The Onion Field (1979)

The Onion Field (1979) (DVD) (*)

$22.99

Screened, competed or awarded at:
Golden Globes
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Mono )
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Subtitles )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/NTSC/Region 0 )

Running Time:
126 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Commentary
Documentary
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 1979 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Harold Becker

Written By:
Joseph Wambaugh

Actors:
John Savage ..... Det. Karl Francis Hettinger
James Woods ..... Gregory Ulas Powell
Franklyn Seales ..... Jimmy Lee 'Youngblood' Smith
Ted Danson ..... Det. Ian James Campbell
Ronny Cox ..... Det. Sgt. Pierce R. Brooks
David Huffman ..... Dist. Atty. Phil Halpin
Christopher Lloyd ..... Jailhouse lawyer
Dianne Hull ..... Helen Hettinger
Priscilla Pointer ..... Chrissie Campbell
Beege Barkette ..... Greg's woman
Richard Herd ..... Beat Cop
Le Tari ..... Emmanuel McFadden
Richard Venture ..... Det. Glenn Bates
Lee Weaver ..... Billy
Pat Corley ..... Jimmy's Lawyer #2

Synopsis:

Two new partnerships have a fateful encounter late one evening in Los Angeles in early 1963. Patrolling, Los Angeles Police Department Detectives Ian Campbell and Karl Hettinger pull over what they consider a vehicle carrying two suspicious looking men. Those two men are Greg Powell and Jimmy Smith aka Jimmy Youngblood, who indeed are petty crooks - although Powell is more of a minor thug - and who were on their way to commit the latest in a string of robberies. This encounter escalates to a standoff culminating in an onion field outside of Bakersfield, where one of the four is shot dead. Beyond the shooting, the evening does not end as any of the men would have envisioned when the encounter began. In the aftermath of this event, the three survivors recount the activities of the evening in the trial into the shooting and in their everyday lives, the most contentious issue being what happened immediately following the firing of the initial shot. In recounting the event, they contemplate what went wrong and what they would have done differently if given the chance again. That evening has a profound effect on the lives of the three survivors, who have problems emotionally dealing either with what happened that evening or the consequences of their actions that evening, especially in the issue of if the justice system was indeed just both in its process and outcome.

In Los Angeles in 1963, police officers Karl Hettinger and Ian Campbell stop a car with two suspicious looking men inside. The two, Greg Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith, are in fact small-time hoods who rob liquor and convenience stores for relatively small amounts of cash. The hoodlums take the two policeman prisoner and drive them out to an onion field in Bakersfield California. There, Campbell is killed while Hettinger escapes. Greg Powell is quickly arrested and blames the shooting on Jimmy. There begins a legal saga that will stretch out over many years. Although originally convicted and sentenced to death, both Powell and Smith successfully appeal leading to re-trial after re-trial. Karl Hettinger meanwhile feels that he was somehow responsible for his partner's death and should have been able to do more. He's an emotional wreck and begins to shoplift eventually being caught and forced to resign. Based on true events.

Greg Powell is a disturbed ex-con who recruits Jimmy Smith (aka Jimmy Youngblood), a petty thief, as his partner in crime. Powell panics one night when the two of them are pulled over by a pair of cops for broken brake-lights. Powell decides to kidnap the cops and Smith, as always, reluctantly goes along with Powell's crazy scheme. The group drives out to a deserted onion field in Bakersfield, California and one officer is shot while the other escapes. The remainder of the film explores the nature of the American justice system, as well as the devastating psychological effects of this event and the trial on the surviving officer.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 17 April, 2025.