Wonderful character development!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

***SPOILERS*** While US Ambassador to Tel Aviv Israel Peter Hacker, Robert Mitchum, while sticking his neck out to bring peace between the Isralies & Palestinians his old lady Alex played by Ellen Burstyn in what seemed to be her first and last nude scene-Thank God-was having a wild affair with Palestine businessman Mustapha Hashimi, Fabio Testi, who's secretly a major mover and shaker of the dreaded PLO-Palestine Liberation Organization-who's stated policy is to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. This jeopardized Hacker's standing in the US diplomatic community when a film surfaced of Alex & Mustapha romping nude together in bed and doing it-You know-that was being used to blackmail her husband Ambassador Hacker demanding $1,000,000.00 from the blackmailer to keep it from going public! That's by it being shown on nation wide during half-time at the upcoming Super Bowl football game!Hacker not willing or unable, he's too cheap and really couldn't care less, to pay the hush money has his friend and security chief Frank Stevenson, Rock Hudson, track down the source of the film and get the original negative for whatever the asking price is and burn it to keep it from seeing the light of day or better yet TV cameras. While this is happening Hacker has far more pressing business to attend to in him bringing peace between the Israelis and Palestinians which he's more then willing to risk his life in doing far more then trying to save his already failing marriage! ***SPOILERS*** It's when Hacker finally gets both the Israelis and Palestinians together to talk things over at an old Roman ruin outside Jerusalem that all hell breaks out. A faction of the PLO organized by KGB operative Stone,Shmulik Kraus, set an ambush for the two warring groups and gunned down more then a 100 of them together with Mustapha Hashimi, who set up the meeting, before the IDF-Israel Defense Force-came on the scene to stop the bloodshed. As for Ambassador Hacker, who survived the carnage, he together with his wife Alex took the first flight back to the USA too cool their heels and try to forget all what they just went through! P.S As for the footage of the wild affair between Alex & Mustapha Stevenson got a hold of it and was ready to give it to Hacker to do with it whatever he wanted to with it who told Stevenson to keep it and entertain himself in watching it!

Three thoughts cross one's mind whilst watching 'The Ambassador':What on earth would compel legends like Mitchum, Hudson, and Burstyn to appear in such morally and artistically bankrupt dross?What on earth would compel one to watch such morally and artistically bankrupt dross?Can J. Lee Thompson REALLY be the same director responsible for the original Cape Fear?Of interest only to hardcore fans of the aforementioned actors, and those that are interested in exploring American cinema's shameful history of demonising Arabs.

Robert Mitchum plays the title role of The Ambassador and in this case he's the American Ambassador to Israel. He's got the notion in his head that if he can get the Arab and Israeli students dialoging, it might lead the way to eventual peace. Of course there are malevolent forces on all sides that don't want to see that happen.But that's not Mitchum's only problem. His wife Ellen Burstyn has embarked on a torrid love affair with an Arab, played by Fabio Testi, who turns out to be a big honcho in the Palentine Liberation Organization. And somebody's been taking some nasty home movies of them doing the horizontal mambo. Setting up Mitchum for blackmail and embarrassment whichever comes first.Playing the supporting role of Mitchum's Embassy security chief is Rock Hudson and this was to be his last feature film. As the film progresses the strain on Hudson's health is becoming apparent. It was not a happy shoot and the results show it. Mitchum and Hudson did not get along particularly. According to Lee Server's biography, Mitchum spent most of the time getting plastered more than normal. Ellen Burstyn supposedly took a sample of what he was drinking and was shocked to find it real booze. But Mitchum was legendary for holding his liquor.I can see why Mitchum wasn't particularly happy with the film. His role is essentially that of a well meaning fathead who thinks he has all the answers to the Middle-east. Hudson took his role strictly for the cash, because he was having increased medical expenses from what would kill him a year later.Being it's a Golan-Globus film the usual quota of violence is present. When you do a film about the Middle-east, that's almost a requirement for a picture. Still the location cinematography in Israel certainly helps.Too bad that Mitchum and Hudson could not find a nice western to do as a joint project.

A good little action/suspense thriller that was released by the now defunct Cannon group that has the novelty of dealing with the Israeli-Palestanian crisis with real intelligence and being Rock Hudson's last feature film. It stars Robert Mitchum as Peter Hacker, an American ambassador to Israel who tries to bring peace in the Middle East by unorthodox means, but his adulteress wife, played by Ellen Burstyn, threatens to derail his plans when she has an affair with a PLO leader. To make matters worse, someone threatens to expose a film of the affair if a high ransom isn't paid and the ambassador has a hefty price on his head for certain assassins. Rock Hudson plays Frank Stevenson, the ambassador's loyal security officer/friend who tries to unravel the scheme before the film hits the airwaves.Heading a first rate cast, Robert Mitchum plays the lead role with grace and style as a man who tries to accomplish his goals when everything possible is trying to derail him and Ellen Burstyn plays the wife with right note between guilt and steadfast loyalty for her husband. Rock Hudson, on the other hand, is given little to do. He does what he can with the thankless role as the security officer but basically he's just there to try to talk some sense into the ambassador's head and to carry out orders; it's a little sad ending to a brilliant career. The film itself is well-done and first rate with a higher budget and quality than most Cannon films and the location shoots are first-rate. Check it out if you want a Middle-East political thriller with some action thrown into it for good measure.