---
product_id: 20786032
title: "The Onion Field"
brand: "john savageted dansonharold becker"
price: "€ 180.40"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 12
url: https://www.desertcart.fr/products/20786032-the-onion-field
store_origin: FR
region: France
---

# The Onion Field

**Brand:** john savageted dansonharold becker
**Price:** € 180.40
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Onion Field by john savageted dansonharold becker
- **How much does it cost?** € 180.40 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.fr](https://www.desertcart.fr/products/20786032-the-onion-field)

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- john savageted dansonharold becker enthusiasts

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## Description

The Onion Field

## Images

![The Onion Field - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81UWi7liepL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Short of Greatness--Great Transfer
  

*by C***D on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 2, 2009*

If you liked Jon Savage in "Maria's Lovers," or James Woods in "Once Upon a Time in America,"  you'll definitely want to have a look at "The Onion Field." These two can channel tortured soul and quirky perversity like nobody's business.Technically, I probably should not offer a critique having seen it only once. As Robert Altmann said, at the initial viewing you're in 'who-dun-it mode;' only a second look puts you in a position to appreciate how the parts fit into the whole. But since I'm recommending the film I'll allow myself this breach of etiquette. "The Onion Field" begins promisingly enough, with James Woods' riveting creepiness and the strong performances of all involved, and it remains highly watchable through the murder. But it falls apart in the court-room scenes, which, oddly enough for a true story, strain credulity. They feel like an epilogue rather than the third act of the story. (So much for reality.) This is the dilemma of all court-room dramas and few are the directors who successfully avoid a slackening of tension. Granted, "The Onion Field" is not a thriller; its suspense arises organically out of key scenes and is not mined to keep us on the edge of our seats. It is not a manipulative film in that sense. Still, a film needs to have pulse and continuity, whether through character development or emplotment.What keeps the film from greatness is its literalism, the true-to-actual-events quality its writer (Joseph Wambaugh) and director (Harold Becker) prided themselves on. The straight-forward, non-elliptical narration of the murder of a policeman is purely functional. And to be fair, Becker's classical approach works for the most part. So if you like your storytelling straight as a made-for-television movie, you won't be disappointed. That's a wholly legitimate approach and can be at least as effective as the splintering, hand-held and non-linear techniques that have recently crossed-over from the art film into mainstream cinema.Becker and Wambaugh are more interested in being true to the story than in the post-production editing and scoring process necessary to make a film--and not just a story--compelling. A less by-the-numbers score might have helped. And a little stylistic panache could have glossed over the plot's failure to twist and spike. The problem with true to life stories is that they tend to fizzle out in the post-dramatic lives of their protagonists.Rather than going deeper into James Woods' character, we're diverted into the lives of tangential ones. I see that as the main miscalculation. By trying to cover all who were impacted by the murder the film leads us down a series of (empathic) dead-ends. We are given no motivation to be invested in the lives of the bereaved, who's only dramatic function (and dimension) is to indicate traumatic loss. Atom Egoyan was able to make a mesmerizing film about the collective implication of a catastrophe ("The Sweet Hereafter"), but Becker is not artist enough to pull that off. Instead of sweep and poetry, we get a series episodes that declare: "this also happened."So why acquire this DVD? Because it has a superior transfer--even on my HD laptop screen (somewhat of a surprise considering it's an MGM release); because it boasts strong performances by great actors, and because it's filmed with the classical restraint (no hand-held mannerisms) that invites repeat viewings. Finally, because it's a good (and well-behaved) film, which is saying something.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    and quite intelligent! Very learn-ed before all is said and done
  

*by A***R on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 3, 2016*

I hadn't seen THE ONION FIELD IN 30 years (on commercial tv) so seeing this uncut was quite a treat even if final 20 minutes - revived by the "oh no" gut-wrenching, "babysitting" scene - drags and doesn't seem to know when or just how to end!THE ONION FIELD is where one cop's personal nightmare begins and continues because of legal system formalities.  Reliving the crime in testimony over and over inevitably causes psychological trauma for Officer Hettinger (John Savage).James Woods sent his career in motion with his performance of a career criminal.  His character, as we eventually learn, is much more than just manipulating.  He is a bulls*** artist, despicable, and quite intelligent!  Very learn-ed before all is said and done.That said, the point of this true story seems to be (especially back in 1963) that the law bends (bent) over backwards for the rights of the criminal.John Savage and Franklin Seales (career thief - really doesn't know who parents were - talk about never having a chance) also give very convincing performances showcasing scenes sometimes difficult to watch by the "real" discomfort we (the viewer) get to 'feel' of someone in a very trying, private and/or personal moment (a crying, disturbed bedroom scene AND a public crying shower scene come to mind).This movie just misses being a terrific character study in the same vein as In Cold Blood.If you are looking for an action movie like Lethal Weapon and Rush Hour or even 48 Hrs (note sequels and comic references) you may be looking up the wrong cop movie tree.  Again, Joseph Wambaugh's THE ONION FIELD does deserve comparison to Capote's novel turned movie.There is very good authentic dialogue (of the street) as well as that simpler feeling for the 1960's.  Were these cops a little naive?And THE ONION FIELD, re-lived, is a nightmare of inevitable tears echoing in those multiple screams.  It is stories like this that helped in the rehabilitation process of suffering law enforcement officials.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    DAD'S GIFT FROM ME
  

*by W***8 on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 14, 2022*

DAD WAS A POILCE MAN  WHEN THIS HAPPEN SO COOL & i WAS VERY YOUNG NOW OLDER THEN DRIT i JUST HAD TO GET THIS FOR HIM . THANKS !

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*Product available on Desertcart France*
*Store origin: FR*
*Last updated: 2026-02-25*