Eureka poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, Rutger Hauer, Jane Lapotaire, Ed Lauter ... see more see more... , Mickey Rourke , Joe Pesci , Helena Kallianiotes , Corin Redgrave , James Faulkner , Norman Beaton , Lloyd Berry , Ellis Dale , Thomas Heaton , Cavan Kendall , Tommy Lane , Frank Pesce , Emma Relph , Timothy Scott , Joe Spinell , Ian Tracey , Tim Van Rellim , John Vine , Ann Thornton , Emrys James , Raimund Stamm

A reclusive, unhappy gold magnate finds his isolated tropical paradise threatened by the intrusion of organized criminals in director Nicolas Roeg's convoluted, arty drama. Gene Hackman stars as Jack ... read more read more...McCann, a one-time gold prospector who his parlayed the discovery of a rich deposit in the Canadian wilderness into an immense fortune. Instead of satisfaction, McCann's wealth leads to depression and paranoia, and he moves to a remote island and withdraws from the world. The bulk of the film centers on what has become of McCann some thirty years later, as he attempts to deal with a troubled daughter (Theresa Russell) and the attentions of the Mafia, who want to build a new casino on his tropical home. As the pressures increase, his efforts to protect his property and maintain his family become increasingly desperate, culminating in an extended public trial. Even stranger and more stylized than most of Roeg's work, the disjointed Eureka will seem incomprehensible and painfully pretentious to those with little patience for his indirect narratives and purposefully exaggerated approach. Devoted fans, however, will find further proof of the director's impressive visual sense, especially during the film's earlier sequences. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Flixster Users

49% liked it

1,117 ratings

R, 2 hr. 10 min.

Directed by: Nicolas Roeg

Release Date: October 5, 1984

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: September 16, 2003

Stats: 52 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

None yet... Got one?

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (52)

  • gator681
    December 26, 2006
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "Eureka" Jack McCann(Gene Hackman) is the ultimate self-made man, having discovered a mother lode of gold, about twenty years before. Now, he is one of the wealthiest men in the world, owning his very own island in the Caribbean. His personal life is not... read more on the same exalted level, however. His wife, Helen(Jane Lapotaire), is an alcoholic. His daughter, Tracy(Theresa Russell), is married to a French emigre, Claude(Rutger Hauer), who Jack severely disapproves of. To add to his troubles, a group of mobsters from Miami are trying to muscle in to build a casino on his land...[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]Even for director Nicolas Roeg, "Eureka" is an odd movie. The movie throws in too many ideas to properly consider and there is simply too much going on here for it to be considered anything of a success. To start, themes including greed, spirituality and family mix uneasily together while the mobsters sublot needlessly complicates matters. A much simpler approach might have worked as the setting and characters are not without interest. [/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]Adding to the strangeness, are Mickey Rourke and Joe Pesci giving the most restrained performances of their careers. Gene Hackman is fine as always.[/font]
  • logan360x
    November 20, 2011
    logan360x
    Not Roeg's best film, but maybe his masterpiece in the way it incorporates all of his signature elements thematically and in it's editing. A man spends fifteen years looking for gold in Alaska and finally finds it, cut to decades later on his private island "Eureka", that a mobst... read moreer wants to buy, and which he refuses to sell against all better judgement. Nature and desire, and the impossibility of owning either.
  • TonyPolito
    October 30, 2010
    TonyPolito
    Eureka attempts a sweeping epic from true facts surrounding one of the Century's richest men, gold prospector Harry Oakes. But while Oakes may have indeed wallowed away his nouveau riche decades with idleness, regrets, ambiguity, purposelessness and poor judgment, director Roeg's... read more misses wide leaving the viewer another Kane or Gatsby to ponder.

    Rather, it plays more the mediocre made-for-TV melodrama, with a script that wraps a far-too-extensive skein of soapy-styled love interests around a mere skeleton of facts.

    The heaviest lifting comes from the talented cast. Besides Hackman, there's Mickey Rourke, Joe Pesci, Theresa Russell (Roeg's wife) and Rutger Hauer, all fairly early on in career, doing quite well with the thin cards dealt out. But they can carry only so far a script/dialogue as meandering, perplexing and illogical as this. And when Hackman vacates at Act 3, so does the film's momentum.

    In his effort to resuscitate the patient, Roeg rolls out the standard crash-cart of tricks. He loads up on fairly lush cinematography of Jamaica and other such eye-candy for the weary viewer. Of course, a healthy dosage of gratuitous sexual content is called for, including a steady IV drip of full-frontal work by Russell.

    In one scene, Russell romps about in a crotchless, cupless, gold-chained Egyptian lingerie outfit, likely not available at your local adult superstore. There's so much Russell on show, the viewer might believe this kind of work actually titillates her (IMHO, it well may).

    Another such irrelevant injection is a poorly choreographed voodoo orgy scene with bodies and snakes all-a-wigglin' about, but much ado about nothing.

    And Roeg thoroughly sprinkles the film with irrelevant visual/off-script occult/mystic innuendos, his lame attempt at creating suspense.

    RECOMMENDATION: Eureka's little more than 1980ish prime-time soap, and that only due to its exceptionally strong casting. Take a pass.
  • lwilson85
    March 7, 2007
    lwilson85
    I don't know what to make of this film. Snowy, ice, angel lady who controls the world? Occult. What is this movie? I don't know.

View All Eureka Reviews

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
August 2, 2009
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

In its own convoluted way, tells us that money can't buy us happiness. Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

May 24, 2003
Film4

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Citizen Kane
    Citizen Kane (29%)

More Movies like Eureka

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Eureka : Watch Free on TV

Eureka Trivia

  • Which of these films does not feature David Bowie?  Answer »
More Eureka Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Eureka. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Eureka to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?