is called to investigate a rather gruesome find in Moscow's Gorky park, he is soon embroiled in a conspiracy that leaves him unsure whom he can trust. The KGB are involved as are the Americans - and soon it all points to the enigmatic furrier "Osborne" (Lee Marvin) who has a nifty line in sable hats. What now ensues is a rather dry and procedural mix of thriller and romance with the very presence of Marvin as much of a dead giveaway as you are ever going to get. Marvin brings a certain screen presence, but that just serves to illustrate just how much Hurt is going through the motions - he usually underwhelmed I found. Here the supporting cast led by Brian Dennehy and the occasional contribution from Ian Ban...

Of Sables and Men in snowy Moscow and Stockholm

A militsiya inspector (William Hurt) examines the murder of three people in their 20s in the woods near the skating rink of Gorky Park, all with their faces and finger tips removed. Linked to the investigation are: a KGB major (Rikki Fulton), a movie set worker (Joanna Pacuła), the Chief Prosecutor (Ian Bannen), a smug American sable importer (Lee Marvin) and a New York detective (Brian Dennehy), amongst others.

Based on Martin Cruz Smiths novel from two years earlier, Gorky Park (1983) is a police procedural with the distinction of taking place behind the Iron Curtain during the cold winter of northeastern Europe. It features an honest detective under pressure in a system that see...