Year of the Comet
| Year of the Comet | |
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| Directed by | Peter Yates |
| Produced by | Nigel Wooll Peter Yates Alan Brown Phil Kellogg |
| Written by | William Goldman |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Hummie Mann |
| Cinematography | Roger Pratt |
| Edited by | Ray Lovejoy |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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91 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12 million |
| Box office | $2,791,515 |
Year of the Comet is a 1992 romantic comedy adventure film about the pursuit of the most valuable bottle of wine in history. The title refers to the year it was bottled, 1811, which was known for the Great Comet of 1811, and also as one of the best years in history for European wine.
It stars Tim Daly, Penelope Ann Miller and Louis Jourdan in his last film role prior to his retirement from film acting. Peter Yates directed William Goldman's original screenplay. Executive Producers: Alan Brown, Phil Kellogg.
Margaret Harwood (Miller), the mousy daughter of esteemed wine merchant Sir Mason Harwood (Richardson), discovers a magnum of wine, vintage 1811, bearing Napoleon's seal. Sir Mason instantly offers it to his best customer, T.T. Kelleher (Rimmer), who sends his friend, Oliver Plexico (Daly) to retrieve it. Three other interested parties converge on the valuable rarity: a Greek billionaire, to whom Margaret's unscrupulous brother has independently sold the bottle; an amoral French scientist (Jourdan), who believes it contains the secret to a rejuvenation formula that he will kill to obtain; and a murderous thug (Brimble), who wants to sell it himself.
The bottle changes hands several times as the parties race across Europe from the Scottish Highlands to Èze. In the end, the criminals are defeated, and Margaret and Oliver fall in love. Sir Mason offers the bottle in private auction to both the legitimate "owners", but they are outbid by Oliver, who is revealed as a multimillionaire adventurer scientist. Against advice, Oliver opens the $5 million bottle and freely shares the excellent wine.
William Goldman said he was inspired to write the film by his love of red wine, and a desire to do a romantic adventure comedy thriller in the vein of Charade (1963). He wanted to set it in the most romantic places he knew (London, the Scottish highlands, the French Riviera) which meant it became a chase focusing around a bottle of wine. Goldman created a wine, the most valuable in history, making it a large bottle for dramatic purposes.
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