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Movie
Poster for Defence of the Realm

Defence of the Realm

1986 · 96 min

A slow-burning, paranoid thriller that immerses you in a world of political cover-ups and journalistic integrity, keeping you tense and thoughtful.

Tagline
Just how far will a government go to hide the truth?
Overview
A reporter named Mullen 'stumbles' onto a story linking a prominent Member of Parliament to a KGB agent and a near-nuclear disaster involving a teenage runaway and a U.S. Air Force base. Has there been a Government cover-up? Mullen teams up with Vernon Bayliss, an old hack, and Nina Beckam, the MP's assistant, to find out the truth.

Search YouTube for the trailer

Buy in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
More options Data from JustWatch
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • conspiracy
  • politics
  • media
  • corruption
  • power
Places
  • big city
  • workplace
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • twist ending
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action4
Horror1
Humour2
Realism8
Romance2
Tension8
Darkness7
Complexity7
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
action, thriller
Directed by
David Drury
Written by
Martin Stellman
Starring
Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Fulton Mackay, Bill Paterson, David Calder, Frederick Treves
Music
Richard Harvey
Cinematography
Roger Deakins
Runtime
96 min
Country
United Kingdom
Languages
English

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