We’ve arrived at a point where this kind of movie feels essential. Robert Aldrich directed Twilight’s Last Gleaming, with the screenplay by Ronald M. Cohen, Edward Huebsch and Walter Wager (based on the novel "Viper Three"). The film features Burt Lancaster, Burt Young, Richard Widmark, Roscoe Lee Browne, Joseph Cotten, Charles Durning, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Jaeckel and William Marshall. Jerry Goldsmith composed the music, and Robert B. Hauser was in charge of cinematography. A defiant Air Force general, Lawrence Dell (Lancaster), breaks out of prison and commandeers an ICBM facility close to Montana, threatening global conflict unless the President discloses information about the truth behind the Vietnam War... Twilight’s Last Gleaming is precisely the kind of intense political thriller that we need more often. Aldrich, a skilled director when it comes to working with large groups of actors, adopts a confrontational tone and challenges the U.S. Presidency of the 1970s to uphold its commitment to transparency in government. Running over two hours and twenty minutes, Aldrich expects viewers to accept every line of dialogue. With so many people involved in the narrative, we get several split-screen sequences that allow us to simultaneously track conversations happening across different critical areas of the plot – and they’re exceptionally well done. The film maintains a consistent momentum, and as the president (Durning) and his team grapple with Dell's genuine threat, so do we, as the story's atmosphere of suspicion permeates every shot Aldrich creates. This movie remains pertinent to contemporary issues and deserves wider attention from serious film enthusiasts. Featuring a cast that fully commits to a clever director’s vision and a significant story leading to a devastating conclusion, Twilight’s Last Gleaming is definitely worth watching. 8/10

Source on TMDB