Lethal Weapon

Lethal Weapon (1987)

Timing: 1:50 (110 min)

7.288/10
4985

7.957/10
103508

7.6/10
295000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 109

Actors and characters

Release date

1987-03-06

Country

United States

Production

Warner Bros. Pictures, Silver Pictures, Warner Bros.

Genre

Adventure, Action, Comedy, Thriller, Crime

Budget

$15 000 000

Revenue

$120 207 127

Website

Director

Richard Donner

Actors

Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Jackie Swanson, Damon Hines, Ebonie Smith
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Joel Silver, Richard Donner

Operator

Stephen Goldblatt

Composer

Eric Clapton

Artist

Virginia Randolph-Weaver, Eva Anna Andry

Audition

Marion Dougherty

Editing

Stuart Baird
All team (99)

• Franco Zeffirelli decided to offer Mel Gibson the role of Hamlet after seeing a scene where Riggs attempts suicide.
• The film is dedicated to the memory of Dar Robinson, a renowned stuntman who died in a car accident during post-production.
• Alternative beginnings and endings were filmed for the movie and can be found on the DVD release of "Lethal Weapon 4." Initially, the film was supposed to begin with a scene where Martin Riggs is drinking alone in a bar, where he is accosted by a group of thugs demanding money. Riggs says he keeps all his money in the bank and tells the men to leave him alone. Of course, they don't listen, and Riggs brutally beats them. The bartender gives Riggs a free bottle of liquor and tells him not to come back. During filming, Richard Donner decided to present Riggs in a more approachable manner and shot a scene where Martin wakes up in his trailer. The alternative ending featured a scene where Murtaugh tells Riggs he is considering retirement, but Martin dissuades him from making that decision.
• In one scene of the film, a cinema showing "The Lost Boys" (1987), which was produced by Richard Donner, can be seen in the background.
• In the scene where Jackie Swanson's character falls from a high-rise building, Jackie refused the services of stunt doubles and performed the stunt herself.
• Number of fatalities: 26.
• According to Gary Busey, he landed the role of Joshua because the producers were looking for an actor capable of convincingly portraying a real threat to Mel Gibson's character. Busey acknowledges 'Lethal Weapon' as a film that gave his career a second wind.
• Leonard Nimoy was offered the directing job, but he declined, preferring to work on 'Three Men and a Baby' (1987).
• Roger Murtaugh is around 50 years old in the film. Danny Glover was 40 at the time of filming.
• According to an article in the June 2007 issue of 'Vanity Fair', Bruce Willis was considered for the role of Riggs.
• The director's cut of the film has a runtime of 117 minutes.
• A sticker reading "END APARTHEID NOW / FREE SOUTH AFRICA" is clearly visible on the refrigerator in Sergeant Murtaugh's house. In the next film in the series, Riggs and Murtaugh will also fight against apartheid in the form of criminals from the South African consulate.
• In the scene where Gibson's character jumps from the roof while handcuffed to a suicide jumper, it is visible that the handcuffs break during the jump.
• A sticker reading “END APARTHEID NOW / FREE SOUTH AFRICA” is clearly visible on the refrigerator in Sergeant Murtaugh’s home. In the next film in the series, Riggs and Murtaugh will fight against apartheid in the guise of criminals from the South African consulate.