State of Siege
1972 · Movie · 122 min · ★ 7.3 · 72% critics
Assigned to South America, a US government aid official becomes a target for local guerrillas and is kidnapped. Held for interrogation amid escalating violence, he’s questioned with disturbing evidence, and the captors ultimately face a deadly decision about his fate.
Where to watch
Streaming on The Criterion Channel — or rent from $3.99.
2 hours to watch.
Stream (included)
Rent
Streaming availability and prices may be inaccurate or change — verify with the provider before subscribing.
unSUB's subscription recommendations are informational only, not financial advice.
More value for your money
Similar titles, ranked by watch-hours per subscription dollar.
Details
- Original title
- État de siège
- Years
- 1972
- Release date
- 1972-12-30
- Language
- French
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Critic score
- 72/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.3/10 (109 votes)
- Box office
- $8,000,000
About
You’ll likely like this if you want a tense, politically charged prisoner interrogation story like The Confession or Special Section, but Not for you if you prefer purely character-driven drama without graphic, shocking themes.
Pros: tense interrogation; memorable scenes; intense atmosphere | Cons: overt political bias; heavy focus on atrocities; uneven after peak
Themes
- guerrilla warfare
- curfew
- martial law
- torture
Awards & recognition
- British Academy Film Awards · 1974
- Louis Delluc Prize · 1972
Cast & crew
Yves Montand
as Philip Michael Santore
Renato Salvatori
as Captain Lopez
O.E. Hasse
as Carlos Ducas
Jacques Weber
as Hugo
Jean-Luc Bideau
as Este
Maurice Teynac
as Minister of Internal Security
Yvette Etiévant
as Woman Senator
Gloria Laso
as Rafaela
Harald Wolff
as Minister of Foreign Affairs
- EP
Evangeline Peterson
as Mrs. Santore
Directed by Costa-Gavras