The Fugitive (1993 film)

 

The Fugitive (1993 film)

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The Fugitive
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andrew Davis
Produced by	Anne Kopelson Arnold Kopelson
Screenplay by	Jeb Stuart[1] David Twohy
Based on	The Fugitive created by Roy Huggins
Starring	Harrison Ford Tommy Lee Jones
Music by	James Newton Howard
Cinematography	Michael Chapman
Editing by	Dennis Virkler David Finfer Dean Goodhill Don Brochu Richard Nord Dov Hoenig
Studio	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	August 6, 1993 (1993-08-06)
Running time	130 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$59,000,000[2]
Box office	$368,875,760[3]

The Fugitive is a 1993 American thriller film based on the television series of the same name. The film was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. The story opens as Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) is wrongfully convicted of the murder of his wife. Soon after, Kimble escapes from custody and sets out to prove his innocence and bring those who were responsible to justice whilst being pursued relentlessly by a team of U. S. Marshals, led by Deputy Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones).

The film garnered critical and commercial success, with worldwide box office takings of $368,875,760 from a $44 million budget. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a rarity for a film associated with a television series, and Jones won for Best Supporting Actor. It presently holds a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of "universal acclaim" from Metacritic.^[4][5] It was followed by a sequel, U.S. Marshals, in which Jones reprised his role as Gerard.

 

Plot

 

Dr. Richard Kimble, a successful vascular surgeon in Chicago, Illinois, comes home one night to find his wife, Helen, fatally wounded by a one-armed man, and though he attempts to subdue the killer, the man escapes. The lack of evidence of a break-in, being the beneficiary of Helen's lucrative life insurance and a misunderstood 9-1-1 call led to Kimble's being convicted of first-degree murder, for which he is sentenced to death. on his way to death row via bus, the other prisoners attempt an escape that wounds a guard and kills the driver, causing the bus to fall into the path of an oncoming train. Kimble barely escapes the bus's destruction—saving the guard's life by dragging him out of the bus—and flees into the night. Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard and his team arrive, to locate and round up the escaped convicts while the injured are taken to a nearby hospital. Kimble sneaks into the same hospital to treat his wounds and change his appearance. While leaving the hospital, he is recognized by the injured guard, but escapes in an ambulance. Gerard and his team blockade a tunnel through a nearby dam to stop Kimble's escape, but Kimble abandons the vehicle and climbs into the storm water system. Kimble is eventually cornered by Gerard above the outlet of the dam spillway. Kimble dives over the edge and swims downstream, leaving no trail for the Marshals to follow.

Kimble returns to Chicago to find the murderer and receives some money from his friend and associate, Dr. Charles Nichols. Posing as a janitor, Kimble enters Cook County Hospital's prosthetic department to obtain a list of people who had their prosthetic arm repaired shortly after Kimble's wife's murder. Gerard realizes that Kimble must be looking for the one-armed man and begins a similar search to anticipate Kimble's next move. Kimble goes to the Cook County Jail to meet a one-armed man accused of armed robbery, but sees he is not the murderer. Gerard and his team also go to the jail with the same suspicion, and Gerard spots Kimble as he is leaving. A chase ensues, in which Gerard fires several shots at Kimble which are stopped by bulletproof glass. Gerard chases Kimble into Chicago's St. Patrick's Day parade where Kimble barely escapes. He then visits the home of the next person on the list, a former police officer named Frederick Sykes. Kimble confirms the man is the murderer and finds he is employed by a pharmaceutical company that is working on a new drug called Provasic. Kimble had investigated the drug and discovered that it caused liver damage, which would have prevented it from being approved by the Food and Drug Administration. He also finds that Nichols, who is leading the drug's development, arranged a cover-up, and ordered Sykes to kill Kimble (his wife's death was incidental). Gerard follows Kimble to Sykes' home and draws the same conclusion.

As Kimble takes an L train to confront Nichols, Sykes attacks him, and in the ensuing struggle, Sykes shoots a transit cop before being subdued and handcuffed to a pole by Kimble. Moments later, Kimble interrupts Nichols's speech, accusing him of falsifying his data. They begin to fight while being chased by Gerard and hostile police officers, who believe Kimble murdered the transit cop aboard the train, and are instructed to shoot him on sight. When Kimble, Nichols, and Gerard are all in the hotel's laundry room, Gerard calls out that he knows about the conspiracy organized by Nichols. Hearing this, Nichols turns to shoot Gerard but at the last moment Kimble hits him from behind, saving Gerard's life. Kimble is taken into custody, since he is still technically a fugitive, despite his innocence. once inside the car, Gerard unlocks his handcuffs as they are driven away.