# F/X
**F/X** is a 1986 American action thriller directed by Robert Mandel in which a movie special-effects artist, hired by federal agents to stage the fake assassination of a mob informant about to enter witness protection, is double-crossed and must use his illusions to survive. The title is film-industry shorthand for "special effects".[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/02/07/bad-acting-makes-for-ill-fx/dc333ebb-e142-4efa-997c-9202dee40740/) It stars [Bryan Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryan-brown), Brian Dennehy, and [Diane Venora](https://www.edgepedia.org/diane-venora), was written by Robert T. Megginson and Gregory Fleeman, and was released by [Orion Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/orion-pictures) on February 7, 1986.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | February 7, 1986 (Los Angeles and New York openings); Orion Pictures; 108 minutes; rated R[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822) |
| Director / writers | Robert Mandel; screenplay by Robert T. Megginson and Gregory Fleeman[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822) |
| Producers | Dodi Fayed and Jack Wiener (Dodi Fayed–Jack Wiener Productions)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822) |
| Budget and box office | $10,000,000 production budget; $3,240,695 opening weekend; $20,603,715 domestic gross, 45th among 1986 releases[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/FX) • [4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1986/) |
| Principal photography | 15 April to 6 July 1985, beginning in New York City and completing in Geneva, Switzerland[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822) |
| Critical scores | 89% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (28 reviews); Metascore 71 on Metacritic[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fx) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fx/critic-reviews/) |
| Sequel | *F/X2* (May 10, 1991), directed by Richard Franklin, with Brown and Dennehy returning[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/FX) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-23-ca-9471-story.html) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film opens on a restaurant massacre that is immediately revealed to be a movie scene: special-effects man Roland "Rollie" Tyler (Bryan Brown) has staged the carnage for a low-budget production, and his girlfriend Ellen Keith (Diane Venora) played one of the victims.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822) A producer who admires his work, calling himself Joe Lightner but actually Martin Lipton (Cliff De Young) of the State Department, recruits Rollie for the Witness Protection Program: Mafia informant Nicholas DeFranco ([Jerry Orbach](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-orbach)) is in danger of being murdered before he can testify, so the government wants a phony murder staged so DeFranco can "disappear" after his testimony.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822)
Rollie sets up a realistic restaurant shootout, but corruption is afoot: the agents who hired him double-cross him, and he finds himself accused and on the run, working with real blood.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/02/07/bad-acting-makes-for-ill-fx/dc333ebb-e142-4efa-997c-9202dee40740/) Helped by his assistant Andy (Martha Gehman) and a van full of effects equipment, he searches for an honest official to tell his story to, then turns his bag of cinematic tricks, including booby traps, on his ambushers.[8](https://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/bitstreams/51bf2985-adb4-4b68-a865-2ddd055df118/download) Police lieutenant Leo McCarthy ([Brian Dennehy](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-dennehy)), who originally brought DeFranco in but was shunted aside on the case, investigates and becomes central to the final act.[9](https://archive.cantonpl.org/observer/1986/02_Feb%201986/02-24-1986.pdf) The climax takes place in a large, isolated mansion, where Tyler singlehandedly bags a houseful of thugs with his effects rig.[1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/02/07/bad-acting-makes-for-ill-fx/dc333ebb-e142-4efa-997c-9202dee40740/)
### Sequel
Producer [Dodi Fayed](https://www.edgepedia.org/dodi-fayed) attributed the sequel to the original's box-office performance and its continuing following, noting that Brown and Dennehy were repeatedly asked about it in interviews. *F/X2*, in post-production for Orion Pictures in late 1990, cost about $16 million and re-teamed Bryan Brown as the special-effects man and Brian Dennehy as the tough cop; it was set for March release and ultimately opened May 10, 1991, grossing $21,075,831 domestically.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-23-ca-9471-story.html) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/FX) The sequel was directed by Richard Franklin, and its end credits note shooting in Toronto, New York, Rome, and Universal Studios in Los Angeles.[18](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58880-FX-2THEDEADLYARTOFILLUSION?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=6&sid=6108ed29-b8d1-43f8-93c9-93d27a9ed292&sr=0.015640728)
## Production
**Development and casting.** An August 1984 Hollywood Reporter brief announced principal photography for October 1984 with [Robin Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-williams) and [Kurt Russell](https://www.edgepedia.org/kurt-russell) in the leading roles and Roger Spottiswoode as director. Williams dropped out, and by January 1985 producer Dodi Fayed was still weighing Russell or [Harrison Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/harrison-ford) to star; rumors later circulated that George C. Scott was being considered for a principal role. Production charts in March and April 1985 set the start of principal photography for April 15, 1985 in New York City.[10](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57317) The shoot ran twelve weeks and wrapped on July 6, 1985 in Geneva, Switzerland.[10](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57317)
**Locations and craft.** New York City locations included a phone booth in [Greenwich Village](https://www.edgepedia.org/greenwich-village), a shootout at an Italian restaurant, and a chase sequence on the West Side Highway near 14th Street involving Brown's special-effects-equipped truck.[10](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57317) The crew included cinematographer Miroslav Ondricek, editor Terry Rawlings, production designer Mel Bourne, composer [Bill Conti](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-conti), and special-effects consultant John Stears, an Oscar winner for *Thunderball* and *Star Wars*.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822) • [11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-06-ca-5020-story.html) The film was shot in color with Dolby Stereo sound, [Panavision](https://www.edgepedia.org/panavision) lenses and camera, and prints by Deluxe; Orion Pictures registered the copyright on May 21, 1986.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822)
**The director.** For Robert Mandel, *F/X* was a departure in genre. A former assistant to Joseph Papp who had shelved a Broadway directing career to attend the [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute)'s Center for Advanced Film Studies, Mandel had made the small-town drama *Independence Day* (1982), which critics liked but Warner Bros. never officially released, banishing it to cable and videocassette. The Los Angeles Times framed the pairing of a "soft, arty" director with a high-concept action picture as unusual.[12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-08-ca-5754-story.html) • [13](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1986/03/02/up-from-obscurity/c8caba53-ba15-4f5e-af8d-b4c6e2d76b63/)
## Reception and box office
The film opened in Los Angeles and New York on February 7, 1986 and earned $3,240,695 on its opening weekend on the way to a $20,603,715 domestic gross, ranking 45th among 1986 releases against a $10 million production budget.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/FX) • [4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1986/) [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records a worldwide total of $20,603,715, while producer Dodi Fayed, speaking in 1990, cited a worldwide tally of $55 million with $27 million from North America.[14](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0089118/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-23-ca-9471-story.html) Thorn EMI/HBO Video advertised the videocassette in 1986 while the film was still in theatrical release, noting it had already grossed over $20 million.[15](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1986/BB-1986-08-30.pdf)
**Critics.** Reviews were largely favorable. Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars, writing that it avoids the pitfall of degenerating into a mindless display of special effects because the effects are the hero's way of expressing himself.[16](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fx-1986) Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times praised its "love of the world of movies"; [Gene Siskel](https://www.edgepedia.org/gene-siskel) of the Chicago Tribune called it the first entertaining "little" film of 1986.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fx/critic-reviews/) The Washington Post ran two dissenting takes on the same day: Paul Attanasio called it a nicely knitted, Hitchcock-style thriller that jogs sluggishly through its first 40 minutes, while Joe Brown judged the illusions excellent but the acting weak.[17](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/02/07/movies/3949c28b-62c9-4b1b-8466-58933c190e85/) • [1](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/02/07/bad-acting-makes-for-ill-fx/dc333ebb-e142-4efa-997c-9202dee40740/) The film holds an 89% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metascore of 71.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fx) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fx/critic-reviews/)
## Legacy
The film's premise, a craftsman of fake violence trapped in real violence, has kept it in circulation: it streams on subscription and ad-supported services in the United States and is available on Blu-ray.[19](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/fx) Rotten Tomatoes' critics consensus calls it a "smart, twisty, and perfectly cast" effects-assisted neo-noir in which a well-told story is the most special effect of all.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fx)
## References
1. [Joe Brown, "Bad Acting Makes for Ill 'F/X'", The Washington Post, February 6, 1986](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/02/07/bad-acting-makes-for-ill-fx/dc333ebb-e142-4efa-997c-9202dee40740/)
2. [F/X (1986), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57317-FX?cp=1&pos=1&sid=2e1e1401-5984-4b03-bad8-6b394d90e5c1&sr=0.7694822)
3. [Box Office History for F/X Movies, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/FX)
4. [Domestic Box Office For 1986, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1986/)
5. [F/X, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fx)
6. [F/X Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fx/critic-reviews/)
7. [Pat H. Broeske, "Second Time Around", Los Angeles Times, December 23, 1990](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-23-ca-9471-story.html)
8. [F/X review, The Fulcrum, February 26, 1986](https://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/bitstreams/51bf2985-adb4-4b68-a865-2ddd055df118/download)
9. [Observer & Eccentric, February 24, 1986](https://archive.cantonpl.org/observer/1986/02_Feb%201986/02-24-1986.pdf)
10. [AFI|Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57317)
11. [Sheila Benson, "Savvy Story, Actors for Special 'F/X'", Los Angeles Times, February 6, 1986](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-06-ca-5020-story.html)
12. [Deborah Caulfield, "'F/X': An 'Arty' Director Gets the Action", Los Angeles Times, February 8, 1986](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-08-ca-5754-story.html)
13. [Gary Arnold, "Up From Obscurity", The Washington Post, March 2, 1986](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1986/03/02/up-from-obscurity/c8caba53-ba15-4f5e-af8d-b4c6e2d76b63/)
14. [F/X (1986), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0089118/)
15. [Thorn EMI/HBO Video advertisement, Billboard, August 30, 1986](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1986/BB-1986-08-30.pdf)
16. [Roger Ebert, "F/X", Chicago Sun-Times, February 7, 1986](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fx-1986)
17. [Paul Attanasio, "Some Special 'F/X'", The Washington Post, February 6, 1986](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/02/07/movies/3949c28b-62c9-4b1b-8466-58933c190e85/)
18. [F/X2: The Deadly Art of Illusion, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58880-FX-2THEDEADLYARTOFILLUSION?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=6&sid=6108ed29-b8d1-43f8-93c9-93d27a9ed292&sr=0.015640728)
19. [F/X streaming options, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/fx)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released in the 1980s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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