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Man on Fire (1987 film)

Man on Fire
Man on Fire movie poster (1987).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Élie Chouraqui
Produced by Arnon Milchan
Screenplay by Elie Chouraqui
Sergio Donati
Based on Man on Fire
by A. J. Quinnell
Starring
Narrated by Scott Glenn
Music by John Scott
Cinematography Gerry Fisher
Edited by Noëlle Boisson
Production
company
Acteurs Auteurs Associés (AAA)
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release date
  • 4 September 1987 (1987-09-04)
Running time
92 min.
Country France
Italy
Language English
Box office $519,596 (USA)

Man on Fire (Italian: Un uomo sotto tiro) is a 1987 French-Italian action thriller film directed by Élie Chouraqui and starring Scott Glenn and Jade Malle. It is based on the 1980 novel Man on Fire by A. J. Quinnell. The rest of the cast includes Joe Pesci, Jonathan Pryce and a brief appearance by Danny Aiello as the Mafia don.

Another film based on the same novel, also called Man on Fire, was released in 2004, directed by Tony Scott.

The opening portrays a man being declared dead in an Italian hospital by a police chief. The man is an ex–CIA agent and mercenary, John Creasy.

In Italy, wealthy families often hire bodyguards to protect family members from the threat of kidnapping. A wealthy family that needs a bodyguard hires Creasy, a burned-out ex-CIA agent, to protect their daughter, Samantha "Sam" Balletto. Creasy has been broken down from all of the death and horror of combat he witnessed in the Vietnam War and in Beirut, Lebanon. Although Creasy is not interested in being a bodyguard, especially to a twelve-year-old youngster, he accepts the assignment because he has no better job offers.

Creasy barely tolerates the precocious child and her pestering questions about him and his life. But slowly, she chips away at his seemingly impenetrable exterior, his defenses drop, and he opens up to her. They become friends and he replaces her parents in their absences, giving her advice, guidance, and help with track. Creasy's life is shattered when Sam is kidnapped by the mafia. Despite being seriously wounded during the kidnapping, Creasy halts his recovery to get weapons from his former partner, David (Joe Pesci). Creasy vows Sam's safe return, as well as vengeance on the kidnappers.


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