Sean Connery’s least famous movie

A tribute to Sean Connery.

The Offence: This movie is not very well known in Sean Connery’s carrier.

But he did it on purpose.

The Offence has been directed by great director Sydney Lumet. This radical and strong movie is about Sergent Johnson, a police officer, who, after twenty years of carrier, chases a raper of girls, in the suburbs of a big city of England.

The Offence, a masterpiece out in 1973

but released in France only in….2007

Directed as a play, this movie has been adapted from the eponymous by his author John Hopkins. The Offence is a movie dedicated to Sean Connery, at his best in this part, as a lost, ambiguous officer who breaks down.

Dialogue is powerful, the brutal and violence of the score composed by Harrison Birtwistle reinforces the anxiety of the scenes behind closed doors.

The photography of Gerry Fisher, who also worked on Joseph Losey movies (“Mr Klein”, “Secret Ceremony”...), is another particularity. Scenes switched between deep dark black and blinding white lights.  

Controversy

  Sidney Lumet tackles pedophilia, barely treated at that time (and still not today…). He also added some subliminal pictures (as in “The Pawnbroker”). Sean Connery did change his glamorous image at that time by playing in this movie.

Some said that Sean Connery also worked on the script. He played in other Sidney Lumet movies: “The Hill”, “The Anderson” (1971),  “The Orient-Express  Crime” (1974) and “Family Business” (1989).

Released in 1973 in the USA, “The Offence” didn’t get out till 2007 thanks to Swashbuckler Film (no TV, no movie theater before).

United Artists didn’t want at that time,  Sean Connery image to be tarnished because of his character in all James Bond ‘ movie pictures.

It is today a must-see movie. A classical.

Tribute by the BBC

Arte

Sean Connery was a legend, like Paul Newman was, and Robert Redford still is. He reminds us of a certain time, the 60’s of  glamour and great actresses, movies with great scripts and great dialogues. Sean Connery had a way to choose his movies close to perfection such as he has a way to play in them: from James Bond to Indiana Jones, Marnie,  The Untouchables, The Man who would be king, Der Name Der Rose…

Trailer