Balcony 9 Productions
Co Created Media
Construction Film
Copper Island
Edith Productions
Not part of a collection.
Dead Man's Wire
His revolution was televised.
In 1977, former real estate developer Tony Kiritsis puts a dead man's switch on himself and the mortgage banker who did him wrong, demanding $5 million and a personal apology.
- Original title
- Dead Man's Wire
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $13,000,000
- Revenue
- $2,248,569
CinemaSerf
Mar 27, 2026 · via TMDB
Back in 1977, Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård) took the law into his own hands by brazenly kidnapping the son of the owner of a mortgage company that he felt had left him high, dry and broke. Now we are not taking about a child here, Richard (Dacre Montgomery) is a married adult and father who is frog-marched out of his building with a shotgun tied to his head. They even pinch a police car to drive to his explosives-riddled apartment where he will hold his hostage until he gets $5 millions in compensation and a written apology from M.L. Hall (Al Pacino) whom he blames for his woes. Meantime, the smooth-tongued local radio personality Fred Temple (Colman Domingo) is trying to keep the city mellow and is surprised when he gets a call from Tony asking him to help mediate. Is there even the slightest chance he can facilitate something that isn’t going to result in someone’s brains all over the linoleum? This is loosely based on real events, but even so Gus Van Sant manages to maintain quite a taut degree of jeopardy as events unfold. Pacino only features in about three scenes and he manages to make quite an impact as a dad nobody would ever want, but it’s really Skarsgård’s film as he really quite likeably treads the thinnest of lines between maniac and avenging angel. Along the way, he benefits from a powerfully earthy script to help him vacillate precariously as he tries to stay one step ahead of investigating detective “Grable” (an almost unrecognisable Cary Elwes). This film hits the ground running and races along with a sustained intensity right until an ending that probably manages to get your emotions conflicted and with a very convincing 1970s look to it, is worth a watch.
Brent Marchant
Oct 29, 2025 · via TMDB
At a time when many of us may feel like we’re being systematically shafted by big business and powerful financial institutions, it’s natural that some of us might feel justified in seeking retribution against them for their deceitful actions. Such was also the case in February 1977, when an aggrieved borrower sought potentially deadly vengeance against the president of an Indianapolis mortgage company, as seen in this fact-based comedy-drama-thriller from director Gus Van Sant. When Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård), a mentally challenged borrower, felt financially betrayed by a lender he implicitly trusted, he decided to take action to get back at the loan company’s owner, M.L. Hall (Al Pacino). However, on the day he was scheduled to meet with Mr. Hall, Kiritsis learned that he was on a last-minute midwinter “business trip” to Florida, thereby thwarting his plans for revenge. So, with his principal intention thus foiled, the angry customer resorted to his fallback plan, taking the owner’s son, Richard (Dacre Montgomery), as hostage. And, to show the world he meant business, the perpetrator fitted his captive with a taut wire around his neck that was connected to a shotgun set to fire with the slightest unplanned motion. However, despite his seemingly efficient planning, the determined but somewhat bumbling culprit ended up launching what would turn out to be a cross between a heinous criminal event and a comical media circus that mesmerized the city for days. Law enforcement officials, like Kiritsis’s acquaintance, Det. Michael Grable (Cary Elwes), were frustrated by developments at nearly every turn, while many in the public at large sympathized with the captor’s seemingly justifiable motives. And, in the process, the event exploded to draw in a variety of ancillary storylines, such as the determined campaign of a neophyte television reporter (Myha’la) aggressively seeking to lock down coverage of her first breakthrough story and the improvised negotiation efforts of a popular local radio host (Colman Domingo) who was trusted by the event’s ringmaster who was unwittingly drawn into the fray. The result is an accurate re-enactment of a potentially dangerous event that ultimately plays out like a classic example of pure Americana kitsch, a film that calls to mind elements found in such releases as “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975) and “Breaking” (2022). However, despite the picture’s commendable efforts at re-creating a scenario that has largely slipped from public memory over the years, this release feels as though it tries a little too hard at times, as if it’s wearing its penchant for period piece authenticity on its sleeve. In addition, portions of the narrative drag somewhat in the middle, coming across like padding to fill out the easily trimmed 1:45:00 runtime. Those criticisms aside, however, “Dead Man’s Wire” nevertheless features an excellent production design, along with fine performances by Domingo, Pacino, and, especially, Skarsgård. This modestly entertaining offering generally holds viewer interest reasonably well, providing a modicum of gripping drama and more than a few well-earned chuckles along the way. If nothing else, however, the story should serve as a warning to those who would try to pull one over on an increasingly unsettled, unpredictable, trigger-happy public, one whose imbedded lesson strongly cautions that cost of calculated financial scheming could easily overshadow whatever profits might come from such artful material deception.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Plex
Bill Skarsgård
Tony Kiritsis
Dacre Montgomery
Richard Hall
Cary Elwes
Michael Grable
Myha'la
Linda Page
Kelly Lynch
Mabel Hall
John Robinson
John
Vinh Nguyen
James- Young Radio Producer
Mark Helms
Frank Love
Todd Gable
Chief Gallagher
Michael Ashcraft
George Martz
Neil Mulac
Patrick Mullaney
Daniel R. Hill
Jimmy Kiritsis
Colman Domingo
Fred Temple
Al Pacino
M.L. Hall
Kyle Rankin
Rookie Cop
Andy S. Allen
Clifford Chapman
John N. Dixon
First Responder
Jordan Claire Robbins
Doreen
Aaron Massey
Police Officer
Donald K. Overstreet
Doug O'Brien
Casey Feigh
Resort Attendant
Stephanie Bertoni
Anchor on TV
Michael James Dukes
Bomb Squad Officer 1
Danielle Munday
News Reporter (uncredited)
Kevin Ragsdale
Sheriff (uncredited)
D.J. Stroud
Window Washer (uncredited)
John Wayne
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Arnaud Potier
Director of Photography
Trevor Thompson
Key Makeup Artist
Frank Blake
Stunt Coordinator
Barron Boedecker
Stunt Double
Kellina Rutherford
Stunt Double
Alexander Smith
Stunts
Chad Joyce
Stunts
Bill Leaman
Utility Stunts
Gus Van Sant
Director
Shepherd Ahlers
Second Assistant Director
Josh Tipis
Second Second Assistant Director
Saar Klein
Editor
Jhon Mejía
Associate Producer
James Di Giacomo
Co-Executive Producer
Leslie Shatz
Co-Executive Producer
Nini Le Huynh
Co-Executive Producer
Bill Skarsgård
Executive Producer
Christopher Woodrow
Executive Producer
Colman Domingo
Executive Producer
Eli Massillon
Executive Producer
Jordan Claire Robbins
Executive Producer
Kyle Kaminsky
Executive Producer
Lara Clear
Executive Producer
Lorenzo Antonucci
Executive Producer
Michael Paletta
Executive Producer
Nicol Paone
Executive Producer
Oliver Trevena
Executive Producer
Robert Ogden Barnum
Executive Producer
Veronica Ferres
Executive Producer
Vladislav Lapidus
Executive Producer
Oliver Brooks
Location Manager
Andrea Bucko
Producer
Joel David Moore
Producer
Mark Amin
Producer
Danny Elfman
Original Music Composer
Leslie Shatz
Sound Designer
Leslie Shatz
Sound Effects Editor
Derek Sepe
Sound Mixer
Leslie Shatz
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Looking for Angelina
Rest Stop
Harm
A Quiet Matter
Goodnight Moon
Bad Romance
First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story
Cyclops, Baby
Candy Apple
D'Unbelievables D'Telly
Dance With The Devil
Angel Dusted
Fear on Trial
Camouflage
Gloria del Pacífico
A Good Man
Cyprus Avenue
1961
Murderers Club of Brooklyn
The Tichborne Claimant
12 Angry Men
Schindler's List
Sarabha
Pulp Fiction
Forrest Gump
GoodFellas
City of God
The Silence of the Lambs
Oldboy
Saving Private Ryan
A Brighter Summer Day
The Handmaiden
A Clockwork Orange
Good Will Hunting
Taxi Driver
The Elephant Man
A Taxi Driver
American Beauty
Amadeus
Dial M for Murder
Casino
Hope Dies Last
Zmowa
Abigail
Só Mais Uma Frase
Hikikomori
Rat in the Kitchen
The Bloody Hero
Santa Secreto
The Shark Is Broken
Room
Citizen Kane
Before Sunrise
Braveheart
The Great Escape
12 Years a Slave
Titanic
Truth & Treason
In the Name of the Father
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Persepolis
Nobody
Downfall
Fargo
A Beautiful Mind
Maidaan
The Big Lebowski
Stand by Me
Die Hard
Before Sunset
Anatomy of a Murder
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Gayong
The King of Comedy
One Hundred Steps
Do the Right Thing
Solaris
Rain Man
Platoon
Hotel Rwanda
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Manhattan
October Sky
A Raisin in the Sun
Monkey on a Stick
Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story
A Million Miles Away
Billy Elliot
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
A Night to Remember
Breakthrough
The Banker
Girl in the Basement
The Last Emperor
JFK
Cinderella Man
The Color of Paradise
Gandhi
Beautiful Boy
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown
Menace II Society
The Bad Guys
Fearless
Walk the Line
Breaking the Waves
Almost Famous
Adam's Apples
Letters from Iwo Jima
Rabid Dogs
Escape from Alcatraz
Peaceful Warrior
Oceans
Hostage
Aal
Mrs. R's Daughter
Bloodlock
Man on Fire
Apollo 13
The Reader
Miller's Crossing
The Magdalene Sisters
Leave Her to Heaven
Erin Brockovich
The Experiment
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Boys Don't Cry
Inside Man
American Psycho
The Time Machine
Blow
Happiness
Legends of the Fall
Bus 44
Killers of the Flower Moon
All of Us Strangers
The Big Short
The Terminal
Jacob's Ladder
Lord of War
CJ7
The Kite Runner
Glengarry Glen Ross
Hibi
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Dead Man Walking
An American Crime
Radio
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Pitfall
A Funny Man
A Night of Crimes
Lady Joker
Oh No, Lasse Falls!
The Pee Pee Poo Poo Man
Good Boy
Komang
Conspiracy
Survive Style 5+
The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd
Colonia
Bloody Sunday
Set It Off
Batman
The Boys in the Boat
The Aviator
Fatima
Monster
The Patriot
Milk
The Edukators
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Flight of the Phoenix
Withnail & I
Places in the Heart
The Three Faces of Eve
The Last 10 Years
Thomas vs. Thomas (A Sensational Theory Regarding an Insignificant Life in the Multiverse)
BlackBerry
Becket
Casualties of War
The Poseidon Adventure
The Darjeeling Limited
This Boy's Life
The Long Game
Munich
The Bad Seed
The Negotiator
Bed and Board
From Russia with Love
Lorenzo's Oil
Buffalo '66
Flywheel
...And Justice for All
Ratcatcher
True Lies
The Ghazi Attack
Father Stu
Notes on a Scandal
The Accused
Drugstore Cowboy
Rush Hour
Death Note
Seabiscuit
The Lovely Bones
Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story
Raising Arizona
Escape from New York
Salvador
Born on the Fourth of July
The Post
My Own Private Idaho
Wild at Heart
Transamerica
The Tin Drum
Mr. Holland's Opus
Rescue Dawn
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse
The Desperate Hours
Monarch
Lottery
Geschminkte Jugend
Hold
The Lake in the Sky
D(e)ad
Suamiku Lukaku
Capote
The Duchess
Heavenly Creatures
Lee
Valkyrie
Sparrows
M*A*S*H
The Kid Brother
Together
Death at a Funeral
Amazing Grace
The Queen
Breakdown
I Hired a Contract Killer
The Sweet Hereafter
The Dam Busters
Antwone Fisher
The Heroes of Telemark
Bigger
I Am Elizabeth Smart
Unforgiven
Sinkhole
The Power of Women
Election
Hunting Season
The Man Who Invented Christmas
Uncle Buck
Nixon
Four Brothers
99 Homes
Lefter: The Story of the Ordinarius
Death Proof
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
Family Plot
At Close Range
Dunkirk
In Which We Serve
Solomon Northup's Odyssey
Paradise in Service
The Vancouver Asahi
Tomorrow We Are Free
Marco: The Invented Truth
Leibniz – Chronicle of a Lost Painting
Panic Room
Chopper
The Fortress
Owning Mahowny
Novocaine
Naked Weapon
23 Blast
Newsies
Lethal Weapon 3
Worth
55 Steps
The Return of Martin Guerre
Bully
Not Without My Daughter
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Aamir
Katyn
Miss Potter
Bride Flight
Tucker: The Man and His Dream
La Garde
Collision
County Lines
Sweetness
Quick Change
Kuduz
The Soloist
Private Number
Hey, I'm Alive
Traitor
Alpha Dog
Last Night
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
The Best Man
The Big Fake
Providence
Requiem
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Tigerland
The Ref
The Storm
A Bear Named Winnie
Sobibor
How I Fell in Love with a Gangster
Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman
JCVD
Night Hunter
The Killer
Flesh + Blood
Cantinflas
Colors
The Story of Temple Drake
The Vexxer
The Whole Nine Yards
Cry Terror!
Tout Va Bien
Private Parts
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
The Honeymoon Killers
Eagle Eye
The Last House on the Left
If These Walls Could Talk 2
The President's Last Bang
Lovers: A True Story
Killer Joe
Apollo 11: First Steps on the Moon
Abduction of Innocence
Age 13
Mi bestia
Diamond Singh Aam Aadmi
V
The Perfect Storm
They Shot the Piano Player
Smokin' Aces
Why Did I Get Married?
Over the Top
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case
Behind Enemy Lines
13: Game of Death
Ocean's Eleven
A Mighty Heart
Executive Decision
Fido
District 13: Ultimatum
Gods and Generals
Somewhere in Tonga
Next Goal Wins
Three Summers
Black Bear
He Was a Quiet Man
Whirlpool
Woman of the Hour
Wild Things
Idiocracy
Dead of Winter
Sommersby
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Hostage
Mockingbird Don't Sing
White Boy Rick
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Battle in Seattle
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Freedom
Rogue
The Hindenburg
Kandahar
Heart o' the Hills
Strange Justice
Boléro
Bruiser
The Plague
Little Pink House
Bandit
Red
Popular Music
Untraceable
Tiger Zinda Hai
10 Items or Less
Dog Gone
Killing Zoe
Spoiled Children
P2
Godforsaken!
Terribly Happy
Worlds Apart
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Joneses
Down Terrace
Butchered
The Deerslayer
Living Among Us
2 Days in the Valley
The Big White
Summer Games
Kartini: Princess of Java
Silent Night
World Trade Center
Skellig
Galveston
De Dominee
The Philadelphia Experiment
The Trip
Danny the Champion of the World
Pups
Every Secret Thing
In the Name of the Law
Men in Her Life
The Legend of Barney Thomson
Die My Love
Knockaround Guys
Keane
Congo
The Last House on the Left
Austin Powers in Goldmember
Diggers
Miami Vice
Car Wash
The Delta Force
Untamed
The Beautiful Country
Burning Man
Time to Spare
The Lost Battalion
Criminal Justice
Toubab Bi
I will not mention your name
The Island
Tribute to the Teachers
12 Days with God
A Mother's Touch
Transfusion
Everybody Dies by the End
IRMA
Shoot faster, baby!
Believe: The Ultimate Battle
The Big Hit
S.F.W.
Adulthood
Cerebrum
The Mexican
Seberg
The Runner
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
The Jazz Singer
Timur
Lakshmi
Sweet Poison
Centigrade
Apple Mortgage Cake
Cry_Wolf
The Chase
Saving Silverman
Surviving Picasso
Rape for Profit
Fear of Water
Unlucky Plaza
My Son
Running with Scissors
The Alamo
Self Medicated
Face in the Sky
The Firing Squad
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Holy Shit!
The Juror
A Thin Line Between Love and Hate
Gun Hill Road
Accidental Family
Wallflower
You Shall Not Sleep Tonight
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards
Masquerade
Escape Route
The Naked Cell
Dreamcatcher
Something to Talk About
Crossway
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Death Is Nimble, Death Is Quick
The New Age
Mini's First Time
The Stalking of Laurie Show
King of Thieves
Honey Don't!
Vixen!
Susie Searches
Snakes on a Plane
Action Point
Poster Boy
No Good Deed
The Heist
And the Beat Goes On: The Sonny and Cher Story
Speed Kills
Outcome
The Vallanzasca Band
Velvet Buzzsaw
The Lady Banker
Tell Me No Secrets
Getting Even with Dad
Easy Sex
Isolation
Testosterone
Abduct
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
Crossroads
Justice for Annie
48 Minutes
What We Do Is Secret
Dusting Cliff 7
Monster
The Boat on the Grass
Puzzle
Attack on a China Mission
Black Circle Boys
Running on Empty
Trail of Tears
Shooting Girls
La Baraja de la Muerte
The Legend of Boggy Creek
Spice World
The Grim Sleeper
The Abductors
Three Day Millionaire
Survive the Savage Sea
Emergency
Naked Singularity
Dongata
Disappear
Inside
Tödliche Lüge
Call of the Wolf
The Red Maple Leaf
El secuestro de Anabel
Mark of the Astro-Zombies
Police Intervene in the House of Love
Razakar: The Silent Genocide of Hyderabad
Out of Hand
20 Funerals
StalkHer
Gu
Juvenile Crime
Japan
Coffin 2
Sexual Intrigue
Hari Ka Om
Distortion
Victoria Rosana Maite
Dr. Wong's Virtual Hell
Capture
Tidal Time
Escaping Gravity
Fathers & Son
Monkey-Love, Please Hold
Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men
Mourning Has Broken
Love Child
The Greatest
The Woman Upstairs
The Interrogation
The Sutherland School
Billion Dollar Spy
My Desire
The Witness
After Ashes
Crossroads
Chedly
Estigma
Andersonvillský proces
Mille scudi
Limited Time Rescue
Untitled Cher Biopic
6 hats.
Nothing True Over The Moon
The Serenade of An Ancicnt Stronghold
IDUS
Chrysalises
Dearest, Heart
Arranged Marriage
When Liberty Burns
Suzanne
Surviving a Week at the Real Conjuring House
Themb
Gino: A Child of War
The Male Gaze: A Better Tomorrow
No Family Without Blood
P*ssy Wagon
The People v Gary McKinnon
The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel
Daayra
The Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone
Adventure of a Blind Kid
Animals
Milkshake
Dutch & Razzlekhan
Dark and Stormy
I'm Heather
Bugatti: The Final Race
Kiss My Axe
Dank Frank
Strong Hearts Have Scars
Opioid Scare
The Pipeline
Terror Comes Knocking: The Marcela Borges Story
The Masque of the Red Death
Hunger! Or: Foggy Recollections from the Childhood of Adam Veneer (as mediated by Dr. Tanya Connoway, PsyD)
In Thy Name
Winter of the Century
Fair Game
Florence PD: The Jim Wolowitz Story
21 Down
Crush
Lostless
The 5 Same Things
Ulkar
The Stunt Driver
Hand Job
Uka-Uka
Viva la Madness
Blake Buried A Body [FEATURE]
Lincoln in the Bardo
THE UNSCENE
The Girl
Rabbit on a Highway
Fargo
Dog Day Afternoon
STRAW
The Killing
Girl in the Basement
Donnie Brasco
Lucky Number Slevin
Inside Man
The Town
The Negotiator
King Ivory
The Desperate Hours
The Place Beyond the Pines
Panic Room
Breaking
All the Money in the World
Cellular
Butterfly on a Wheel
Hostage
Inside Man: Most Wanted
Face
Hacker
Swordfish
The International
Trapped
Blood Ties
Night Always Comes
Trafficking
The Night of the Following Day
Palmetto
Criminal Activities
Collision
City of Ghosts
Oct 18, 2025
Chicago International Film Festival
Oct 19, 2025
Woodstock Film Festival
Oct 23, 2025
Austin Film Festival
Oct 25, 2025
AFI Fest
Oct 26, 2025
Philadelphia Film Festival
Nov 3, 2025
Miami Film Festival GEMS
Nov 4, 2025
Denver Film Festival
Nov 5, 2025
Coronado Island Film Festival
Nov 6, 2025
MoMA - The Contenders
Dec 5, 2025
Sun Valley Film Festival
Jan 6, 2026
Palm Springs International Film Festival
Jan 9, 2026
Jan 16, 2026
Feb 24, 2026
