Ridley Scott’s new historical epic Gladiator II is currently in cinemas, but the British filmmaker became famous with dark visions of the future like Alien and Blade Runner. How stylishly Scott can stage big cities can be seen not only in his sci-fi films, but also in underrated thriller Black Rain from 1989, which is on TV today as part of a crime double act with Presidio.
Two thrillers like day and night: that’s what Black Rain and Presidio are about
Basic Instinct star Michael Douglas stars in Black Rain. He plays the tough cop Nick Conklin from New York, who has to escort a Japanese criminal back to his homeland. However, the killer manages to escape there and so Conklin goes into the Japanese underworld to catch him.
In contrast, Presidio (1988) forms a visual contrast. The film by Peter Hyams (Timecop) takes place in sunny San Francisco, where a murder occurs on a military base. Lt. Colonel Alan Caldwell (007 legend Sean Connery) must team up with young police officer Jay Austin (NCIS star Mark Harmon) to solve the story. Meg Ryan, who was before her big breakthrough in Harry and Sally, can also be seen in the crime thriller.
So you can watch the two thrillers on TV today
Presidio and Black Rain both air tonight on Pluto TV. This is a free, advertising-financed provider that offers our Moviepilot TV channel. Only films that do well in the Moviepilot community are shown here. Presidio gets a score of 6.1, while the Ridley Scott insider tip Black Rain gets a grade of 7.
You can watch Presidio from 7:50 p.m. and Black Rain from 9:45 p.m. on the live channel Moviepilot TV with Pluto TV watch, without a subscription or additional costs. You can use Pluto TV via the app on your television or via stream, directly here at Moviepilot.
Watch the thriller marathon here in the stream today from 7:50 p.m.:
At this point you will find external content that complements the article. You can display it and hide it again with one click.
The thriller Black Rain has now become a cult
Black Rain features stars like Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura and Kate Capshaw, but the real feast for the eyes are the nighttime streets of Osaka, which give the thriller a quasi-futuristic feel. City canyons and neon signs frame the noir atmosphere of the thriller, which is mostly ignored in the acknowledged exploits of Ridley Scott. Which is completely understandable, but Black Rain has to at least stand out in terms of style not hide from the other formative films of the later Gladiator director.
The film has now achieved a kind of cult status, with first-class actors including Jun Kunimura, Stephen Root and Tomisaburo Wakayama, the lone wolf from the Lone Wolf and Cub films, right down to the supporting roles.
In comparison, Presidio falls off a bit in terms of quality, but still attracts with down-to-earth crime entertainment and Sean Connery. Anyone wondering why Mark Harmon never became a movie star (but instead became the face of NCIS) might also find an explanation in the crime thriller. Nestled between the former James Bond and the soon-to-be rom-com queen Meg Ryan, Harmon simply seems a little too blunt to be remembered.