The Fugitive

The Fugitive is a 1993 American thriller film based on the 1960s television series of the same name created by Roy Huggins. The film was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. When Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford) is wrongfully convicted for the murder of his wife, and escapes from federal custody, he is declared a fugitive. He sets out to prove his innocence and bring those who were responsible to justice while being pursued relentlessly by a team of U.S. Marshals, led by Deputy Samuel Gerard (Jones).

The film premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on August 6, 1993, grossing $368,875,760 in box office business from a $44 million budget. Considering its production and related marketing costs, the film was considered a major financial success. The Fugitive was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, a rarity for a film associated with a television series. Jones won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. It presently holds a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of "universal acclaim" from Metacritic.

On August 31, 1993, the original motion picture soundtrack was released by the Elektra Records music label. The soundtrack was composed and orchestrated by musician James Newton Howard. The independent music label La-La Land Records would also later release a limited edition 2-CD set soundtrack as well.[5] The film spawned a sequel, U.S. Marshals, in which Jones reprised his role as Gerard. The sequel was directed by Stuart Baird; acquiring mostly negative critical reviews but earning over $100 million at the box office.

         

Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford), a surgeon in Chicago, arrives home one night to find his wife, Helen (Ward), fatally wounded by a one-armed man. Although Kimble struggles to subdue the killer, the assailant escapes. The lack of evidence of a break-in, his being the beneficiary of Helen's lucrative life insurance, and a misunderstood 9-1-1 call, result in his conviction of first degree murder in a court of law. On his way to death rowaboard a bus, his fellow prisoners attempt an escape. The pandemonium results in a wounded guard and a dead driver, causing the bus to fall down a ravine and into the path of an oncoming train. Kimble escapes the destructive collision and flees the scene. Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Jones), and his colleagues Renfro (Pantoliano), Biggs (Roebuck), Newman (Wood) and Poole (Caldwell), arrive at the crash site and formulate a search plan to apprehend the escaped convicts. Kimble sneaks into a hospital to treat his wounds and change his appearance; he later makes a getaway in an ambulance.

Kimble returns to Chicago to hunt for the murderer and secretly acquires some money from his friend and associate, Dr. Charles Nichols (Krabbé). Posing as a janitor, Kimble enters Cook County Hospital's prosthetic department to obtain a list of people who had their prosthetic arm repaired shortly after his wife's murder. Following a police lead confirming Kimble's recent whereabouts, Gerard speculates that Kimble must be looking for the one-armed man. Later, Kimble breaks into the residence of a former police officer named Frederick Sykes (Katsulas), confirming that the man is the murderer. He discovers that Sykes is employed by a pharmaceutical company, Devlin MacGregor, which is scheduled to release a new drug called Provasic. Kimble had investigated the drug in the past and revealed that it caused liver damage, which would have prevented it from being approved by the FDA. He also deduces that Nichols, who is leading the drug's development, arranged a cover-up, and ordered Sykes to kill him; his wife's death was incidental. Gerard follows Kimble's lead to Sykes' home and draws the same conclusion.

As Kimble takes an elevated train to confront Nichols at the drug's presentation in a hotel, Sykes appears and attacks him. In the ensuing struggle, Sykes shoots a transit cop before being subdued and handcuffed to a pole by Kimble. Kimble arrives at the pharmacon conference and interrupts Nichols's speech, accusing him of falsifying his medical research and orchestrating his wife's consequent murder. They begin to fight while being chased by the marshals and police. During the related confrontation, Kimble, Nichols, Renfro and Gerard find themselves in the hotel's laundry room. Gerard calls out that he's aware of the conspiracy fabricated by Nichols. Hearing that, Nichols injures Renfro and confiscates his gun. Nichols then attempts to shoot Gerard, but Kimble attacks him from behind, rendering him unconscious. Kimble is exonerated and driven away from the crime scene by Gerard.