The Deceivers (film)
| The Deceivers | |
|---|---|
DVD cover
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| Directed by | Nicholas Meyer |
| Produced by | Ismail Merchant |
| Written by | Michael Hirst |
| Starring | |
| Music by | John Scott |
| Cinematography | Walter Lassally |
| Edited by | Richard Trevor |
| Distributed by | Cinecom Pictures |
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Release date
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2 September 1988 |
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Running time
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102 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5-6 million |
| Box office | $346,297 |
The Deceivers is a 1988 adventure film directed by Nicholas Meyer, starring Pierce Brosnan and Saeed Jaffrey. The film is based on the 1952 John Masters novel of the same name regarding the murderous Thuggee of India.
The film takes place in 1825 India. The country is being ravaged by Thuggees, a Kali-worshiping cult also known as "Deceivers," who commit robbery and ritualistic murder. Appalled by their activities, English Captain William Savage undertakes a dangerous mission in which he disguises himself, and infiltrates the Thugee cult. At constant risk of betrayal and vengeance, Captain Savage undergoes a disturbing psychological transformation, experiencing the cult's insatiable bloodlust for himself. The film was shot in various locations around the arid steppe region in northwestern India.
The producer Ismail Merchant first approached writer and director Nicholas Meyer—fresh off his work on Volunteers and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home—through Meyer's agent about directing The Deceivers. Meyer reportedly agreed to a substantial pay cut in order to direct the film, remarking, "Hollywood is making films I have no interest in seeing, machined tooled, packaged, with a lot of numbers after their names. The studios don't just want home runs. They want grand slams. Anything less than $100 million is not interesting to them."
Christopher Reeve and Treat Williams were originally considered for the part of William Savage, but Meyer successfully lobbied to have an actual Englishman in the role. In his memoir The View from the Bridge, Meyer wrote, "'Here's a story about an Englishman who disguises himself as an Indian,' I reasoned. 'If you cast this actor, you will have an American disguising himself as an Englishman, disguising himself as an Indian. We will be lost in the stunt, even if he pulls it off, and not pay attention to the story and the things we want to take for granted, i.e., that it concerns an Englishman.'" The part ultimately went to Pierce Brosnan, whom Meyer fondly described as "Errol Flynn—with talent."
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